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The Savoy is one of the great London hotels: an icon and an institution, with river views that its rivals can only envy. Luxury is the watchword in this grand, vast, irregular warren of bedrooms, ballrooms, bars, boutiques and corridors – not to mention the acres of behind-the-scenes bits it takes to keep a place like this running – all squeezed into a small block between the Strand and the river.
Why stay at The Savoy?
Built in the 1880s on the former site of a royal palace, The Savoy was the creation of Richard D’Oyly Carte: producer of the wildly successful Gilbert and Sullivan operettas. Since the day it opened, it’s been a magnet for celebrities and elites, as well as a trailblazer in the art of hospitality – César Ritz was the manager here before he opened his own string of hotels.
For over a century, the Savoy was the flagship of a hospitality group that also ran Claridge’s, The Connaught and The Berkeley. Nowadays, it’s separately owned (by a Saudi/Qatari consortium) and run by Canadian conglomerate Fairmont. Five-star standards are very much maintained, but often at a (marginally) more accessible price point than its luxury competitors in Mayfair or Knightsbridge – and in a better spot for the West End’s smorgasbord of shopping, eating, culture and nightlife.
What are the rooms like at The Savoy?
There are 263 rooms and suites in the place, ranging from entry-level Deluxe Queen rooms to the huge Savoy Suite (which will set you back more than £10,000 a night).
The big draw (and one of the main reasons to book The Savoy in the first place) is the river view. Painted from the hotel by Monet and Whistler, the Thames panorama is spectacular by day or night, with river-view rooms making the most of it with window seats and full-length plate glass. You can crane your head all the way from Canary Wharf to Vauxhall on your right, with the City, Tate Modern, the National Theatre, the London Eye, Cleopatra’s Needle and Big Ben arrayed before you. Truly, it’s awe-inspiring.
Once we’d managed to drag our eyes back inside the room, our One-Bedroom River View Suites was a looker too, in its relatively understated luxury – all dark wood and dove grey, with subtle flourishes of red-orange leather and brassy gold. It’s an updated take on the classic Edwardian townhouse style, with a touch of art deco. (As of 2025 the rooms have had a recent refresh, courtesy of design studio G.A Group.)
We had a top-notch, king-sized bed (custom-made by Savoir Beds, a Savoy spin-off which has been supplying the hotel since 1905) and beautiful bedding. There was loads of clothes storage – tragically underused on our one-night stay – and nifty bits like a coffee machine, a full cocktail set and a slide-out shelf designed for breakfast in bed. It’s worth a special shout-out to one of the most extensive (and expensive) room service menus I’ve ever seen, including a whole lobster with trimmings for £90. Add in the view, and it’s enough to make you feel like royalty.
What are the restaurants and bars like at The Savoy?
Eating and drinking in style looms large in the Savoy legacy: culinary legend Auguste Escoffier was once the head chef (he invented peach melba during his stint here) and the hotel’s American Bar pioneered cocktail culture on this side of the Atlantic.
Today, there are three restaurants on site run by sweary TV chef Gordon Ramsay: the tiny, Michelin-starred Restaurant 1890; the grand Savoy Grill; and the more laidback, seafood-centric River Restaurant. We managed to book in to the latter for a high-quality British breakfast with a Thames view, and were very well looked after.
§There’s also Gallery: a casual all-day restaurant in the grand, domed lobby formerly known as the Thames Foyer. Don’t sweat the dress code: it’s pretty much anything goes here, with a relaxed, loungey feel. The menu of British, American and French bistro classics is wide-ranging and very tempting; I eventually settled for a truffle croque monsieur and an impeccably cooked ribeye. You could just as well sit at the bar for a light bite, a cocktail and maybe an oyster or two – or book in for afternoon tea, served every day from noon.
It’s also worth mentioning Simpson’s-in-the-Strand, one of Britain’s oldest restaurants: even though it forms part of the hotel structure, it actually predates the Savoy by half a century. It’s due to reopen in 2026 under the auspices of restaurateur Jeremy King, previously responsible for The Ivy, Le Caprice and The Wolseley.
Across all the hotel restaurants (and room service), there’s a clear commitment to sourcing high-quality ingredients from sustainable, ethical suppliers, many of them British. Obviously none of this comes cheap: dinner for three at Gallery, the hotel’s most entry-level restaurant option, came in at £250.
After dinner, you’ve got the choice of the classic, art deco-accented American Bar – London’s oldest cocktail bar, and previously named the world’s best – or the slinky, black-and-gold Beaufort Bar, with more of a nightlife vibe.
There’s also a lobby bakery, Scoff, serving patisserie and scones to go, and a Reading Room lounge reserved for hotel guests, who are welcome to help themselves to snacks and drinks at any time of the day.
What is the service like at The Savoy?
In such a huge, complex machine of a hotel, it’s not totally surprising to find that some bits work slightly better than others. Most impressive was the butler attached to our suite, who fetched us everything from welcome drinks to a laptop charger cable, all the while making us feel totally at home and relaxed. Elsewhere, the staff at the spa, front desk, concierge and River Restaurant were all as polished and proficient as you’d hope: the safest of safe pairs of hands.
What are the spa and gym like at The Savoy?
Not every luxury hotel in London has an on-site swimming pool. The Savoy does, but it’s not that easy to find. Go up a lift and along a corridor, climb a steep flight of stairs, and you’ll discover the spa and gym perched atop the roof of the Savoy Theatre. That altitude means great views from the running machines, and space for a double-height pavilion, with high windows and rooflights, suspended over the decently-sized pool.
There are also (gender-segregated) saunas and steam rooms in the changing rooms, and massages and facials (£145-£250) available in a handful of side rooms, using Natura Bissé products.
What’s the area like around The Savoy?
Besides the luxury and the legacy, the location is where The Savoy really comes into its own. It’s Theatreland to its bones: in fact, impresario founder Richard D’Oyly Carte built the hotel as an extension of his Savoy Theatre next door.
The Savoy’s neighbours on The Strand include a further clutch of West End venues, including the Lyceum and Adelphi theatres and American-style restaurant Joe Allen, a notable showbiz haunt. Nearby are the tourist magnet of Covent Garden piazza and the culture hubs of Somerset House and the South Bank, plus tons more great restaurants, shops, bars and pubs.
For extra tourist points, the Savoy is surrounded by dramatic, Dickensian alleyways leading down from the Strand to the Thames embankment. Check out London’s last surviving sewer-powered gas lamp on Carting Lane, and the Ship and Shovell – a pub in two halves – straddling Craven Passage.
Why you should book a stay at The Savoy
Compared to London’s other classic luxury hotels, two things set The Savoy apart. One is the room rates, which tend to be more accessible than the competition without sacrificing the high-end feel or historic atmosphere. A basic room here should cost a few hundred pounds less per night than The Ritz, The Dorchester or Claridge’s.
The other big draw is the location: not just those epic river views (if you can splash out), but easily walkable proximity to the box of delights that is the West End. If you’re coming to London for fun, food and theatre, there’s nowhere better to base yourself.
DETAILS
Address: Strand, WC2R 0EZ
Price: From £650 per night
Closest transport: Charing Cross station is a four-minute walk away