The Savoy Hotel

The Savoy Hotel, situated between Savoy Court and Savoy Place, comprises a series of building phases from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The initial block along Savoy Place and the Embankment was constructed between 1886 and 1889 by T. E. Collcutt, with interior design input from A. H. Mackmurdo, for Richard D’Oyly Carte. An extension to Savoy Court was added between 1903 and 1904 by the same architects. The river frontage was refaced with artificial stone around 1910, likely by Collcutt. Further alterations occurred in 1929, undertaken by Sir Howard Robertson of Easton and Robertson, primarily involving a new forecourt awning. Additional work to the Savoy Place entrance and canopy was carried out around 1960, with further interior alterations in the mid-1970s.

The original Savoy Place block is constructed of brick with an innovative use of steel joists, faced in Doulton’s Carrara ware and originally topped with green pantile roofs. It presents eight storeys and an attic, and nine bays wide. The south front features fully balconied galleries resembling columned galleries, with a giant order articulating the terrace-balconies on the first and second floors. These features are preserved on the side elevations, with central canted projections raised by an additional attic storey. A 1910 refacing of the river front resulted in glazed terrace-balconies within the giant order, while the floors above feature 4-light bronze casement windows alternating with single-light bathroom windows, exhibiting a restrained and rational design. Decorative elements are largely confined to the attic, featuring swag ornamentation above aediculed bathroom windows below the crowning cornice.

The 1903-04 Savoy Court block is seven storeys high, with eight windows wide, and a north-facing return wing to the forecourt. The hotel entrance, designed by Collcutt, incorporates coupled rusticated Doric columns of polished buff and black stone. A latticework awning, designed by Howard Robertson, covers the forecourt; consisting of bolted steel beams filled with glass, a stainless steel pediment fascia bearing the gilt sanserif lettering "SA VOY," and surmounted by a gilt statue similar to that at the Savoy Theatre. Canopies extend down to the Strand either side of the Savoy Court access road, featuring stainless steel trim and strip lighting within frosted glass casings. Five frosted glass lanterns are suspended within the forecourt awning. The upper floors maintain Collcutt's original design, with architraved windows. The top two storeys feature a loggia-arcade with engaged Ionic columns and figure sculpture, along with string courses and a bold crowning cornice.

The original Mackmurdo interiors and the 1929 alterations have been significantly altered during subsequent refurbishments, most notably in the 1970s. Richard D’Oyly Carte conceived the hotel on an innovative American model, notable for providing 70 bathrooms, hydraulic lifts, and electric lighting – exceptional features for the time. The hotel's subsequent success was largely attributed to the management of Cesar Ritz and the culinary expertise of Auguste Escoffier, who attracted influential patrons, including nobility and the Prince of Wales’ circle.