Inside the newly renovated Savoy London hotel
The rooms and public spaces of this historic hotel – frequented by King Edward VII – have had a facelift. We were one of the first to get a glimpse inside and here is our verdict.
Grandes dames are not like other hotels. There’s something about knowing they’ve been at the epicentre of history for centuries, welcoming the rich and famous, and providing a stage for artistic endeavour and political intrigue that sprinkles extra stardust over a stay.
There are as many cultural reference points as places to rest your head, so even if you’ve never stepped into The Savoy’s pitch-perfect lobby with its chequerboard-tiled floor, polished dark woods and Art Deco bas-reliefs, as have famous names from King Edward VII to actor Lucien Laviscount, chances are you still feel like you know the old girl. Though now might be the time to get better acquainted.
The Savoy, which sits on the Strand a stone’s throw from the Thames, is discreetly emerging from a facelift of its bedrooms and some public spaces that began last August – and I’m the first journalist to experience it. The brief to Studio Shayne Brady was to celebrate the hotel’s heritage while reinventing it as relevant. That’s a balancing act that requires footwork as fancy as Fred Astaire’s when he danced on the hotel’s rooftop in 1923.
When The Savoy opened in 1889, it was the capital’s first luxury hotel. It was also the first with electric lights, hot and cold running water in bedrooms, and a lift. It took up to nine minutes to reach the fifth floor, with its operator poised to wave smelling salts under the noses of passengers overcome with the excitement of it all. The Red Lift still looks much as it did 136 years ago, though it’s considerably faster.
I’m intrigued to see what’s changed, given a whopping £220m ($457m) was spent on a renovation just 15 years ago. I was the first journalist to review then too. Back then, I loved the location and the service, but I wasn’t wowed by the bedrooms or convinced by the Thames Foyer, the venue for afternoon tea, which was dominated by a white piano in a centre stage winter garden gazebo. Bit tacky. And I was infuriated by the £9.99 charge for internet use. Remember those bad old days?
It seems dapper Franck Arnold, a fearless Frenchman who joined this most English of institutions as managing director in September 2020, wasn’t overly impressed either. “The Thames Foyer closed at 6pm. The space is at the heart of the hotel, so those going to the Beaufort Bar or River Restaurant had to walk through darkness and skirt around the gazebo,” he said with contempt.
The Foyer’s replacement, the Gallery, is a vast improvement. My eye is drawn down a catwalk central aisle to a glorious marble bar guarded by sky-high palm trees. Its burnt sienna and clotted cream palette, intimate banquettes, antique mirrors and flattering peach-tinted lighting hit exactly the right note of joyfulness. Original moulded panels have been adorned with dancing figures bringing modern energy, while the new reddish-brown paint on the Corinthian columns emphasises the room’s airiness. And, crucially, it’s now open from breakfast until late-night cocktails.
The tourists and regulars joining me at afternoon tea (£90 a person; an extra £20 to add a glass of Nyetimber sparkling and £25 for champagne) clearly approve. Waiters introduce themselves by name and are chatty but not intrusive, bringing a welcome informality to the grandeur. They also encourage gluttony of the limitless supply of goodies, from coronation chicken finger sandwiches and chocolate and hazelnut cake to The Savoy’s signature, freshly baked scones, served, controversially, with lemon curd as well as strawberry jam.
Its evening menu is equally unconventional so I skip the hotel’s three Gordon Ramsay dining venues – the romantic River Restaurant, the Michelin-starred Restaurant 1890 and the sexy Mad Men energy of the Savoy Grill – to flap out my napkin at the Gallery again. Sharing plates such as sole tacos with hispi cabbage make tasty starters. I bypass old-school burgers and trendy Korean-spiced cauliflower steak in favour of the intriguing chicken tikka pie. It arrives with a glossy crust on which the word Savoy is spelt out. The meat is tender, the sauce spicy and the creamy mashed potato supremely comforting.
I’m too full for dessert, but not for a nightcap so I sashay through to the Beaufort Bar. Taylor Swift must have loved its showstopping jet-black and gold decor when she posed for a Vanity Fair photoshoot here. It’s in-your-face glamorous and still feels as fresh as when it was first unveiled in 2010 – a stark contrast to the more famous American Bar, a tourist trap where the muddy browns and blues remain unchanged and feel sadly dated. Cocktails in both are excellent but generously poured (read: lethal), so it’s definitely bedtime.
Rooms are being renovated in stages. Of the 162 Edwardian-inspired ones, 116 have had makeovers so far, their boring pastels and old-fashioned florals replaced by contemporary grey and tangerine for everything, including the Nespresso machines. They are stealth-wealth sanctuaries, with no complicated iPads to control lighting, etc. Some have heart-stopping views over the Thames, the London Eye and Big Ben.
I’m even more excited about the 97 new-look, Art Deco rooms, on the Strand side of the hotel. Their revamp starts next year but I had a sneak peek at the prototype. It’s a beauty, decorated in gold, caramel and olive, including dramatic ombre curtains. The marble bathrooms will be largely untouched.
The Savoy is determined to live up to its legacy as a hotel innovator. The focus now is environmental, so its entire energy supply comes from renewable sources and all-new wiring includes updates such as sensors that turn off airconditioning when a room is empty. Elsewhere, AI tools track and reduce food waste, which, added to other recycling and reuse initiatives, means less than 2 per cent of waste goes to landfill. The hotel is gunning to be carbon neutral by 2028.
It’s an admirable ambition. If the hotel reworks the American Bar and goes back to the drawing board for its woeful wellness offering – the pool is an underwhelming 10m and the spa an ’80s throwback – the Post Office may be inclined, as it was in 1959, when in receipt of a letter addressed to “The Manager of the Greatest Hotel in London”, to deliver it to the Savoy.
THE TIMES
Susan d’Arcy was a guest of The Savoy.
In the know
The Savoy is on the Strand, London. Rooms from £800 ($1660) a night, with breakfast.
To join the conversation, please log in. Don't have an account? Register
Join the conversation, you are commenting as Logout