The Savoy

We spent two weeks over Christmas and New Year’s at our beloved Savoy this year, but the Savoy is simply not the same. This was my 16th visit over many decades. The staff at the Savoy was, as always, amazing! Rahim (concierge) took great care of us helping with restaurants and plays, Christmas lights tours and everything! Tony, Rob, and Genci (doormen) spoiled us with Savoy car rides and taxies, and directions.... Attila (head butler) was brilliant....anticipating and fulfilling every need and request. (Also, the new butler, Katy, was terrific!) The lobby and restaurants were beautifully and festively decorated for the holidays. But....the rooms and suites....wow...how incredibly depressing they are now. Absolutely awful....I felt I should be in black mourning clothes instead of Christmas finery. It was truly oppressive to wake up each morning to everything grey grey grey... Grey walls, carpets, drapes, furniture, pictures.....dark wood floors...this is not how the Savoy should be...not at all. The paintings in both our room and our suite were exactly the same, as they are now in every Fairmont room/suite that has been refurbished...and god forbid you should glance at the vomit-looking Jackson Pollack style painting while you are eating! I know I am not the only one who feels this way....I have read several reviews...this one from Fiona Duncan of the Telegraph: The Edwardian rooms and suites, which include River View ones, have been refurbished in a similar, one might say uniform, style, pared down and contemporary in feel (though original chandeliers, claw foot baths and black and white bathroom floors have been retained in the suites). Features include soft grey walls, "modern Edwardian" lacquered and marble topped furniture, bulk purchase easy-on-the-eye artworks, plain curtains, intelligent easy-to-operate lighting, Dyson hairdryers on dressing tables and leather clad Nespresso machines. All the rooms – suite or standard – are essentially the same, presumably aiming to appeal to the hotel’s multinational clientele. To me, they are pleasant and safe but bland. Another reviewer said the refurbishing had” sucked all the humanity out of the previously beautiful rooms”. I totally agree! And looking online at other Fairmont Hotels, including the one we stayed at in Vancouver in April, all the rooms & suites are the same gruesome grey....Even the previously beautiful hallways at the Savoy are grey! If this is your first visit to the Savoy, you will not notice the change…But…for those of us who have cherished and loved the Savoy for decades, you may be disappointed. The Savoy has always been so incredibly special....and should definitely not look the same as any other hotel, and certainly not "common" or “uniform”. In all previous visits we woke up to a beautiful, cheerful, and unique Art-Deco room/suite that was truly “Happy and Glorious”….not depressing and minimalistic and hideously grey. I am truly heartbroken that such a grand and beautiful lady as the Savoy would be mistreated in this fashion.

This was our third stay at the Savoy (August 2025), which we have visited each summer for the last 3 years. Our first 2 stays were exceptional, and undoubtedly enhanced by the superb Guest Relations manager Nitsa. She had left before this latest trip, and I would unfortunately say things were worse without her. The hotel is luxurious and wonderfully located. The vibe is very very nice. A lot of the service was good (although not often exceptional). We really enjoy the breakfast at the River restaurant and the pool. We had a great meal in 1890 this trip, really enjoyed it. The American bar was closed this trip. The following are my negatives: 1. Stayed in the 1 bedroom river suite again. It's been renovated, and in my opinion they made a big mistake with the furniture. There is a medium sized chaise longue instead of a sofa, and its really uncomfortable for 2 people. Only one person has back support, and its just not ideal for a couple watching TV together for instance. The new furniture made the suite much less comfortable for lounging in. We also missed the generous supply of nice glass bottles of water around the suite that we had enjoyed on previous stays. 2. Our package include use of the house car (Rolls Royce). We asked to use this one time during our trip, and our butler called us to let us know it would be available in 5 minutes and to head down to the lobby. We did this, but when we got there unfortunately the head doorman seemed to be having a bad day. I just introduced myself and said that we had been told to come down and ask for the car. This made him very irritated and he ranted to me that this should never have been promised and there is no expectation of the house car and we shouldn't be here asking for it. It was incredibly humiliating, and I didn't even say anything more than why we'd come down. I was pretty shocked at the Savoy for this, and I could see other guests (and staff) who looked surprised at the interaction. To re-iterate I didn't even express disappointment that it wasn't immediately available, or even say a word. I get it - the car is first come first serve, but wow this guy was mad. I apologized for inconveniencing him and asked why we had made him so angry with us. He seemed to calm down and check himself at that point. Bad day for him I guess, but a terrible guest experience. 3. Our butler service was worse than previous. Most requests got handled, but the phone in our room was not programmed to dial the butler service, so I waited 11 minutes on hold the first time I tried to reach them. I don't think this is what the hotel is going for with the elevated luxury of a Butler.... The phone got replaced and the issue was sorted, I presume is was an issue because of the recent renovation. The other thing was at check in the Butler said we could get 3 items pressed each day of our stay. I questioned her on this as it had previously been once per stay. She said no, its been a change to improve the guest experience. She knocked the door the next day after I requested a second item to be pressed to say she was wrong, it was only once per stay. Not a big deal, but if I was a manager here I'd be honoring the promise for such a marginal cost. 4. No welcome drink was offered in our suite, which was the case previously. I did ask about this, and they said they forgot. Ah well, its a nice thing when it happens. I would also add that at check in the receptionist excitedly produced a couple of sheets for my kids to fill in about things they wanted during the stay (it said what time do you want milk and cookies for instance). We hadn't seen this before, and I thought it was a really lovely improvement. However - it didn't happen. They got my kids excited about it and then failed to deliver, which is really bad of the hotel. Way better to not set any expectations if they aren't fulfilled, its not fair on the kids. I would say the views from our room can't be beaten in London, absolutely spectacular.

We stayed at the Savoy to celebrate our 30th anniversary. The whole experience could not have been more perfect. Our room was so quiet and pitch black during the night and the bed was super comfortable, so we slept exceptionally well. The location is ideal and as we had tickets for Paddington the musical, it was wonderful to be next door. Thank you to the doorman who cheekily let us into the theatre at the front of the queue so we didn’t get soaked in the rain!! Every member of staff could not have done more for us. Breakfast was a real treat. The American bar was a highlight, in particular the wonderful pianist on Saturday evening who reduced me to tears when he played and sang “our song” for us. Thank you. I really hope we can return soon.

Had afternoon tea at the savoy was treated like royalty the staff are amazing and the high tea was absolutely delicious went with my sister who is a coffee drinker but she tried some of the great tea options 5 stars

We visit London 2-3 times each year and for the last few years have stayed at The Savoy. An elegant and classy hotel full of history and just such a fabulous place to be, with a perfect location in the centre of London. We were warmly greeted by the doormen upon our arrival (who remembered our names throughout our stay) and were quickly checked in by the very efficient reception team. Our room was very comfortable and filled with the extra touches that makes the Savoy such a special place to stay. Breakfast in the Gallery was a joy, as always, cooked to perfection and served by the wonderfully attentive team with incredible attention to detail. We also enjoyed a selection of cocktails at the fabulous American Bar and had dinner on one evening at the excellent Savoy Grill. In summary, another memorable stay made extra special by the amazing staff who make it their mission to ensure that you have such a special time at The Savoy. It was sad to be leaving but we will be back soon!