The Savoy Hotel London

The Foyer of the Savoy Restaurant on Sunday Evening in 1912.

      The recent improvements have brought the total number of bathrooms in the hotel up to 244. Radiators, to the number of 480, controlled by 1,100 valves, and connected by over six miles of piping, have been installed in all the rooms. 100 telephones have been added, and there is now an instrument in every sitting room.

      It is not test of the popularity of a London hotel to find that during the season it is very full. At the height of the London season every hotel is full. But when you find that in the dead season, when London is supposed to be empty, a hotel is full and crowded with guests it must mean that its comforts are undeniable. And so it comes to pass that at all time the Savoy Hotel, London, is very bright and gay with well known travelers from the continent and the United States, and that it is the common meeting ground for distinguished Americans who are returning home.

      The comforts and luxury of the Savoy Hotel, its cuisine and service, combined with the most moderate charges, place it absolutely in the front rank of all hotels in Europe. The beautiful suites-with bathrooms attached-overlooking the River Thames and embankment gardens, away from the noise and bustle of street traffic, although in the center of London, are greatly appreciated by all European and American travelers. advertisment

 Extracts From The London Press

"Sunday evening at the Savoy restaurant is once again one of the sights of London. There will be six hundred persons or more, dining there tomorrow night; many of the celebrities now over here will be present." From the Evening Standard.

"Sunday night is the great night at the Savoy restaurant, and brilliant in the extreme is the sight it presents. Lovely women, flower-laden tables, the glimmer of shaded lights, and the ripple of music and laughter fascinate the eye and charm the ear. No stranger of distinction is permitted to miss a Sunday dinner at the Savoy." The Ladies Field.

"For visitors to London who are desirous of beholding famous people of whom they have heard or read there is no better vantage place than the foyer of the Savoy Restaurant. In that brilliant rendezvous may nightly be seen members of the noblest families in the land, men and women distinguished in the world of literature, science and art, with millionaires and M. P.'s in close proximity. On Sunday evening the company includes the leading lights of the drama and opera." From the Gentlewoman.

"It is evident that Sunday evening at the Savoy is to be as great an institution as ever during the coming winter. The demand for tables in the restaurant is already reaching the limits of managerial capacity." From the Westminster Gazette.

" 'London is always en fete,' said a French gentleman last week to summarize his impressions of a visit to Britain's metropolis. The Savoy Restaurant certainly conveys that idea, for probably in no other city in the world can such brilliant assemblies be seen as nightly gather there for dinner and supper. There must have been quite 800 people dining in the Savoy Restaurant on Sunday last. The winter garden was crowded; from the balcony came ejaculations in foreign tongues on the beauty of the Thames at night." From the Tatler.

"The Savoy is as cheerful a great restaurant as is to be found in the world. I never stand at the top of the crimson steps leading down through the cafe-au-lait marble pillars with gilt capitals into the great foyer without feeling inclined to rub my hands together, and the good-tempered uncles always do in plays, and say: 'Now I am going to have a jolly good dinner, and am going to enjoy it thoroughly.'" From an article by Lieut, Col. Newham-Davis in the World.

Built during the Victorian Era, The Savoy Hotel in London is still a fully operating, luxury hotel.

      The Savoy Hotel is a luxury hotel located on the Strand in the City of Westminster in central London. Built by impresario Richard D'Oyly Carte with profits from his Gilbert and Sullivan operas, it opened on 6 August 1889. It was the first in the Savoy group of hotels and restaurants owned by Carte's family for over a century. The Savoy was the first luxury hotel in Britain, introducing electric lights throughout the building, electric lifts, bathrooms in most of the lavishly furnished rooms, constant hot and cold running water, and many other innovations. Carte hired manager César Ritz and French chef Auguste Escoffier, who established an unprecedented standard of quality in hotel service, entertainment and elegant dining, attracting royalty and other wealthy guests and diners. Winston Churchill frequently took his cabinet to lunch at the hotel. Read more...