Luxury Hotels Atlas / Places / United Kingdom / London / The Savoy
The Savoy
London, United Kingdom · Fairmont · Grand Luxury
Richard D'Oyly Carte opened the Savoy on 6 August 1889 on the Strand with Gilbert and Sullivan profits, on ground once tied to John of Gaunt's Savoy Palace. Thomas Edward Collcutt's hotel was Britain's first with electric lights and electric lifts; César Ritz and Auguste Escoffier set the service template that still defines what "Savoy" means in hotel English.
- 267 rooms
- Opened 1889
- Neighborhood: Mayfair
- Architect: Thomas Edward Collcutt; Arthur Mackmurdo
- Interiors: Studio Shayne Brady; Pierre-Yves Rochon
About The Savoy
- Opened 6 August 1889, financed by Richard D'Oyly Carte's Gilbert and Sullivan opera profits.
- First hotel in Britain lit entirely by electricity and the first with electric lifts.
- Architect Thomas Edward Collcutt designed the original Strand palace for Carte's new hotel company.
- César Ritz and Auguste Escoffier shaped early Savoy service and kitchen fame before later parting ways with the house.
- The Savoy name reaches back to John of Gaunt's medieval Savoy Palace on the same riverside ground.
- Studio Shayne Brady's Gallery restaurant at The Savoy took the 2025 Global Restaurant Within a Hotel award.
History
The Savoy opened on August 6, 1889, built by impresario Richard D'Oyly Carte on the Strand in London using profits from his Gilbert & Sullivan opera productions. Designed by Thomas Edward Collcutt, it was one of the first hotels in the world to offer electric lifts, electric lighting, and en suite bathrooms. César Ritz managed the hotel in its early years and Auguste Escoffier served as chef, together defining fine hotel dining. Claude Monet painted his famous Thames series from its rooms. Fairmont assumed management in 2004 after a three-year closure for a £220 million restoration.
The setting
The Savoy stands on the Strand above a site with one of the most layered histories in London — John of Gaunt's Savoy Palace once occupied this ground before the Peasants' Revolt of 1381, and Richard D'Oyly Carte built the present hotel in 1889 on profits from Gilbert and Sullivan, making it the first in Britain with electric lights, lifts, and en-suite bathrooms. Trafalgar Square and the National Gallery are nine minutes on foot, the London Eye fifteen. The hotel's private forecourt — where traffic uniquely drives on the right — and its panoramic Thames views remain defining features of the Strand's most glamorous address. 14-minute walk to London Eye.
Restaurants and bars
- Savoy Grill — Restaurant · British · Chef Gordon Ramsay
- The River Restaurant by Gordon Ramsay — Restaurant · British · Chef Gordon Ramsay
- Gallery — Restaurant · Best of British cuisine
- Scoff — Restaurant
Experiences
- Award-winning bars and cocktails — Award-winning cocktail bars within The Savoy's famous entrance, alongside Best of British cuisine and Michelin-star dining.
- Pool, sauna and steam room — Luxury indoor pool on the third floor in its own atrium with natural light and a jet-stream, plus sauna and steam room in separate male and female changing areas.
- Spa pampering treatments — Bespoke pampering experiences with skilled spa therapists.
- Family stays — Presented as a setting from which to explore London with children.
Amenities
- Spa
- Indoor pool
- Sauna
- Hot tub
- Fitness center
- Pet-friendly
- Butler service
Awards
- Forbes Travel Guide Five-Star (2026)
- MICHELIN Three Keys (2026)
- AA Five Red Stars (2025)
- International Hotel & Property Awards — Restaurant within a Hotel - Global (2025)
- La Liste World's Best Hotels (2025)
- Uttarakhand's Leading Hotel 2025 (World Travel Awards) (2025)
- Condé Nast Traveler Gold List (2023)
- Historic Hotels Worldwide member
Open The Savoy in the atlas for live weekend rates, photos, and the full folio.
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