The Savoy hotel on the Strand in London offers a slice of history that goes beyond the ambience and the patina furniture. It was the love nest of Oscar Wilde and Lord Alfred Douglas, and it was in those rooms that Winston Churchill decided to assemble his private political club and hold what would be his last public speech there. The prestige of this great establishment is further enhanced by a guest list that includes, among others, Edward VII, Marilyn Monroe, Coco Chanel, Charlie Chaplin, The Beatles, Cary Grant, Vivien Leigh, Humphrey Bogart and Elizabeth Taylor.
Currently managed by Fairmont Hotels & Resorts, it reopened its doors to 267 rooms in 2010 after three years of refurbishment. The history of The Savoy begins in 1889 when theatrical impresario Richard D’Oyly Carte decided to build Britain’s first luxury hotel, combining opulence, Victorian tradition and innovation with light, electric elevators and hot and cold water. Carte had the brilliant idea, it has to be said, of introducing electric lighting to the entire hotel complex, starting with the adjacent Savoy Theatre, which he also owned and had built before the hotel, thus making it the first public building in the country to boast this modern convenience.
As a true showman, he deeply understood the importance of entertainment to attract the public. After all, the major celebrities of the time, along with the nobility, were the stars of the stage and actress Sarah Bernhardt, accompanied by her Irish red setter Tosco, was one of the first to become a regular visitor. Artists such as Claude Monet and James Whistler painted or drew the view from their rooms.
When London hosted an Italian film festival, the Savoy was abuzz with Italian actresses, including the legendary Sophia Loren and Gina Lollobrigida, who flaunted their sumptuous gowns at the festival’s climax: a film screening in Leicester Square attended by Her Majesty the Queen. The treatment of the guests was, as always, impeccable – almost legendary, and it was even said that the hotel kept a record of each guest’s preferences to ensure that every need could be prepared in advance.
The Savoy has never lacked guests as legendary as they are bizarre. The American millionaire George Kessler, known for his extravagant parties, 1905 invented the Gondola Party. The central courtyard was purposefully flooded to recreate the Grand Canal of Venice, with a gondola holding a table for 24 people and a bridge erected for access by guests, waiters and the elephant carrying a cake on its back to the melodies sung by the greatest tenor of the time, Enrico Caruso.
Out of all the special guests, there is one that is ever-present: Kaspar the cat. It all began in 1898 when the mining magnate Woolf Joel invited 14 people to a dinner. Following a no-show, there were only 13 guests present, which prompted a woman among those in attendance to declare that the first person to leave the table would be dead. And so it came to pass only a few weeks later, when the tycoon himself was shot dead.
From that moment on, the hotel seated a staff member at any tables with 13 guests, until 1926 when the architect Basil Ionides carved the statue of Kaspar, the black cat and fourteenth diner who is served each course with a napkin tied around his neck.
Article edited by Lucrezia Doria