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The Savoy's Clever Canadian Owners

Where: The Strand, London, United Kingdom, WC2R 0EU

Those Brits can be quite settled in their ways. A writer for the London Times is still not used to the idea that the Savoy Hotel was sold to Fairmont of Canada, and apparently still grieves for the loss of the "beloved meat trolley".

On a mission to find out what other changes took place, the writer checked out the new Savoy. Immediate first impressions were that the once plain concierge outfits have been replaced with "sexy airline stewardess gear".

That's not too bad, but with this pricey a hotel (upward toward 500 pounds per night), what are the rooms like? Canadian and American styles in-your-face?

Once past the marvellous Art Deco panelling, portholes and curvy walls in the public areas, our generous-sized room with long windows that opened (on to an office block no less) was pure executive let. There were no chemical pongs, just two ample single beds (as requested) in crisp white linen, two armchairs with reading light, a big desk and a beautiful marble bathroom in 1930s style. Intelligent extras included electronic weighing scales, a proper hairdryer and removeable clothes hangers, both wooden and silk.

The rooms sound nice to us, but then again, we're stupid Americans. The writer also enjoyed the "American Bar" which ironically didn't reek of corporate take-over. But disappointment came again at breakfast which served "America favorites" such as blueberries and bagels.

We doubt the writer will ever be happy about the hotel again, unless they bring back a meat trolley. Still, we can't help but think that the hotel's new Canadian owners are trying to shift the blame for anything that goes wrong at the place by Americanizing everything.

Image via Flaneur/Flickr

Related Stories:
· Savoy Hotel London [The Times]
· Savoy Hotel Reviews [TripAdvisor]