The Savoy Hotel ★★★
The Savoy is one of London’s grandest hotels, a Thameside Art Deco monument where Monet painted and the Queen was crowned
The Savoy is one of London's grandest hotels, where Lawrence Olivier and Vivian Leigh first met and Liz Taylor spent her (first) honeymoon.
The Savoy is a monument to Art Deco, from the chrome-plated entrance and neo-Renaissance relief frieze in the echoey reception hall to the mirrored desks and curved dressers in one half of the uniformly huge bedrooms.
The half of the accommodations that are not Deco are done in Victorian style, harking back to the hotel’s origins.
Rooms on the front are all doubles, while suites overlook the Thames with Parliament and Big Ben beyond.
This place is posh. A call box by your bed allows you to summon a maid, valet, or waiter 24 hours a day.
There's a fitness center with a small pool, weight room, sauna, and massage and beauty treatments.
The Savoy’s best-kept secret: You can get the envied Thames view without breaking the bank by renting out just the bedroom half of a suite and paying for it as a double.
Drinking, dining, & entertainment at The Savoy
There are several bars and lounges—including the Thames Foyer, where Elizabeth II celebrated her coronation, and the American Bar, where wealthy Americans escaped 1920s Prohibition and the dry martini was invented.
Inside the hotel proper is a trio of elegant restaurants from the elegantly romantic River Restaurant (modern British, with dinner dancing) or the gentleman's club-style Grill Room (a traditional British carvery)—both require jacket and tie—to the light meals and sushi at Upstairs, where you can watch the entrance drive below for arriving stars.
The ballroom—where Queen Elizabeth II celebrated her investiture—is a popular spot for a refined afternoon tea.
Also part of the Savoy complex is the renowend Simpsons-in-the-Strand, as classic a British carvery as you'll find in London. » more
The Savoy was built in 1889 by theatre impresario Richard D'Oyly Carte, who introduced Gilbert to Sullivan in 1875 and had them crank out the classic "Savoy Operas" (including H.M.S. Pinafore, The Pirates of Penzance, and The Mikado), staged from 1881 at the Savoy Theatre, still very much in operation just next door to the hotel.
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- Cheval Three Quays at The Tower of London Apartments★★★| £££
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