D'Oyly, Ritz and Escoffier... what more needs to be said?

When a maharajah staying at The Savoy in London wanted a very important parcel delivered to India he arranged for one of the page boys to fly there and back at his expense. No-one, least of all the management at The Savoy blinked an eye-lid. After all, this was the hotel which at the time of its opening in 1889 boasted the only electric lights and the first 24 hour room service of any hotel in the world. Where other five-star hotels had prided themselves on providing the then staggering number of five fully appointed bathrooms for their guests, The Savoy had sixty-seven.

Even before the brilliant impressario Richard D'Oyly Carte built his hotel, the very site on which The Savoy stands was an address of note. During the Battle of Poitiers in 1356 for instance, the King of France was imprisoned there in the then Palace of Savoy, built earlier that century by Count Peter of Savoy after he was leased the land by his sister's husband. King Henry III. For the sum of three barbed arrows a year, Count Peter had for his personal use some of the most valuable land in London between the city and the West End, on one of the most scenic bends of the River Thames.

The first building in London to be made entirely of concrete and steel. The Savoy was built on a site rich in the very fabric of London, and British life. Not surprising then that it should have been conceived and brought to fruition by the man responsible for bringing Gilbert and Sullivan, undoubtedly England's most widely acclaimed composers to world prominence. It was in the Savoy Chapel too that Geoffrey Chaucer, the great English literary figure had chosen to marry.

It was as though providence had intended to endow this site with all the necessary attributes from history to make it stand head and shoulders above the rest. Just the sort of site a man of Richard D'Oyly Carte's visionary predisposition could develop into something truly remarkable.

When William Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan were nothing more than penniless musicians trying to eke out a living, Richard D'Oyly Carte had already appreciated their potential and putting his money where his faith was, financed a season of their earliest operas. A few short years later D'Oyly Carte had made sufficient money from the wildly successful Gilbert and Sullivan partnership that he sought out a site for his own theatre. And so it was that after considerable efforts to find a suitable location D'Oyly Carte happened upon he ruins of the Palace of Savoy.

It was here that in 1861 D'Oyly Carte's theatre opened with the boardings promoting it as the home of Gilbert and Sullivan, and boasting that it was the only theatre in the world with electric lighting. So successful was the promotion, and in such demand were seats for the Gilbert and Sullivan operas that tickets sold out weeks in advance. London hotels did a roaring trade keeping up with demand for rooms from patrons from all over England and Europe.

Not surprisingly, Richard D'Oyly decided that here then was another market to tap, and in early 1884 construction began on the hotel that was to change forever the manner in which hotels were run. The Savoy was to be the single most adventurous development of D'Oyly Carte's colourful and prosperous career.

A hundred years after its official opening in August of 1989 The Savoy of London remains the benchmark against which aspiring great hotels of the world are consistently measured. With its breathtaking panoramic views of London, its proximity to the banking and commercial heart of England and its unfaltering attention to every detail to do with the comfort and care of its patrons, The Savoy remains the epitome of gracious hospitality with a considerable dosage of English refinement.

"Although the Savoy group represents many hotels throughout London and England, The Savoy of London remains the flagship of the group", says Director and General manager of the Hotel Herbert Striessnig. "The strength of the group really relies in the fact that no two of our properties are alike. Each has its own personality and identity. Uniformity is not something which the group strives for, rather we prefer to let each establishment reflect its own particular flavour and style. When people come to The Savoy - whether to stay in one of our rooms, or dine at one of our restaurants they come here knowing that we are totally different to The Berkley, The Connaught or even Claridge's to name but a few of the Savoy group's interests in and around London".

This dedication to maintaining a sense of individuality and uniqueness between the Savoy group's hotels and restaurants, perhaps best reflects the very nature of the thinking behind Richard D'Oyly Carte's insistence that his hotel should stand out from any other; not only in London, but the rest of the civilised world.

D'Oyly Carte's theatrical inclination was perhaps nowhere more evident than in pomp and ceremony that surrounded the construction of his hotel. Begun in 18884 The Savoy took four years to complete because of the sheer magnitude of its design. Besides the uniqueness of the materials used in its skeleton, D'Oyly Carte specified that the Thomas Collcutt designed edifice have soundproof rooms, that the pipes carrying water to the bathrooms be capable of filling even the largest bath within a few short minutes, and that 'speaking tubes' be placed in every room to allow patrons to communicate directly with the hotel's service staff.

"We still have call buttons", says Mr. Striessnig proudly. This service links the guest directly to the very person who will look after whatever need night arise. If a guest wants to order from our 24 hour Room Service, the person in charge of their room will be able to advise them not only as to what is available, but perhaps more importantly, what each dish consists of and what might prove the most suitable to the guest at the time. In fact, we still make a point of being available to the guest should they need someone to help them button up a shirt or knot a tie".

"It is The Savoy's regard for the absolute comfort of the guest which really stands out in people's minds", Mr. Striessnig continues. "part of that service and attention to detail mans that we have people on staff who do nothing more than carve the roasts. But they do so with such flair and elegance that it makes all the difference in the world to those who dine with us. Our regular guests, people like noted author and politician Jeffrey Archer can simply walk in and ask for their usual and it is served without fuss. That is the calibre of the service The Savoy has always been noted for".

One story has it that a leading British businessman who had been dining at the famed Savoy Grill everyday for twenty years with utmost satisfaction, suddenly complained when his regular waiter was not there to attend to him. As it transpired the said waiter was on holidays, but from that time on The Savoy made a point of sending that particular waiter on holiday only when the loyal patron was on his annual holidays. Eccentric? Perhaps; but there again The Savoy has always had a reputation for putting the guest above all other considerations. This attitude doubtless stems from D'Oyly Carte's own maxim that excellence and attention to every detail was all The Savoy would ever offer.

The maxim was to be D'Oyly Carte's guiding philosophy, and right from the outset he put it into practice. Not satisfied with the hotelier he had initially employed to run The Savoy, D'Oyly Carte set about acquiring the services of a man recognised the world over as the world's premier hotelier, Swiss born Cesar Ritz. Applauded for his geniality, ability to meet a guest's every request with a minimum of fuss and an uncanny sense of showmanship, Ritz was a man not easily impressed by the latest gimmicks. Knowing this D'Oyly Carte did not offer Ritz the position at The Savoy outright but invited him to be a personal guest at the hotel's opening. So impressed was Ritz by what he saw, and the potential inherent in D'Oyly Carte's uncompromising attitude to excellence that he accepted the position immediately. More than this Ritz then returned to Monte Carlo and convinced the then leading chef in the world, Auguste Escoffier to join him. Together, Ritz, Escoffier and D'Oyly Carte made a formidable team.

It was Escoffier who introduced the concept of a la carte dining to London society and Escoffier too who together with Ritz made dining out fashionable. Ritz's ability to pamper and spoil without patronising had made him a legend throughout Europe, and his move to London heralded a wave of interest in The Savoy for people travelling there from the Continent. By shrewdly placing Reserved cards at the best tables in the hotel's restaurant Ritz was able to manufacture the environment that best enhanced the reputation of the hotel. His knack of putting high-profile people where they were certain to be seen created a demand for tables at the hotel, and a flow-on demand for accommodation at the hotel that even D'Oyly Carte had not foreseen.

Such was Ritz's influence with the right people that he managed to get the laws changed so that The Savoy could stay open until after midnight and on Sundays too. This move had the anticipated result; The Savoy, and in particular the Savoy Grill became the meeting place in London for after-theatre drinks and supper. The hotel's proximity to the London theatre district, and the hours of its opening made the Soy Grill a meeting place for actors, writers and directors. Over the years people like Noel Coward and Somerset Maugham made the Grill and the hotel their second homes, bringing to the establishment the kind of reputation no amount of publicity could buy. Suddenly the passeggio became fashionable in London, and when the Duchess de Clermont-Tonnere chose The Savoy as the place where she would became the first woman to smoke in public, no-one was the least surprised.

Always on the look-out for ways in which to improve the standard of service offered, Cesar Ritz brought together a band of musicians - The Savoy Orpheans, to provide music to dine by. In this way was the social event of dinner and dancing introduced to a once rather staid London social set. The Savoy Orpheans in fact went on to become the first hotel band to play on radio, and in the twenties had a weekly European audience in excess of 122 million listeners on the BBC's predecessor Radio 2LO. Johann Strauss too, the master of the waltz was invited to add his particular touch to proceedings and his appearance always guaranteed a full house.

While guests were certainly impressed with the fact that the hotel had its own artesian bore from which pure water was pumped up to the rooms continually - thus eliminating the potential of water shortage as happened regularly in most other hotels, they were staggered by such deft touches as the 'Ascending rooms'. Not mere lifts, but enormous rooms panelled in Japanese red lacquer they moved guests from floor to floor in sumptuous comfort and served a dual purpose for The Savoy. Besides hotel one of the most modern in the world, these giant lifts allowed D'Oyly Carte to charge as much for a room on the seventh floor as he would for one on the ground floor since there was no need for guests to climb stairs. In the past, hotels had been obliged to lower the tariff of rooms in relation to the number of flights of stairs a guest had to climb.

"Today as in the past every day brings something new to the hotel", reflects Mr. Striessnig. "No two days are alike here and that is perhaps one of the features that makes working here so fascinating. We have people from all walks of life here, either staying in one of our rooms or dining at The Savoy Grill or Upstairs. Her Royal Highness Queen Elizabeth II has been here twice recently, as has the Queen Mother, for instance, and this means we have to be very conscious of every detail, from the food and service, to the security. We have an enormous responsibility to be at our absolute best 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

"Someone once asked me which was the best hotel in the world, and my answer is the same now as it was then; the best hotel in the world is that at which you are best known. For a guest, there can be nothing more endearing than to be addressed by name, and have the staff recall such seemingly trivial things as your favourite table, your preferred wines, or the floor on which you prefer to have your room", adds Mr. Striessnig.

Noel Coward was so particular about the arrangement of his toiletries for instance, that the hotel kept a photograph of their exact arrangement so that they could repeat it precisely on each visit. Another guest would not stay in a room unless the windows were blacked out and the furniture arranged to her particular and detailed floorplan. And Guglielmo Marconi could find no better place than one of the hotel's soundproof rooms to conduct his experimental wireless transmissions to the United States. Even the young Guccio Gucci is said to have been inspired to return to his native Italy and produce luxurious leathergoods for the sort of clientele he saw about him everyday.

From its earliest days The Savoy has prided itself on keeping abreast of the guests' every desire. One of the most telling remarks about the opulence of the hotel comes from a man noted for his own opulence and sense of the theatrical, Oscar Wilde when he said that The Savoy was 'too extravagant' for his tastes! His sentiments, whilst perhaps typical of many who saw the hotel as extreme in its pursuit of the accolade of the world's finest hotel, did nothing to deter the influential and well-heeled to flocking to London's most noted address after Buckingham Palace.

Not even the sudden resignations of Cesar Ritz and Auguste Escoffier in 1897 could deter Richard D'Oyly Carte from his ambition to make The Savoy the place to be when in London. Knowing that Ritz's shoes would not be easy to fill D'Oyly Carte went looking for someone who would not merely take over Ritz's position but would develop it further. He found such a man in George Reeves-Smith at the Berkley, a leading London restaurant. When he could not entice Reeves-Smith from The Berkley D'Oyly Carte did the only other thing possible; he bought the Berkley thus beginning an acquisition programme that today encompasses some of London's most noted establishments, including the Connaught, St. Quentin, Claridge's, Simpson-on-the-Strand and Wilton's.

Not only did Reeves-Smith prove a most suitable replacement for Ritz, but he went on to become the first ever hotelier to be knighted for his services. A master wine connoisseur Reeves-Smith improved upon Escoffier's innovation that all restaurant staff wear white aprons over morning suits when waiting on guests by insisting that waiters be knowledgeable on all aspects of food and wine. It was not enough for instance that a waiter know that Escoffier had invented Peach Melba in honour of the great Australian opera star, but they ought to know the details of its creation for the benefit of guests as well.

Like Ritz before him Reeves-Smith left nothing to chance, and when he was joined by Frenchman Francois Latry - who took Escoffier's place, he made a point of working very closely with the master chef. Together these two men continued Escoffier's tradition for having individual chefs prepare different aspects of the one meal and then having the Executive Chef inspect each plate before it was presented to the guest. Along with D'Oyly Carte, Reeves-Smith and Latry consolidated The Savoy's reputation for excellence by continuing to set and then meet exacting levels of service. One important feature which is continued to this very day is the introduction of mattresses made to the hotel's own specifications at its factory in Covent Garden. These mattresses have proved so successful with guests that many continue to order them for their own private use.

Along with mattresses came linen made in Ireland, again to the hotel's specifications, as well as chairs, tables, pillows and soft furnishings. If Oscar Wilde had not thought such things extravagant, it may have been the hotel's insistence on roasting its own coffee that convinced him otherwise. So successful is the hotel's coffee in fact that today it is sold under Royal warrant to Buckingham Palace.

On Richard D'Oyly Carte's death in 1901 it was his son Rupert who took over. Not as much a thespian as his father, Rupert was nonetheless every bit as much an entrepreneur. Under his stewardship The Savoy put on some of the most dazzling events ever seen in London before or since. Because guests had commented that it was sometimes difficult to see the performance on stage in the ballroom, Rupert had a hydraulic lift system put in under the stage which allowed it to be raised from the basement. On the occasion of a South African businessman's birthday Rupert had the fore-court of the hotel flooded and decorated to look like Venice, and engaged the services of the great tenor Caruso as a singing gondolier. George Gershwin introduced the world to Rhapsody in Blue at The Savoy, while Pavlova displayed her legendary talents in the main ballroom before an appreciative and select audience.

Not even the coming of two World Wars could slow down the pace at The Savoy. When a bomb fell in the nearby Strand and knocked out The Savoy Orpheans' leader, Noel Coward stepped in and took his place. In one corner of an air-raid shelter deep in the bowels of the building the Duke and Duchess of Kent were accommodated in a miniature Royal Suite complete with gold and white furnishings. Shelter-maids were issued with feathers with which to tickle the feet of snorers and so soothe them back to sleep before they could wake other guests. When war rationing made the buying of meat almost impossible The Savoy bought a chicken farm.

The high profile of The Savoy became increasingly obvious during World War Two when, as a meeting place for members of Churchill's government, the hotel was put on the Luftwaffe's top ten targets list. Churchill himself made a point of dining regularly at The Savoy and in 1911 founded a club with the rather ambiguous name The Other Club. This club, consisting of some of Britain's most influential men is reputed to have met at The Savoy throughout Churchill's time as British Prime Minister as a kind of Parliament away from Parliament. The Communications Room set up in the hotel during this remarkable period still boasts the six brass clocks that Churchill had on hand to tell him the time at a glance in Paris, Frankfurt, New York, San Francisco, Tokyo and Sydney.

Having survived both World Wars and the Depression, The Savoy's influence on English culinary habits - always significant under Escoffier, became even more of a focal point of interest. Nothing was too much trouble for the staff; even a request to serve a meal backwards, starting with after-dinner drinks and ending with appetisers hardly raised an eyebrow. Following Escoffier's lead Latry made inroads into providing fresh and new cuisine ideas for the guests. In the world-famous American Bar a must meeting place for foreign correspondents during the Second World War, Harry Craddock virtually invented the cocktail. His book of cocktail recipes - the first of its kind in the world, set the trend for other barmen and hotels to follow, and added weight to the theory that The Savoy had lost none of the innovative flair of either its founder or his son - who died in 1948.

Such was the concern with service that The Savoy became the first hotel in the world to start its own school to train hoteliers. This innovation allowed the hotel to pick and choose its staff with a reckoning that ensured only those totally dedicated to the traditions of the hotel ever wore the distinctively formal Savoy uniform of black and white.

"We jealously guard everything we do here", points out Mr. Striessnig". "Our staff have to meet certain very particular requirements in terms of their attitude and commitment to what The Savoy is all about and that this service for some people it is enough to simply go in and run an hotel on the basis of what they have done elsewhere, but The Savoy is an institution here in England and what we do here is a consequence of the very history of which we are such an integral part. We don't believe in taking ourselves so seriously that we are not open to change however, quite the contrary. One of the reasons The Savoy continues to enjoy such high regard is that we keep up with the changing needs of our guests.

"Everything has a lifespan", he adds. "An hotel is no different. From the very beginning it has been a part of the hotel's philosophy that improvements be made as they become necessary. The rooms for instance are redecorated regularly; not just because of wear and tear, but also because as an hotel The Savoy needs to keep pace with the changing requirements of the times".

Where once guests arrived at the hotel in horse-drawn carriages to be greeted by the towering statue of Count Peter standing in regal pose on the roof with shield and lance in hand, today a fleet of limousines flows in and out of London's busy traffic bringing guests directly from Heathrow Airport. Count Peter still watches over the comings and goings, and there is the very real sense that the many ghosts of the past still promenade under his gaze, the passage of time has brought a broader cross-section of society to the hotel.

"Luciano Pavarotti always stays here when he comes to London", says the hotel's Maitre Chef de Cuisine Anton Edelmann. "And when he does come he brings his own rice and spaghetti from Italy, as well as his own recipes for the sauces he prefers. In fact he even has his own favourite waiter and chef for whom he asks whenever he stays here. "other well-known guests have included Frank Sinatra who likes to book out anything up to fifteen rooms at a time, and Aldo Gucci who once had hotel management convert one room into a Tuscan grove for a dinner party he was throwing.

"Our cuisines", Mr. Edelmann continues, "is very Europeanised. It has to be in order to cater for the different tastes of our guests. Of course we serve the traditional roasts for which the English are famous - The Savoy Grill and Simpson-in-the-Strand being particularly famous for the quality of their beef and lamb. The fact that The Savoy has always enjoyed the patronage of people who enjoy good food and wine has meant that only the very best is ever served here, or at any of the Savoy Group's other establishments for that matter. Wilton's for instance is matchless when it comes to seafood and game, while St. Quentin is about as close as one can get to a genuine Parisian brasserie without actually going to Paris".

"It is my personal opinion that one eats better in London than anywhere else in Europe, says Mr. Striessnig. "I once found myself struggling for a way to describe the cuisine that Anton prepares. The most accurate description was that it is Modern Traditional. We don't do either nouvelle cuisine or Classical French here; what we do however is allow the chefs to show off their culinary flair. In this way our cuisines remains fresh, innovative and always exciting. This is important when one considers that some of our diners come here everyday without fail. While many of these clients have their regular dishes, there are times when they too want something new and interesting. At The Savoy it doesn't matter where you eat, from he Savoy Grill to Upstairs, there is never a compromise of either quality or attention to detail.

Doubtless Richard D'Oyly Carte would have been happy to hear such words, especially given his propensity for demanding continued and constant evolution. It is a Savoy tradesmark that nothing is ever beyond improvement. Even the aptly named laundry service Unblemish, is constantly upgraded and improved upon so that guests can be assured of never losing a sock, never getting a shirt back without it being impeccably pressed, or having shoes polished to the point where reflections are picture-perfect.

Picture-perfect too perhaps best describes the sweeping views of London from the hotel. The towering majesty of Big Ben, the sombre facade of the Houses of Parliament, St. Paul's Cathedral and the once dreaded spires of the Tower of London. One can imagine Eisenhower teeing off from the roof of the hotel onto a strategically positioned barge on the Thames, and watching as the ball soared high over the city skyline. Or Charlie Chaplin and Alfred Hitchcock standing in the midst of a London cold snap framed against the same scene.

One is reminded of that old saying. "If only walls could speak, there would be as many stories as there would have been characters and events. The panelled halls would echo with an equal measure of laughter and tears, and history would be written in every room. Here is where Elton John flooded two floors when he let his bath overflow whilst he was on the phone; that is where Egypt's Fahmy Bey was found dying after being shot by his disgruntled wife; there is the spot where Maria Callas gave a rousing rendition of La Boheme for the hotel staff in gratitude for their attention to her ever need.

One hundred years on and The Savoy remains the kind of place Richard D'Oyly Carte envisioned it would be; attentive without being familiar, elegant without being stuffy, and graceful without being dated. Staying at The Savoy is unlike staying anywhere else in London because for all intents and purposes staying at The Savoy is to become for a brief while, an event in historical time.