Who's Going
Maria Callas, Gordon Ramsay, Stephen Fry
Reason to Stay
West End Loction, Upgraded Design, Gourmet Eatery
Hotel Type
Luxury Hotel
For the London novice, the Savoy is located on the Strand in London's West End close to the city business center and easy access to the South Bank. A Fairmont Managed Hotel, like The Plaza NY, the Savoy was closed in 2007 in order to conduct a £220-million restoration of its iconic Edwardian facade and interiors built in 1889.
Guests arrive past theater marquees of the Savoy Theater, no longer affiliated with the hotel, into a cobblestone courtyard and grand reception with its Tiffany glass dome rotunda, glossy ebony paneling and Victorian glass windows. A stalwart of the Victorian era and later art deco movements, dueling period details have been fused into a singular and more-gilded design aesthetic by Pierre Yves-Rochon, who worked similar magic in landmark properties like V in Paris and L'Hotel Hermitage in Monaco.
As much for locals as hotel guests, the hotel hopes to once again become the epicenter of city and theater society with River Restaurant, a power lunch scene of bankers dining on leopard-skin carpet enjoying modern French menu with endless Thames views. Chef Bernhard Mayer oversees the Savoy Grill, that Churchill loved and where Clark Gable first met Vivian Leigh, while Beaufort Bar bring backs the Champagne punch to a new concept bar with nightly cabaret shows.
The Room
Rooms have been gutted and reconfigured with more modern mix of classic Victorian style coupled with dramatic river views and high design features like claw foot tubs and Miller Harris bath products found in London’s top boutique properties that in recent years have usurped the old luxury palaces like the Savoy and Ritz as top draw for celebrity guests. The new entry-level guest rooms still appeal to an older, more conservative design aesthetic lacking the complimenting cool factors of a Brown’s or Claridge’s. New to the revamped Savoy are a series of River and Personality Suites that are worth a splurge, paying tribute to former guests like Maria Callas, Charlie Chaplin, Marlene Dietrich and Frank Sinatra with artwork, literature, photographs and artifacts including the 12 pink roses from Marlene Dietrich always requested upon arrival.
Preferred Room
River View Suite
Special Features
Designer Interiors, Gourmet Eatery, West End Location
Amenities
Restaurant, Bar, Lounge, Cigar Room, Spa, Fitness Center
