Savoy Hotel in London; facts that will surprise you

From the start, the Savoy Hotel in London had all the comforts of the time: electricity, running and hot water, elevators and rooms with bathrooms. 

The well-known hotel is located on land given by King Henry III to Peter, Count of Savoy in 1264. The latter belonged to the same House of Savoy as the kings of Italy.

Savoy Court just outside the hotel is one of the few places in the UK where you have to drive on the right and not on the left. The reason is that the Savoy Theater is to the right of the hotel and taxis can pass from the hotel to the theater without turning.

During the Second World War the Savoy probably had some of the best bomb shelters in London. Winston Churchill often brought his government here.

There are still 263 en-suite rooms but since 2005 the Savoy belongs to Fairmount Hotels and not to the Savoy Group as it once was Curiosities of the Savoy Hotel in London.

The hotel was opened in 1889 to accommodate American tourists who came to see operettas at the Savoy Theater, another piece was added in 1903-4

The Egyptian prince Fahmy Bey was killed at the Savoy Hotel in London in 1923 by his French wife. She was never convicted because at the trial it was revealed that her husband was cruel to his wife and had threatened to kill her.

The Savoy still houses one of London’s best hotel restaurants, called The Grill Room.

Next to the hotel is Carting Lane where a lamp (you can now see a replica) is said to have been powered by gases from the sewer. It is said that the Savoy’s guests had the lamps lit up. In fact this was only partially true, most of the gas came from the gas pipe and not from the sewer.

The first manager of the Savoy Hotel in London was Cesar Ritz and the first chef Auguste Escoffier, famous for inventing the Peach Melba in honor of the opera singer Nellie Melba.