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The Savoy
The Savoy is synonymous with old-style glamour, grandeur and a whole lot of decadence. But the finest detail resides in the rich history that spans across 135 years.
Perched on the River Thames, the hotel marries London's famous landmarks: Big Ben, the London Eye and the Houses of Parliament – all in view from the rooms. Theatrical impresario Richard D’Oyly Carte opened the doors back in 1889, marking a new era for the capital as the first hotel to be entirely lit by electricity and featuring the first hydraulically operated hotel lifts, still in use today.
In a bid to escape the realities of everyday life, I immersed myself in the other-worldly-old-money lifestyle at The Savoy for 24 hours. Not a bad day at the office, I must say.
As I stepped through the revolving doors into the Front Hall (note: not to be called a foyer), I was whisked around to have a tour of the building from my very own butler, Lara, who was an absolute delight, brimming with information and little known details, past and present.
Becca Monaghan
The Savoy has six bars and restaurants in total, a Reading Room exclusively for guests with tea and champagne on tap, a beauty and fitness retreat complete with a charming pool, enchanting ballrooms dotted around, a bespoke Savoy florist lead by head designer Belinda Bowles and an exclusive Boodles boutique in the Front Hall. And breathe.
It was then I was shown to my room, an awe-inspiring haven complete with fresh white bouquets of flowers and floor-to-ceiling views of the city. Think, Bridgerton meets The Great Gatsby. Ironically and unsurprisingly, F Scott Fitzgerald was another familiar face at the hotel way back when.
Becca Monaghan
My morning was off to a great start with a wholesome FaceTime room tour with my mum, who accused me of "gallivanting again." Sadly, I had to cut the conversation short after a knock on the door: "Sorry mum, Lara's just arrived with breakfast. Speak later."
After proving my mum's theory true and embarking on my own adventure around the hotel, getting lost countless times and stumbling across a discreet yet majestic ballroom, where I mentally planned my imaginary wedding with my imaginary partner, I headed down to the spa where I was treated to a detoxifying facial.
Becca Monaghan
One takeaway was the amount of pride in everyone's work at The Savoy, from the doormen to the butlers, the facialists to the waiters. Not to mention the countless staff who happily stepped in to redirect me back to my room as I wandered down the corridors into areas I potentially wasn't supposed to be.
For dinner, I tucked into dishes from The Savoy Grill by Gordon Ramsay. Side note: He wasn't lying about making the best steak known to man. In Gordon, we trust.
Becca Monaghan
While The Savoy has welcomed a host of the world's famous faces, including Charlie Chaplin, Marilyn Monroe and Frank Sinatra – who so happens to have a suite named after him – the hotel also welcomes millions of people from across the world throughout the year, guests and non-guests.
Some simply want a taste of one of the world's most prestigious names in the hotel world through the bars and restaurants open to all. Lara also informed me that The Savoy is particularly busy during the festive season, with enchanting Christmas decor going above and beyond. Last year, the Front Hall even had an antique steam train carriage and festive afternoon teas in high demand.
Given the depths of history, The Savoy has its very own archivist. I spoke with archivist Susan Scott about all of the Savoy secrets which truly solidified the establishment as having style and substance, as we delved into whether various rumours were fact or fiction.
The Beatles were once denied entry
Unlikely. In May 1965, The Beatles came to The Savoy to visit Bob Dylan, who was living at The Savoy at that time, since he was on tour in the UK. They did enjoy themselves in the restaurant, ordering porridge and pea sandwiches, from the bemused waiters. In fact, the Beatles had been to The Savoy before, attending the Melody Maker Awards in September 1963.
Only a couple of months after the visit to see Bob Dylan, Paul McCartney returned to The Savoy for a luncheon, at which he accepted five Ivor Novello Awards, on behalf of himself and John Lennon. If there was a specific event from which they were barred, I don’t know what that was.
Bob Dylan smoking a cigarette at The Savoy in 1965Getty Images
Staff are assigned to study their guests
No! However, staff do pay attention to individual guest preferences which will be noted in their guest records to personalise future stays.
Oscar Wilde's racked up £6,000 in weekly bills
If he did this, it was not due to his bills at The Savoy. His final set of River View Rooms before he left the hotel cost two guineas a night, and he had moved there only to please Bosie. His outstanding debt to the hotel when he left was £86.
Irish playwright, novelist, essayist, poet and wit Oscar WildeGetty Images
The hotel is 'haunted'
No of course not. There are no such things as ghosts. In addition, if hypothetically there were indeed ghosts, there is still no tradition of mysterious hauntings, which one might expect of a building on such a historic site.
A grand naval function in the new ballroom at The Savoy in 1910 Getty Images
Whisky heir Thomas Dewar once checked in and ended up staying for 40 years
Yes, that sounds about right. In 1929 he gave a short speech before cutting a ribbon across Savoy Court to mark the completion of the new art deco décor in the Savoy Theatre and within Savoy Court itself. Dewar thought he had lived on the Savoy site longer than anyone else, ever. That’s probably true!
The Savoy sent meals to the suffragettes incarcerated in Holloway
I can’t find any evidence that this is true. However, The Savoy was, in fact, the venue for a significant dinner to suffragists (the term Suffragette had not yet been coined) at The Savoy in December 1906.
The dinner, for 250 people, was a 'Complimentary Banquet to the Suffragists' in honour of women who had recently been released from Holloway. The banquet was organised by Millicent Fawcett, a political activist and writer, and a supporter of the suffragists.
1913: A protest march by women suffragettes in London with police in attendanceGetty Images
The Savoy’s entrance is the only street in the UK where cars must drive on the right
Yes, this is true. The switch took place after the Savoy Theatre had a slight remodel to relocate the main entrance to open into Savoy Court in 1929.
The result was that cars dropping theatregoers at the Savoy Theatre now found themselves blocking access to The Savoy, for those in search of the nightly dinner, dancing and cabaret. Changing the rules of the road only in Savoy Court immediately improved the situation.
The alteration was approved by the local council and has never been rescinded.
Becca Monaghan
Overall thoughts? Put it this way, I purchased my first lottery ticket from my humble corner shop with big plans of following in Thomas Dewer's footsteps and checking in The Savoy until retirement.
I, sadly, didn't win.
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