The Savoy Hotel, London

The Most Famous of Strand Hotels Prepares to Open its Doors Again

Oct 25, 2009

The Savoy Hotel in London stands between the river and the Strand. Hotels don't come any better. Closed for refurbishments since December 2007, it will reopen in 2010.

No hotel on the planet can make a stronger claim to have created a world of its own than the Savoy Hotel in London. Just a few minutes walk from Trafalgar Square, it is entered from Savoy Court, the only road in the land in which vehicles drive on the right; and an occasional diner in the iconic Savoy Grill is Kaspar, a three-foot high black lacquered wooden cat.

It seems that anybody who is (or was) anybody has been a guest at the Savoy: Oscar Wilde knew it well, and it was a favorite of Winston Churchill. Bob Dylan, the Beatles, Frank Sinatra and Marilyn Monroe all stayed there.

The Savoy Palace

That the Savoy, the queen of Strand hotels, should have played host to such a stellar clientele is entirely appropriate, because it entered history in the thirteenth century as a palace. By the late fourteenth century, it was the home of John of Gaunt, who effectively ruled the land during the minority of his nephew, Richard II. John bore a heavy responsibility for the enactment of the poll tax which ignited the Peasants’ Revolt of 1381. The most conspicuous event of the rebellion was the sacking of John’s Savoy Palace.

Five centuries would pass before another destruction would, paradoxically, bring about the return of the rich and famous. Having been used as a hospital and as a military prison, the site was redeveloped in the early nineteenth century, but then devastated by fire in 1864.

For a decade and a half it was derelict, before impresario Richard d’Oyly Carte decided that it would be an ideal location for a theatre dedicated to the comic operas of Gilbert and Sullivan. The Savoy Theatre, which opened its doors in 1881, exactly five hundred years after the destruction of the Savoy Palace, was the first public building in the world to be lit exclusively by electricity.

That it should have retained electric lighting ever since is hardly surprising, but it is surely remarkable that Savoy Court, from which it is entered, should still require traffic to drive on the right. It seems that it was all a matter of convenience for cab passengers, though the precise reason is disputed.

Anyway, the public needed no added incentive to turn up to Gilbert and Sullivan’s operas, the profits from which enabled d’Oyly Carte to establish another institution. In 1889, directly opposite the Savoy Theatre, he opened a building which swiftly established itself as one of the leading London hotels.

The Savoy Hotel – London's Finest

The Savoy Hotel’s first manager was its most famous. His name was Cesar Ritz, and he it was who brought in chef Auguste Escoffier, who saw to it that diners enjoyed the finest food and unmatched standards of service.

In 1897, however, a scandal broke which led to the dismissal of Escoffier and Ritz for "gross negligence, breaches of duty, and mismanagement". As far as possible, the row was hushed up, but the fact is that they had been enriching themselves at the hotel’s expense. Both men weathered the storm, and went on to still greater things elsewhere.

Nor did the hotel take long to recover. Since then, it has survived two world wars – it stayed open during the Blitz – without lowering its standards. The Savoy was a five-star hotel when stars were still just lights in the sky.

The Savoy Grill

The hotel’s main restaurant, better known as the Savoy Grill, has always offered one of London’s great dining experiences. Its most unusual feature is Kaspar, a wooden figure of a cat, three feet in height, and lacquered in black.

When a man was shot dead in 1898 shortly after hosting a dinner party for thirteen at the Savoy, the management took steps to avoid such a tragedy in future. A group of thirteen is now always joined by Kaspar, who is seated at the table with a napkin tied round his neck, and is served each course along with the other guests.

When it reopens in 2010, the Savoy will undoubtedly reclaim its status as one of the most opulent of London hotels. The interior will retain its combination of Edwardian and Art Deco, the views over the Thames will still be there, the ghosts of John of Gaunt, Oscar Wilde and Marilyn Monroe will feel at home again.

Cabs will still drive up to the door on the right hand side of the road, and Kaspar the cat will still join dinner parties of thirteen at the Savoy Grill. Some things never change.

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