SPECIAL REPORT: THE SAVOY


THIS PAGE (LEFT): The Thames Lounge now features a 7.5m stained glass dome that brings natural light into this previously gloomy spot (BELOW) The River Room has been overhauled to create an elegant, understated Art Deco interior which complements the views of the River Thames


be totally re-organised and more space released into the bedroom. Temporary steels were driven into the


building to support it while the façade was inched upwards over a period of weeks – monitored by infrared beams from across the River Thames – so that remedial work could be undertaken. The beautiful ‘faience’ cladding of fired and glazed terracotta was restored by specialists where water damage had caused cracking, and was then cleaned. The roofing pantiles were all replaced. On the riverside, the porte cochère with its signature 1950s glazed canopy has been refurbished and many of the guestroom windows are new, but matched to the traditional Crittal steel frame design. On the other side of the building, the


iconic Strand entrance is now resplendent with a new granite forecourt graced by a Lalique crystal fountain, a restored Art Deco roof and marble columns to the façade. Inside, the Front Hall – while familiar in


many important details – now benefits from several significant interventions that have enhanced the sense of arrival. The reception desk has been removed, making the space less busy than before and giving guests the chance to absorb the pristine beauty of the renovated marble columns, the new black and white marble floor, the restored flame mahogany panelling, and the restored sylvan frieze now repainted in sophisticated grey and white. The reception desk has been moved to the elegant Reading Room beyond the Front Hall behind


038 JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2011 WWW.SLEEPERMAGAZINE.COM


which the architects used the volume above a storeroom to create a new addition in the form of a discrete cashiers’ room. Major structural works were undertaken inside the building. The Savoy originally had just one guest lift. A second lift has now been introduced in the same lift core – an addition Kiaran Macdonald acknowledges as one of the most significant in terms of the hotel’s day-to-day operation. In the Thames Lounge that sits in the heart


of the building, a 7.5m stained glass dome restores natural light into the heart of the building.


One of the most dramatic transformations has been that of the Beaufort Bar, from what Kiaran Macdonald describes as “a


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