centerofattention,while the less-glamorouscouldhappily
star-spot.
From the offset, the hotel had cachet. An early guest
was French Impressionist Claude Monet, who made
threeextendedstaysduringwhichheworkedonaseries
of famous views of the River Thames. The Savoy also
had pizzazz. For a “gondola party” in 1905, the hotel’s
central courtyardwasmadewatertight anddeliberately
flooded to a depth of four feet, then set dressed so that
WallStreet financierGeorgeKesslercouldentertainhis
guests in a recreated Venice. (Elton John also flooded
part of the Savoy in 1985 but only because he left the
bath taps running.)
During the JazzAge, thehotel gained the sleek, stain-
less steel, logoed canopy over the main entrance that
remains its signature until today. This is also the period
inwhich thehotel’sAmericanBar came into itsown, run
byHarry Craddock, a Brit who hadworked inNewYork
but left during Prohibition. He’s credited with creat-
ing classic cocktails the Corpse Reviver and the White
Lady, andhis
TheSavoyCocktailBook
, published in 1930,
remains inprint todaywithcocktails fromheadbartend-
ersbeingaddedwitheachnewedition.RegularguestNoel
Coward entertained at the piano, and George Gershwin
gaveLondon itsfirsthearingof “Rhapsody inBlue”at the
hotel withhimself at the piano, although thatwas in the
Ballroom with full orchestra, not the bar. Fred Astaire
andsisterAdeledancedon theSavoy’sroof.
The hotel retained its celebrity cachet through the
1940s and ’50s, and its signedportraits from this era line
the route to the American Bar: “All good wishes, Judy
Garland,” “Greetings to the Savoy, Bette Davis,” “Good
luck,JohnWayne”…
In 2007 the curtain briefly closed on the grande old
dame as she underwent a $330 million facelift. In the
process, almost 3,000 items of furniture from the hotel
were sold at auction, although not Kaspar the cat, the
2-foot-tallstatuethathasbeenrolledoutbysuperstitious
staff since the 1920s to share the table forhotel functions
withaseatingof 13.
In October 2010 the hotel reopened, still under
themanagement of Fairmont Hotels &Resorts. But the
reasons to stay remain the same: impeccable service
(including personal butlers for guests staying in the
suites); sweeping views of the Thames from the Houses
ofParliament toCanaryWharf; thesuperbandstill effer-
vescent Savoy Grill, now operated by Gordon Ramsay
Holdings;andwhat isstilloneofthebestbars intheworld,
theAmericanBar.
A dedication to the novel andnewfangled also survives
intact: In 2010, writer, actor and tech fanatic StephenFry
was engaged as the hotel’s first “blogger-in-residence”;
one of his first tweets was to tell all his almost 2million
followers how he’d been “clapped in by staff like [a] new
heir to
DowntonAbbey
.”Hewasoffered thepost, according
toBrettPerkins,theSavoy’scommunicationsdirectoratthe
time, whowas quoted in the
Financial Times
, because “He
fitswiththehotel–he’sveryBritishandvery intelligent.”
BED, BOARD & LEGENDS
f
RED
ASTAIRE
AND
SISTER
ADELE
DANCED
ONTHE
SAVOY’S
ROOF
Previous Spread: The forecourt of theSavoy is
theonly roadway inLondonwhere cars driveon
the right. Clockwise from left: TheBeaufort Bar;
MarilynMonroe andLaurenceOlivier during a
press conference for themovie
ThePrinceand the
Showgirl
in 1957; theBallroom; adish at theSavoy
Grill, which specializes in steak
BOTTOMROWLEFTTORIGHT:NIALLCLUTTON;CATHERINEMEAD;CHRISTUBBS
CELEBRATED LIVING • SPRING 2015
56
