Now, as The Savoy undergoes an extensive renovation, we will be able to edit our book about it and to publish it again, once the hotel opens its doors again.
"Researching the history of The Savoy was an exciting task. I will never forget these wonderful archives, deep in the cellars of The Savoy. Everything was there. All the files, all the original files, the signatures, the hand writings, ...
In the summer of 1889 – the days of Gilbert and Sullivan, the heroes of English operetta – The Savoy opened its doors.
It was the creation of theatre impresario Richard D’Oyly Carte. He engaged the young César Ritz to run the hotel who in turn brought in Auguste Escoffier – the ‘Emperor of all chefs’. The Prince of Wales said 'Where Ritz goes, I go.'
One day we suddenly discovered the dusty files covering the scandalous case of Cesar Ritz.
Enrico Caruso sang at The Savoy, Sarah Bernhardt, Oscar Wilde and Dame Nellie Melba of Pêche Melba fame (created at The Savoy) – made it their London residence. Hollywood arrived.
The American Bar became the watering hole of prohibition refugees. Every Prime Minister chose The Savoy as a refuge of privacy (Sir Winston Churchill founded ‘The Other Club’ at The Savoy, which still meets here). From Chaplin to Pavarotti, from James Bond to Harry Potter – this is the place to be seen, to party, or to hide away.
I admire that the hotel is today as energetic as it always was; that it never became stuffy or old fashioned and that it is always 'in'."
Andreas Augustin
"Researching the history of The Savoy was an exciting task. I will never forget these wonderful archives, deep in the cellars of The Savoy. Everything was there. All the files, all the original files, the signatures, the hand writings, ...
In the summer of 1889 – the days of Gilbert and Sullivan, the heroes of English operetta – The Savoy opened its doors.
It was the creation of theatre impresario Richard D’Oyly Carte. He engaged the young César Ritz to run the hotel who in turn brought in Auguste Escoffier – the ‘Emperor of all chefs’. The Prince of Wales said 'Where Ritz goes, I go.'
One day we suddenly discovered the dusty files covering the scandalous case of Cesar Ritz.
Enrico Caruso sang at The Savoy, Sarah Bernhardt, Oscar Wilde and Dame Nellie Melba of Pêche Melba fame (created at The Savoy) – made it their London residence. Hollywood arrived.
The American Bar became the watering hole of prohibition refugees. Every Prime Minister chose The Savoy as a refuge of privacy (Sir Winston Churchill founded ‘The Other Club’ at The Savoy, which still meets here). From Chaplin to Pavarotti, from James Bond to Harry Potter – this is the place to be seen, to party, or to hide away.
I admire that the hotel is today as energetic as it always was; that it never became stuffy or old fashioned and that it is always 'in'."
Andreas Augustin
