Savoy Reception

To put it mildly, the reception at the Savoy blew both of us away, and it alone is worth an entry in its own right.
I should point out that in virtually of my previous London trips, I have stayed at the Strand Palace, a well-priced and clean hotel in the heart of the West End, but not luxurious. I've always enjoyed that hotel and consider it a real bargain, yet many a time I would look out at the Savoy--literally
across the street--and long for the time I could call it my temporary home away from home. Without going into detail about how and why I elected to do so, let's simply say that this trip I decided it would be time to live out that fantasy. Also, rather than simply choosing an ordinary room, I splurged for an Art Deco suite, including separate living room and bedroom, along with butler service. My expectations had been running high for months, as this was literally a dream about to come true.

When Melba and I arrived at the Savoy, the doorman immediately opened the doors and took our bags, as you would expect. He also inquired as to my name, and I pointed to it on my luggage tag. All seemed more or less as expected, with the doorman holding our bags as we checked in. So far no big surprises, but walking into the hotel brought something we were not expecting.

After navigating the revolving doors (which are only large enough to accommodate one person at a time, not two as we tried), we walked into a rather medium-sized lobby, though splendidly decorated for the season. We were both taking in the site, trying to orient ourselves, when a very well-dress man and woman walked directly up to us. The man extended his hand, and welcomed me by name, even pronouncing it correctly. I was, to say the least, shocked as to how he knew who I was, but before my surprise had time to register, he inquired if I had been there since the renovation. (There's no way I was going to tell him this was my first time in the hotel, so I simply and truthfully answered that yes, this was my first visit since restoration.) He then gave us a complete overview of the lobby and the associated shops off to the back, before calling our butler who took us directly upstairs to our suite. Be mindful, we had not even officially checked in at this point.

The butler (would it be presumptuous to say our butler?) then took us upstairs to present our room and to orient us with it. Much to our mutual surprise, we walked in through the foyer and found what looked like a living room, albeit with two twin beds in it. Not wanting to seem naive, I tried to remain calm as I pondered the matter (I definitely had not ordered any extra beds, and was fully expecting a King in the bedroom, not a pair of beds in the sitting room.) After a few moments, perhaps sensing my surprise, he inquired if I had not ordered extra beds, to which I emphatically replied I had not...he apologized, and immediately phoned housekeeping to have them removed. At this time, he to showed us around the rest of the suite (which thankfully did include a King-sized bed in a separate room), and he also gave us a brief orientation from everything from the location of the wardrobe to how to use the thermostats and how to dial for butler service.

There were a handful of minor disappointments, the worst of which was that we surprisingly had a horrible view, especially since we were the only people on the entire floor (as confirmed by our butler).

Other minor shortcomings could be pointed out (such as not telling us where the 110 volt outlets were or forgetting out complementary fruit "amenity" until I phoned them for it), but dwelling on that is to miss the point:

Other than these few minor nits, this was the most incredible hotel experience that can be had. I will not say how much three nights cost me (other than to confirm the expected "bundle"), and I doubt I will ever indulge such as this again, but for a once in a lifetime experience this was incredibly pleasant and luxurious.