Staying at the Savoy - Day one, the big Savoy magic trick

Checking in

As I mentioned in my previous post, the first few minutes of anything are the most important ones. This is true for movies and hotel experiences alike. And the Savoy has fully understood this idea and aims to dazzle you right from the start. And it works, too. As we step out of the car and is welcomed by the top-hatted doorman, he asks my name. And as our luggage is taken into the luggage elevator, the doorman guides us in through the revolving doors into the front hall. There he hands us over to a smiling young man, and this young man knows who we are! And he has our papers ready. This is the big Savoy magic trick. What happens is that as I tell the doorman my name, he repeats it and the information about the incoming guest is broadcast from his microphone to the inside of the hotel. Neat and effective and also a hint at the small details that we will learn is an integral part of the Savoy service.

It could have been even more magical, though. Since we were arriving in the hotel car, booked through the hotel, and the chauffeur called in to tell that we were coming as we was nearing the hotel, the information about who this guest was could this time actually have gone the other way, out to the doorman. so there is actually room for improvement there.

But back to the smiling young man in the front hall. We are led into what is known as the reading room where we are seated in front of a desk where forms are signed and welcome information is given. He then gives us a tour of the place. For an overview, see this post.

After having been informed of the whereabouts of the different parts of the house, we are led along a thickly carpeted corridor adorned with small tables with vases and flowers, pictures on the walls and polished, brown doors along the walls. We stop outside room 216, the door is opened for us, and we enter our Savoy guest room.

The room

I booked a Deluxe King which is the second least expensive category, the least expensive with a king size bed. We have clearly been upgraded as this room has a large window out towards the river. Since we are on the second floor and since the trees are thick with foliage, we see more threes than river, but there are glimpses of it, the trees are nice and we can also see parts of the London Eye. The room is big for a London hotel room, the high ceiling and large window gives it a spacious and airy feel. It even smells good. Actually, the entire hotel smells good. I believe they actually cent the rooms and common areas in order to make sure guests are met with pleasant odours. I noticed the same when staying at the Dorchester some years back. A distinct feeling that the hotel had been perfumed. Well, why not. There is nothing worse than checking into a foul smelling hotel.

Furniture consists of

• a king size bed
• one arm chair with a small table
• two night stands, one on each side of the bed
• a writing desk with chair
• a cabinet holding what they call the refreshment centre, looking like a chest of drawers but containing the minibar and lots of chocolates, biscuits etc.
• one bench at the end of the bed
• one small table in the hallway

One bed stand has an iPod/iPhone docking station with speakers so that you can play your own music through that. The other has a small but fine clock. A very nice touch. There is ample wardrobe space. One cupboard with hangers in the room, one with hangers and one with drawers in the hallway. Lighting is good, but there could have been better reading light next to the bed.

The bathroom is quite big. Two sinks to the right, bath tub to the left, two frosted glass doors straight ahead, one leading to the toilet and one leading to the shower. Good products, nice, thick towels.

All in all this is a very nice room, spacious and with good light and a view. We do notice a bit of noise coming from the street due to not really sound proofed windows, but later on we learn that the thick curtains removes most of the sound when drawn.

Our guide shows us around and then leaves us to settle in. Our luggage is delivered shortly afterwords by a smiling young man who asks if there is anything else he can do for us. And after he has left, room service brings a few items that I have pre-ordered. I have ordered a bouquet of flowers for my wife and some fruit and water. The fruit has clearly been polished and looks very nice. We eat some of it and leave the rest for later. So far, the staff has been exceptionally warm and friendly. A good start!

Afternoon Tea

Afternoon tea is a British institution and one that we try to be part of every time we are in London. Tea may of course be taken in many places, but to experience the real deal, I suggest you try out the big tea happenings at one of London's better hotels. We have so far had tea at the Ritz, the Dorchester, Browns and the Savoy. We found the Ritz to be a bit stiff, the Dorchester was nice and grand, Browns cosy and homely provided that you live in an elegant British country house and the Savoy, we feel, is elegant but relaxed.

I have booked afternoon tea for us at 15:45. That may seem like a strange time. Why not 16:00? Because it seems they have certain fixed times you can book, and around the 16:00 mark, the available time is 15:45. Our table is next to the huge cage-like structure that encloses the grand piano. Our waiter for today is a nice, young woman who explains the procedures to us. Since we have been here a number of times for tea, we know the drill.

You can choose between two different meals. Traditional afternoon tea and high tea. The difference is that high tea also consists of some savoury dishes, not only the sweet ones. We go for the sweet, traditional, every time. Traditional afternoon tea is priced at £42.50. Newcomers may think that £42.50 is rather steep for a cup, or even for a pot of tea. But tea is only one small part of this. But apart that is taken very seriously. I counted 28 different types of tea on the menu. Some of them are rare and cost extra. And when you are at it, you may also have a glass of champagne. 

After choosing the type of food, type of tea and champagne or not, the first course is placed on the table. This is a three tiered stand containing 5 different types of sandwiches, scones with and without raisins, clotted cream, strawberry jam and lemon curd. Tea arrives in silver pots and are poured in china tea service especially made to complement the room. The sandwiches are really tasty, the flavours are enhanced with the help of herbs and spices. The scones are the best scones we know. Smooth and light. 

When we have eaten all the sandwiches and scones, our waiter asks if we want more of them. We do. But not too many. We know what is in store for us. After the cake stand has been cleared away, it is time for fine french pastries. Our waiter presents a tray with six different, artfully presented small cakes. They are beautiful to behold, and they are not too sweet, but are packed full of flavour. You may have as many as you like. I tried to have one of each once. That turned out not to be a good idea. And after you finish with the pastries, there are three signature cakes to choose from. This is normally when a slight nauseating feeling is starting to creep in if you asked for refills on the sandwiches and scones and chose too many pastries. 

When I booked our stay at the hotel, I informed them that we are here to celebrate our recent 50th birthdays. This information has been passed on to the staff in the Thames Foyer. Towards the end of our meal, ours and other birthday tables have a special piece of cake with a candle while the pianist plays "Happy birthday to you". 

All in all the traditional afternoon tea is a substantial meal. If you have dinner plans later on the same day, cancel it. After you finish the meal you will wish that you could just take the elevator up to your room and collapse on the bed. This time we could. If we cannot afford to stay at the Savoy every time we are in London, we will always be coming back for afternoon tea. It is always good and the service is very friendly and effortless. You can watch a youtube video about the Savoy afternoon tea here.

The American Bar

We have tickets for Billy Elliot tonight. Dinner is out of the question since massive amounts of cake is competing for space down there, so we decide to try out the American Bar for a drink before we set out for the theatre. 

From their web site:

"The American Bar is widely regarded as one of the world's best hotel bars with a history that harks back to the golden age of cocktails in the 1920's."

A nice, young lady leads us to a window table, asks our room number and name and hands us the menu. I must admit that we do not frequent bars very often, and neither of us majored in cocktails, so the amount of items on the menu feels quite overwhelming. There is a huge section for cocktails, sections for champagne, wine and sections for every conceivable type of spirit. But we are here for the cocktails which is what the bar is famous for. The cocktail pages are divided into several sections as well. There are

• American Bar legendary bartender’s signature drinks 
• Morning bracers, fog cutters and revivers
• Bon vivant, social libations, cups and cobblers 
• Aperitif and pre-dinner drinks
• After-dinner, night caps, and ‘one for the road’ cocktails
• Vintage cocktails

Drinks are mostly around £15, but the Vintage cocktails seem a bit special. They start at £80, and the most expensive of them is £5000. Wow! I wonder how many they sell of those.

Fortunately there is a today's special as well, and right now that is a cocktail called "Third in line" celebrating the newly born prince. It actually contains yoghurt in addition to the spirits and other ingredients. The order goes out to our waiter, and a short time afterwords he comes back with to glasses with white content. It really tastes very fresh and is very good. From where we are sitting we have a clear view of the bar itself where the bartender does his magic. There is quite a bit of theatre about a good bartender. And watching him work his shaker is as good entertainment as anything else. 

Drinks finished, we make our way to the Victoria Palace Theatre for Billy Elliot, which turns out to be a very good show.

The great fruit robbery

As we get back from the theatre, we note that the maid has been in and turned down the room. The curtains have been drawn, the duvet pulled back, slippers at the ready by the bed and a bottle of water placed on each night stand. And the room has been generally tidied. But one thing is missing. Our fruit. We had left most of it to be had tomorrow, but now it is all gone making what we had easily the most expensive apple in the world. I can see no good reason to remove the fruit. It should clearly have been left on the small table. The used plates and knifes might have been replaced with new ones. One scratch in the otherwise perfect first day at the Savoy.