The Savoy - An old lady reborn in London

Many who know me are familiar with my passions.  These include, but are not limited to, good food - including the new concepts such as molecular gastronomy and modernist cuisine, bass guitars, gadgets, friends - or actually people at large, fun cars, most things British, traditions, etc, etc.  And hotels.  And it is, I think, the hotel bit that people find most intriguing and strange.  They claim that hotels are boring and just a necessary evil in order to have somewhere to sleep in a place where you do have your own bed.  And they are often right.  There are many boring hotels in the world.  And I am absolutely not passionate about them.  I am passionate about good hotels, and that is another story entirely.

So, based on this knowledge of my strangest passion, a group of people came together and gave me a gift certificate for the Savoy in London for my birthday this year.  What a great thing to get!  I have a list of hotels I want to stay at.  Many of them are in London since I love London, and at the top of this list right now is the Savoy.

The Savoy is one of the grand old hotels in London.  London has many good hotels, old and new, but there are some that has been there for a very long time and that, to me, defines British luxury and tradition.  These include Browns, the Dorchester, Claridges, the Connaught, and the Savoy.

The Savoy opened the doors in 1889.  The founder, Richard D'Oyly Carte, had opened the Savoy theatre on the site of the old Savoy Palace in 1881.  Carte built his hotel next to his theatre, and when it opened, it contained a number of new, exiting features including

• all electric lights throughout the building (the theatre had been the first public building in the world to be lit entirely by electricity)
• electric elevators
• bathrooms attached to the bedrooms
• hot and cold running water

Just about every movie star, famous musician and other A-list celebrities have stayed at the Savoy. George Gershwin gave the premiere of Rhapsody in Blue here.  Frank Sinatra played the piano and sang here.  Other guests have included King Edward VII, Sarah Bernhardt, Enrico Caruso, Lillie Langtry, H. G. Wells, George Bernard Shaw, Nellie Melba, Charlie Chaplin, Al Jolson, Errol Flynn, Fred Astaire, Marlene Dietrich, Lionel Barrymore, Harry Truman, Audrey Hepburn, Judy Garland, Josephine Baker, Cary Grant, Babe Ruth, Ivor Novello and Noël Coward.

Everything gets older, and that also includes old luxury hotels.  So in December 2007, the Savoy closed down for a total makeover.  The building was totally stripped down and renewed.  After having spent £220 million, the Savoy again opened the doors in October 2010.  The old Lady was reborn.  Everything is new and fresh, but she retains the old style and grandeur from the past.  

So this is the world that my wife and I will be entering in a few days.  Will the old lady be kind to us?  Will my high expectations be met, or will I be disappointed?  Over the next few weeks I will be reporting on our experiences as we enter the magical world of the Savoy.