Staying at the Savoy - Day two, service and a small crime

Service - the human touch

There is something very special with the old hotels in London. The buildings themselves radiate grandeur, tradition and history. They provide a feeling of solid luxury that has survived the ever changing whims of passing decades and confidently invite us into a world that still is the epitome of elegance. And they can do this because they in many ways defined elegance, luxury and the good life back in the days and they know it still is valid. And the really good ones manage to do this and still feel fresh and updated. This, of course, is especially true for the Savoy which emerged from a total restoration a few years ago and now stand before us old, but brand new. Walking in through the revolving doors is like being taken back in time while taking the present time with you. I am taken into a different world, a parallel universe and it is even as if I am transformed into another person. Perhaps even a better person. And if the best way of enjoying a holiday is to do something different, what could be better than spending that holiday in a entirely different world?

So is that the recipe for making a great hotel? Erecting a building that has certain qualities, looks good and make people go "wow" as they walk in the door? Well, it may be a good start, but it is just a small part of it. And it is even the easiest part. All it requires is enough money. If you throw a huge enough fortune at a building, you can always make it look good. The Savoy recently tried and succeeded when they closed down in December 2007 for a restoration period that lasted until October 2010 and cost  £220 million. But that is not enough. I guarantee that I could take over that gorgeous building and transform it into an absolute terrible hotel without any difficulties. No problem. Because the real valuable assets in great hotels are the people working there, not the building. And the systems they have put in place that allows these people to bloom and flourish. The most important part of a great hotel will always be the human capital.

Nowhere have I seen this more than at the Savoy. Or felt, actually. It gives a feeling of well being, of being looked after, a feeling of being seen and appreciated. It starts with the friendly greeting from the doorman as you arrive. It continues with the warm welcome of the staff member that greets in the Front Hall, and it never stops. Everyone I meet are smiling, warm and friendly. I feel like I want to stop and chat with them, be friends with them. And when I do engage in a bit of small talk, it turns out that they are good that, too. And that is an art form. Being able to conduct a random, but meaningful conversation with anybody. And nothing seems to be any trouble at all. There is a feeling of abundance and generosity. Even though you of course know that you are paying for this. But seeing and feeling that your money is being put to good use helps.

I often read about hotels where the staff remembers your name so that they can address you using your name all the time, and I have always wondered how that would be possible. I have also read that about the Savoy, and I was eager to see it in action. Well, to all of you who now await the solution to the mystery, it did not happen. And how could it? I mean, the Savoy has 268 rooms. If all the staff knew all the names all the time, I would be scared. It only shows that they are human after all. And I must admit that even though many of the staff introduced themselves to me, I can not remember any of their names. But I do believe that if we had stayed more than the two nights, some of the staff would start calling me by name, because I really think they try and want to. And I believe that it will happen easier here than in many other hotels because I feel that one interacts more personally with the staff here.

On this, our day two of staying at the Savoy, I am walking through the hotel noticing the big and small details that are in place allowing the staff to produce this feeling of personal service. Small things like, as I mentioned, they all present themselves by name if you interact with them for more than a few seconds. Also, a small incident in the American Bar as we visit there again this evening shows what I now think of as the small but valuable Savoy ways of doing things. As yesterday, we are escorted to a table by a young lady. She asks my room number and name, but this time saying "Can you remind me of your room number, please." I take that as a sign that she recognised me from yesterday, but could not  for obvious human reasons remember my number and name. Perhaps she would if we had come in the next day as well. Anyway, she goes away and enters my data into some kind of system. Then the waiter comes over. We did not see him yesterday and I doubt that we made such a remarkable appearance that he noticed and memorised us. But he has probably checked the same system and have seen that the same number and name was in here yesterday, so when he comes to our table he is able to say "Welcome back, mr. Moen". Nice.

There are numerous other small details that add to the experience. As I go out running today, I chat a bit with the doorman before setting off. I ask him to come with me, but he declines as he is needed where he is and the top hat would be impractical. And when I return, he is ready with a bottle of water for me. Also nice.

But I think that one of the most important reasons why it all feels so close and personal is not a small detail, but has to do with an important structural change that I believe was done during the rebuild of the hotel. As you walked into the Front Hall before December 2007, you would find to your right what usually defines the reception area of most hotels: the reception counter. The counter over which business transactions are made, which gives a rather formal feeling to the whole setting and that acts like a barrier between the guest and the staff. One thing that happened during the rebuild was that this counter  and barrier disappeared. Now you will find a small desk for the concierge in the same spot.

So where do you go when you need to interact with a member of staff? You have two options. The easiest and most pleasant as you stand there, facing the missing counter is to turn around. And there they are. There are always one or two staff members hovering in the middle of the room. Ready to greet new arrivals or to help anyone that approach them with anything. And as you turn around, chances are that one of them will already have noticed a guest in need and approaches you. And this one-on-one interaction, standing right next to a fellow human being as opposed to talking to a head master mounted behind his desk I think is a vital part of the experience. And if your business requires paper work or the use of a computer terminal, he or she will direct you to the Reading Room for further assistance.

Very nice.

The Savoy Grill

Tonight we have booked a table at the Savoy Grill. The Savoy Grill is an old institution in London. The restaurant was also restored to previous glory as part of the total rebuild of the hotel. It now emerges as an elegant art deco room dominated by huge crystal lamps in the ceiling. As we enter at 7pm, the room is bustling with life. The restaurant is reasonably full, and it seems to fill up entirely during our meal. As we are seated at one of the tables by the inner wall with a good view if the room, we notice that it is absolutely on the chilly side in here. We mention this to the person handing us the menus, and he sets off to deal with the air conditioning. And within a short time, the temperature actually becomes more comfortable.

The menu is dominated by traditional, no-nonsense dishes like steaks, braises, roasts and pies along with good starters and seafood. No modern rubbish, but tradition and quality. My wife orders the onion soup, an attempt to fight off the chilly temperature before the air conditioning is adjusted. I go for the farmhouse terrine with foie gras parfait and green tomato chutney. For our main course we choose the whole roasted Goosenargh duck with artichoke gratin and duck jus. The sommelier suggests a good Bordeaux to complement the duck and sets off to decant it. 

The starters are very good. The duck is then brought to our table whole for us to see before it is once more taken to the kitchen to be carved. It is served as slices of breast and one leg per person. The breasts are beautifully pink, perfectly cooked, tender and with a great taste. The legs remind me of duck confit. Tender, cooked through and the meat almost falling off the bones. As an amateur cook I wonder how they managed that. Pink breasts and legs cooked perfectly. My suspicion is that the legs did not roast with the breasts, but were cooked separately, but I am no expert. We have ordered new potatoes and creamed spinach as side orders, but it turns out that there was no need. The artichoke gratin would have been sufficient.

For desert we go for the Strawberry and almond millefeuille with elderflower ice cream. It is cut table side from a big piece and is absolute delicious. After the desert has been dealt with, we are presented with petit fours. Two pieces each. By now, we are starting to become seriously full. We make sure the bill is put on our room and prepare to leave. Bur our waiter asks us to stay a few minutes and leaves us. Then she returns. The fact that we are here at the Savoy to celebrate our recent 50th birthdays has trickled into the Grill as well, and we are each presented with a small, but filling piece of cake on plates decorated with "Happy Birthday" in chocolate. Somehow we managed to swallow that cake as well. We leave with a rather slow gait.

A smal crime

So is there nothing bad to say? Not much, but there is one thing. One rather serious thing in my opinion. Something that irritates me profoundly. The Savoy charges extra for wifi. There is a daily charge of around £9.50 for the use of the hotel's wifi. I view this as a serious flaw. In the year 2013 hotels do not charge extra for wifi. One just does not. In this day and age I regard this as a small, but serious crime. It is easily dealt with, however. Register in the Fairmount President's Club, and wifi is free. Membership is free as well. But still. It is not the Savoy way. It is out of character. 

Stop it! 

Now!

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.

Staying at the Savoy - A quick overview of the premises

Here is a quick overview of the layout of the main features of the Savoy hotel.

As you enter the Savoy through the revolving doors, you find yourself in the front hall. Standing with your back to the doors, to your right is a desk where the concierge team operate. Moving counter-clockwise, in the far right corner is a shop called Boodles selling bespoke jewellery. To the left of the shop, on the wall opposite the entrance, are a few black steps leading up to the elevators. Further up the steps is the business centre and access to the second floor guest rooms.






To the left of the black steps is a flight of steps leading down to the Upper Thames Foyer.

Further to the left is the entrance to the reading room which is the space where you can sit down with a member of staff for things like check-in, check-out etc.

On the left wall is a flight of stairs leading up to the American Bar and the small Savoy museum. The museum is a small collection of documents, photographs, dance cards, bottles etc. that document some of the history of the Savoy hotel. The famed American Bar is well renowned for it's cocktails. This bar brought this American drink to London and the walls are full of movie stars and celebrities who all have taken a glass in here.

Immediate to your left, on the same wall as the entrance to the hotel, is the entrance to the famous Savoy Grill. This rather formal restaurant is now being managed by Gordon Ramsay.

Walking down the stairs to the Upper Thames Foyer, you enter a small hall that acts as a vestibule to the Thames Foyer. When we were there, this room was dominated by a rather large orchid tree. To your right you will find the Savoy Tea shop selling tea, chocolates, bespoke tea accessories such at the hotel's own china tea service, handmade jams, biscuits and fresh patisserie.

Still with your back to the stairs back up to the Front Hall, to your left is a corridor leading to the cloak room and toilets. Further on along more corridors you find several function rooms, the Ballroom and the exit out to the Embankment side of the hotel.

Continuing straight on through the Upper Thames Foyer, descending a few steps, you enter the magnificent Thames Foyer. This is the heart of the hotel, and this is where Afternoon Tea is served. They also serve breakfast, lunch and light dinner. The room is dominated by a huge glass cupola situated in the middle of the room, right above a giant cage-like structure where the house pianist entertains. At tea time, this room becomes a heaven of quiet elegance and dampened conversation while waiters serve plates of sandwiches, scones, pastries and cakes while guests sip tea and champagne. If you are a fan of most things exceedingly British and have not tried this, you should. Immediately. And cancel any dinner appointment afterwards, you will not need it.

Off the Thames Foyer to the left is the Beaufort Bar. Before five o'clock it is closed off by some monumental mirrored doors. But at five they open and the black and gold interior gleam out inviting guests in for champagne, cocktails or other drinkables. And everything accompanied by nightly entertainment. There is even a cabaret on the first Sunday of every month.


Continuing straight through the Thames Foyer, you will enter Kaspar, the Savoy's informal but still elegant all day restaurant serving breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Staying at the Savoy - Arrival, the Savoy way

And so the day has arrived. If you have read my previous posts, you will know that my wife and I are celebrating our recent 50th birthdays with a couple of nights at the Savoy hotel in London. We will be entering this epitome of luxury in a little while. We are currently seated in great comfort in a black leather seat. The slight London rain is gently tapping on the black, highly polished metal that encase us and makes it looks as if the winged lady on the bonnet is sweating as she pulls us along the London streets.

As I have described earlier, I am a hotel nerd and I find great pleasure in seeking out and staying at great hotels. My goal is to find the perfect hotel. Or at least the hotel that is perfect for me. My goal is also to produce great memories for my wife and me. One should of course endeavour to inflict a little magic into every day life, but every now and again I want to create singular points in time that we can look back at and say "That was something special". Great hotels often come with a rather high price tag attached. For some people, staying at these hotels actually is every day life and possibly does not generate especially great memories. But for most people, staying at this kind of hotels is something that can only be savoured at special occasions and it is something that will take a rather large sum off the budget. Staying in top hotels becomes an investment. And that is how I see it. Our stay at the Savoy is an investment in future memories. And as an investor, I am a bit nervous. Have I invested in the right object? Have I invested the right amount of money? Will we be leaving in two days feeling that with the help of the staff at the Savoy we have produced great and kind memories that we will look back on and talk fondly about when we get older and our capital of fond memories is the most valuable we have? We will soon know.

Against this backdrop of investing in and crafting memories, I also become a script writer and director for our future capital of reminiscence, and as such, I need to think of how I can inflict as much magic as possible into our adventure within the budget I have given myself. As anyone in the film business will know, the first five to ten minutes of a movie can make or break the experience of the film. Look at the James Bond movies. The first ten minutes take you on a roller coaster ride that ensure that you love the movie even before it has properly started. That is why I often consider how we are transported to and arrive at the hotel.

Great hotels often offer several ways of greeting guests and transporting them to the hotel. The most special version of this often includes being met at the airport. This may be as you come out from customs clearance, but it may also include being met at the airplane door and being followed all the way through passport control and luggage collection. We tried that when we stayed at the Crillon in Paris, just to have tried it. A friendly lady met us as we disembarked the airplane and followed us through the airport until she handed us over to a chauffeur who drove us to the hotel. As much as it is fun to have experienced that, I felt that it was not really worth it. We did not save any time and it did not really have any other practical influence. I have heard from colleagues, though, that in some countries, most notably in Asia or Africa, a representative from a good hotel may be able to speed up and simplify the arrival process greatly. But in Europe I would not consider it as long as you are used to being in airports and can find your way around.

Transport between the airport and the hotel, however, may be worth looking into if you want to do something special. I find that if you really are trying to scoop up a bit of magic, pulling up in front of your hotel in a great car is a nice Bond way of starting your movie entitled "Our new, great adventure". So I have been in contact with the Savoy concierge asking for suggestions for how we may be transported, and they came up with a list of cars. Driving from Heathrow to central London may take some time, especially if there is a bit of traffic, and the Heathrow Express train only take 15 minutes and leaves frequently, so I decided that we take the train into Paddington and that we are met there by the car. But which car? The list given to me gave me a choice of several. What would be the correct way of arriving at the Savoy for our first stay there? Looking at the list I realised that there was only one correct answer to that question.

I needed a very special car. A very British car. A car that gives associations to the Savoy in as much as the entrance of the Savoy actually looks like it is modelled after the grille of this car. That is why we are currently turning into Savoy Place in the Rolls Royce Phantom with the iconic registration plate S8 VOY. And as the winged lady on the bonnet pulls the huge car down the only street in Britain where driving actually is on the right, turns and comes to a halt under the legendary Savoy entrance canopy that so closely mimics the Rolls Royce grille, the car door is opened by the doorman saying "Welcome to the Savoy, sir". The adventure has begun.

Staying at the Savoy - Planning and booking

In a short time, my wife and I will be staying a few nights at the Savoy hotel in London. The Savoy is, as I described in a previous post, one of the oldest and grandest of the London hotels. And I am, as I also has posted earlier, a hotel nerd. So staying at the Savoy has been on my list of things to do for a long time. Earlier we have stayed at several of the other grand hotels in London including the Ritz, the Dorchester and Browns. In my mind I have given them all human characteristics.

• The Ritz: Slightly stiff and faded royalty (this was a number of years ago and may have changed)
• The Dorchester: A grand, but kind old lady
• Browns: The traditional British, tweeded gentleman (this was before they re-decorated, it may be different now)

What will the Savoy be like?  

Only for the rich?

If you read this, you may think I am an overly rich bloke who only stay in expensive hotels. I would have liked that to be true, but I am afraid it is not. I am afraid I do not possess the rather expanded economy needed in order to stay at world class luxury hotels every time I travel. But I always spend a lot of time finding the right hotel. I feel that a bad hotel can easily ruin a holiday for me. Just ask my wife. She knows. And you can find good hotels in most price ranges. But every now and then I find great pleasure in staying at great hotels when I find occasion for it. And I am rather good at finding occasions.

Some of the people I know will not even think of staying in a hotel like the Savoy because they feel that they do not fit in. The are afraid they will be frowned upon and classified as second rate. My findings are that if you look relatively decent and behave in the vicinity of civilised, you will be well taken care of. And if not, it just is not a good hotel. 

I once heard an interview with a manager at the Crillon hotel in Paris where he said that many of his guests were either business people who did not pay for the stay themselves, or they had so much money that staying in luxury hotels was an everyday experience and nothing special, and the cost of it did not really matter.  

But then there were also the people who can only afford to stay in top hotels a few times, perhaps to celebrate special occasions. And the amount of money they spend may be equivalent to one, perhaps two months earnings. They have had to save up for this. These, he said, are the most important guests.  They have really invested in order to take part of the magic and he saw it as his task to pay them back in experiences and memories.

So if you always wanted, but never dared, do it! They are there for you. And if you have had bad experiences of not being "good enough" while staying at a hotel, I want to know about it. Please let me know by commenting on this post!

Booking

There are several ways of booking a hotel. There are a number of web sites that let you search for hotels at given dates and give you a list of hotels with vacancies so you can compare features and prices. Many of these also boast lower prices than you can get from the hotel directly. But more and more I find that you can actually get the same or even lower prices when dealing with the hotels directly. 

Most hotels have online booking systems built into their website. Some of these also give you more control over your booking when it comes to room categories etc., and the better ones also take you through an optional menu of pillow types and other options.

You can also initiate your booking by sending an email to the hotel informing them of your needs and requesting an offer. This is often my preferred method. In the email you can at an early stage explain any special needs or occasions, and if you send of the email to a number of hotels, you can choose where to stay based on the content of the replies. I would suggest being a bit personal in your inquiring email to see if the person at the other end just emailed back a standard reply or if he or she took the time to assert your situation and find the best solution based on that.

Many years ago I was planning a trip to London with my wife and, at that time, only daughter who was around four years old. This was before the widespread use of email, so I wrote proper letters to a number of hotels asking for offers and also asking for suggestions of what to do in London with a four year old. There was a broad range of replies. Some did not reply at all. Some just sent me a brochure and price list.  Some sent a fairly standard letter with an actual offer. But a small hotel named 22 Jermyn Street sent me a thick envelope. In it was a long letter answering all my questions and giving me an offer for a room. They had also supplied a copy of their newsletter describing restaurants etc. near the hotel, and a separate newsletter where they described what was good for kids in London at that time. I felt that there was a person in Jermyn Street that actually cared about us even before we had booked, and I felt sure that that person would also take good care of us once we arrived. Needless to say, I booked at 22 Jermyn Street, and that is one of my best hotel memories ever. Sadly, the hotel is no more. The building was taken down a few years ago to give way to a modern office block. It is sadly missed by many. See http://www.22jermyn.com.

There are several reasons why I often start the booking with an email besides being able to compare the responses from multiple hotels. First of all, I want to build as much of a relationship with the hotel as possible as early as possible by actually introducing myself. I want to stand out and not just be booking number 4588372 or whatever, if possible. This is probably more efficient at a small hotel than a large one. The thought behind this is that it just may lead to better service once we get there. Another reason, if I am booking for a special occasion, is to inform about that and to drive that home as early as possible.

The hotel is of course not required to do anything extra for you even if you are celebrating something, but more often than not I find that good hotels tend to take the opportunity to do a little extra something on these occasions. I mean, I love to do things for other people, and if someone came to stay at my house without informing me that it was their birthday or whatever, I would feel like I was being robbed of an opportunity for doing something nice. So all I am doing with the hotel is giving them the opportunity to show me how good they are. This often takes the form of an upgrade, bottle of champagne a cake or something similar. When we stayed at the Crillon in Paris to celebrate our 20th wedding anniversary, I booked their smallest double and ended up with a duplex suite with a clear view of L'Hotel des Invalides, Grand Palais and the Eiffel Tower. And a cake. And champagne.

In the case of the Savoy, I booked through the online system on their website. Booking worked well. I did not choose the cheapest room as that was a queen bedded room more suitable for one person, but I booked the smallest double, a Deluxe King.  The Savoy offers Superior Queen, Deluxe King/Twin, Luxury King and Luxury King with river view before we start talking about suites. Since the Savoy is situated right next to the Thames river, many room categories may be had with either inner courtyard/city view or river view. River view is of course preferable, but it comes with a cost attached. While the view may be staggering, the extra cost may be from around a hundred pounds to several hundreds depending on room category.

Following up - the concierge

Since I booked through the online system and not by email, I needed to get in contact both to inform them that we were coming there to celebrate that both my wife and I had recently turned 50 and to request a few specific services. Often, when I have booked a good hotel, the confirmation email will state the email address to the concierge in case I need them to do anything for me in preparation for my arrival. The email from the Savoy, however, held no such information, so I sent an email to the generic address listed on the web site. In the email I told about the occasion and asked for suggestions on how they could help me make this stay extra special. I also wanted them to book me some restaurant tables. The response consisted of a suggestion for a champagne cruise on the river and a list of items I could order for our room. These included fruit, chocolate, champagne, wine, flowers etc. I did choose a few items from the list, but I cannot say what I chose as it is a secret for my wife and this is out before we leave... 

They had also sent my table booking requests on to the concierge team and they would be in contact shortly. The response from the concierge never came, so there had clearly been a small glitch there. But since the concierge email address was in the last email I had received, I was able to contact them myself. 

The concierge team at good hotels may be a hidden secret to many. Many of the people I know have no idea what it is, and that is a shame because a good concierge is a gem. The concierge is your local expert on anything and your expert helper on any subject. Need to book restaurant tables? Theatre tickets? Need tips on where you can buy specific items? The concierge can help you. When staying in a top hotel, the concierge is a very valuable asset. Use him!

For our stay I wanted the concierge to book me a table at the Savoy Grill and a table for Afternoon Tea, also at the Savoy. Why would I want a concierge to book me a table? These days I can of course do this myself using an online booking systems or an email directly to the restaurant. There are however a couple of advantages. First of all the concierge can recommend restaurants for you. Part of his job is to know what is good. Also, many good restaurant can be difficult to book because they are very popular and sell out quickly. The concierge from a top hotel will have much more leverage and a better chance of getting that table than a normal bloke will have. Also, for restaurants requiering a re-confirmation of the booking later on, the concierge will see to that as well.

We wanted to go and see a musical, so I asked the concierge what was good. The only response to that was a brochure from a ticket agency, so that was a bit lame. I had expected perhaps a few words on which shows had had good reviews or something. I ended up asking the concierge to book me two tickets for Billy Elliot. I specified that I wanted mid-range tickets and was a bit surprised when the response was with a suggestion for the most expensive tickets in the house. I ended up going to the shows web page, finding out where I wanted to sit and especially ask for those tickets. They were purchased and are now being kept for me by the concierge at the hotel.

I partly booked the tickets through the concierge to test that service. These days it is easy to book tickets on-line. My experience now is that when it comes to theatre tickets, unless it is tickets that are hard to get, you should book those yourself. The reasons for that are

• Better control of seating
• The concierge used an agency and that made the tickets a bit more expensive than booking directly

The up-side is that the tickets are waiting for me at the hotel, but from previous experiences I know that picking the tickets up at the theatre 30 minutes before the show is no big inconvenience. 

But all in all I am very satisfied with the concierge service at the Savoy so far. There have been quite a number of emails back and forth. All emails (except for the initiating one) were answered promptly. Also, the emails were friendly and not overly formal. Thank you so far Jack, Veronica and Dean.

After communicating with the concierge team at the Savoy, I had an idea. During my planning I have been in contact with three different members of the concierge team and you keep being passed around from person to person according to who is on duty. This way you end up writing an email to one person only to get a response from another person.

At the Savoy, they have personal butlers. At least in the suites. One thought behind this is, I believe, to provide a single, personal point of service. To provide "my man" (or, indeed "my woman") at the Savoy. What if this could also be carried over to the concierge team? What if a guest, if he takes contact prior to arrival to organise everything beforehand, is assigned a personal concierge? I have not seen it in any hotel yet, but why not be the first.

This would produce an even more personal feel even before checking in. I would feel that I have a person working for me, someone that knows the history of my wishes for that stay.  (Note that this was not a problem in my case). It will also change the experience of continuing an email thread by starting an email with "Dear Veronica" only to have an answer ending in "Kind regards, Dean Maddison". This may mean that your request needs to wait until "your" concierge is again on duty, but often that will do quite nicely, and perhaps it could be an option for those who want it.

So I have my room booked, the hotel knows about our birthdays, I have tables and theatre tickets booked. I have also booked an hour of massage for my wife at the Savoy Spa. Everything should be ready. We will be entering the Savoy in a few days. How will it be? Will it meet my high expectations? Will this rather large investment in future memories pay off? I will keep you updated, so stay tuned!

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.