英国伦敦萨伏伊酒店
The Savoy London England
www.thesavoylondon.com
伦敦萨伏伊酒店 历久弥新的时光记忆
1246年，萨伏伊公爵彼得在泰晤士河畔的一片土地上建立了萨伏伊城堡，尽管城堡在1381年农奴起义中被付之一炬，这个地方从此被命名为萨伏伊。1881年，出生于伦敦的天才剧院经理人理查德德欧莱卡特在此建成萨伏伊剧院，上演由好友诗人吉尔伯特（和作曲家沙利文创作的歌剧。有感于当时美利坚大地上的新型酒店，卡特决心在伦敦建成一座划时代的酒店，于是在1889年8月6日，耗时5年的伦敦萨伏伊酒店落成了。
这是伦敦第一家真正意义上的奢华酒店，她的全电灯照明升降电梯传音筒和不间断冷热水供应的豪华独立浴室宣告着新世代的到来，引起广泛轰动。天才的卡特还做出一项英明决定，聘请被后人誉为世界酒店之父的凯撒里兹担任伦敦萨伏伊的第一任总经理，一举奠定酒店卓越的服务品质。不得不提的是凯撒里兹带来的法国精英厨师Auguste Escoffier，他为伦敦萨伏伊引入的法国高级料理毫无疑问地征服了英伦。
在上个世纪之交的伦敦，萨伏伊酒店成为了演绎历史进程的舞台，也为人们带来了一场惊世繁华梦。1890年，也就是酒店开业的第二年，奥斯卡王尔德为其写出名作《无足轻重的女人》的Constance Gwladys Robinson女士召集女性朋友们在伦敦萨伏伊酒店聚餐，公开争取两性平等，从此以后，女性们在公共场所就餐而无需丈夫陪同终于被社会广为接受。1899年起，大画家莫奈在伦敦萨伏伊断断续续住了两年，他钟爱房间窗前的泰晤士美景，从同一角度画了70多幅画作传于后世。1905年，美国富豪George A. Kessler举办了青史流芳的一场晚宴，伦敦萨伏伊的中庭被灌入深达四英尺的水，用来漂浮一艘 冈朵拉船，酒店为客人再造了一个小型威尼斯。
2007年12月，酒店预算1亿英镑，历史上第一次关门歇业后迎来一次彻底翻新。本次翻新不仅设计上精益求精，更采用了全新的节能技术，将酒店耗电降低近50。2010年10月完工时，最终耗资达到了2.2亿英镑，成为英国历史上最大规模的建筑改造工程，查尔斯王子亲临酒店重新启幕庆贺传奇延续。
伦敦萨伏伊酒店是两种艺术风格的有机融合，朝泰晤士河一面呈现爱德华时代风格，靠斯德兰特大街一侧为装饰艺术风格，设计师皮埃尔罗雄 （Pierre Yves Rochon） 将两种美学特点充分体现在新设计之中，尊重酒店原貌的个性，例如崭新的 Beaufort Bar复原了历史感十足的装饰艺术风格，而著名的美式酒吧几乎保留了原貌。酒店的 267 间客套房则是传统与现代工艺的结晶，焕发出萨伏伊独有的魅力。2016年，盘踞在五层的一套皇室套房再次经过重装崭新面世，在美丽的泰晤士河之上禁得起时间流逝的洗礼，恒久成为客人优雅而舒适的家外之家。
伦敦萨伏伊酒店仍然是历史上那个闪亮的萨伏伊，而且变得更好。
The Savoy London Moments Become Lasting Memories
In 1246, Count Peter of Savoy built the Savoy Palace on land by the side of the river Thames. Though the palace was burned to the ground during the Peasant’s Revolt of 1381, the name remains to the present day. In 1875, The Londonborn theatrical impresario Richard D’Oyly Carte built the Savoy Theatre named after the Savoy Palace site on which it was built, to stage his own productions of lyricist William Schwenk Gilbert and composer Arthur Sullivan’s operas. Impressed by the new hotels in America at the time, Carte decided to build an epochmaking hotel in London. After five years of building, The Savoy hotel London opened on 6th August, 1889.
The Savoy London was the first true luxury hotel in London, its full lightings by electricity, the first electric lifts, the speaking tubes and the luxurious private bathroom with separated cold and hot water marked the coming of a new era. The genius Richard D’Oyly Carte also made a smart and profound decision to recruit César Ritz, later known as the king of hoteliers, as the first hotel manager who helped the hotel to establish a huge reputation for excellence. A name must be mentioned was Auguste Escoffier, a brilliant French chef brought by César Ritz to Savoy kitchen who introduced the English to the subtlety and delicacy of French haute cuisine.
The Savoy London was the platform of the city’s history and prosperity during the turn of 1900s. In 1890, Society hostess Lady de Grey gathered a group of female contemporaries to dine at the hotel as a strike for equality, making it socially acceptable for women to gather for meals in public without their husbands. In 1899, Claude Monet took up residence at The Savoy for two months, painting his famous series of views of London and the River Thames. He returned in 1900 and 1901 to continue the work. In 1905, the American millionaire George A. Kessler hosted a ”Gondola Party” where the central courtyard of Savoy was flooded to a depth of four feet, and scenery was erected around the walls. Costumed staff and guests recreated Venice.
In December 2007, with a budget of £100 million, the hotel closed for the first time in history for a complete renovation, a new energyefficient design reduced the hotel‘s electricity usage by approximately 50. The renovation was completed in October 2010 and the final cost grew to £220 million, the highest in UK building renovation history. Prince Charles attended the reopening ceremony to celebrate the return of a legend.
The décor of Savoy London is Edwardian on the Thames river side and Art Deco on the Strand side. Designer Pierre Yves Rochon artistically combined the two in the new design, showing respect to the original character of the hotel. For example, the new Beaufort Bar has an Art Deco interior of jetblack and gold, while the American Bar is nearly unchanged. The 267 guestrooms and suites seamlessly blend the traditional with the latest in discreet technology, exuding the signature Savoy charm. In 2016, the Savoy unveiled the entirely remodeled Royal Suite spanning the entire riverside of the fifth floor. Guests are afforded dramatic views from floor to ceiling windows over the River Thames. The Royal Suite is indeed an elegant and comfortable home away from home.
The Savoy is still The Savoy, only better.
