Afternoon tea
In Gallery from noon to 6.45pm, from £90 a head plus a suggested 15% service; from 6pm to 9.30pm, Twilight Tea.
The Savoy
The Savoy, on the Strand in London, is the grand hotel that opened in 1889 between Covent Garden and the Thames: 263 rooms and suites, the American Bar and tea under Gallery’s dome.
A week here, month by monthFor the West End theatres and the river on foot, the Savoy starts at £575 in January 2027 for 2 adults: the lowest seller’s single-night price on Google. If a full spa matters, choose elsewhere: here there are a heated pool and 3 treatment rooms.
Book tea on the official site Rooms and rates on the official siteDoes it suit you?
5 pairs of hotels, and the guide tells you whether this one suits you.Like a regular
The river suite to request
I would ask for the Junior Suite River View: 39 m² with a king bed, armchairs and a sofa arranged around the view of the Thames, in the Edwardian grey-and-tangerine palette.
The week that costs less
The week of 5–11 February 2027 showed single nights from £563 to £594 for 2 adults on Google, read 15 October 2026. The dearest night it shows, 12 December 2026, was £1,310.
On top of the rate
Room rates include VAT where applicable, and a discretionary service charge may be added to the bill. Valet parking by the doormen needs no booking and starts at £22.50 for 2 hours.
Scones at 12.04pm
Be at Scoff, the hotel’s lacquer-red, glass-fronted pastry shop, at 12.04pm: that is when the scones come out, on the dot, as a playful nod to 4pm teatime.
What the Savoy is
Richard D’Oyly Carte built it beside the Savoy Theatre and opened it in 1889, with César Ritz as manager and Escoffier in the kitchen; by the hotel’s account it was Britain’s first purpose-built luxury hotel. From 1899 Claude Monet painted the Thames from his rooms. Closed in December 2007, it reopened in 2010 after a £220 million restoration; Fairmont runs it today.
Of the 263 rooms and suites, 162 are Edwardian, grey and tangerine, some on the river; the rest, Art Deco, are on the Strand side. They run from the 27 m² Superior Queen to the 264 m² Royal Suite, and the Terrace Suite is the only one with a terrace. A butler comes with the 5 largest suites, from the One Bedroom River View upwards.
Tea is served in Gallery under the stained-glass dome, with a pianist; in the evening there is the American Bar, opened in 1893, and Gordon Ramsay runs the Savoy Grill, the River Restaurant and Restaurant 1890. Wellness comes down to a heated pool under a skylight, a sauna, a steam room, a 24-hour gym and 3 treatment rooms.
In the Lumina Guide
Lumina Guide 2027
The Savoy, on the Strand in London, is the grand hotel that opened in 1889 between Covent Garden and the Thames: 263 rooms and suites, the American Bar and tea under Gallery’s dome.
How we choose the hotelsThose who come back
Among the Savoy’s regulars, 5 praise the staff, and 4 write of drinks at the American Bar. They notice what has changed: 4 describe renovated rooms or interiors, from the remodelled Edwardian side to an Art Deco Luxury King that looked freshly refurbished. A guest who wrote in March 2026 found the hotel much improved since a stay a few years earlier. And a guest who has stayed many times, writing in January 2026, recommends booking ahead for High Tea.
- 15 of the 815 reviews with text say it is not a first stay
- A second stay for some, a third for another
- 2 come back every year
The 5 things that matter look at the 500 most recent reviews; here, all 815 with text.
Our reading, point by point
What we found reading the hotel’s own pages, one thing at a time.
Location
On the Strand: Somerset House 3 minutes away, Covent Garden Underground 7, the National Gallery 10
Character
D’Oyly Carte’s 1889 grand hotel, with Savoy Court, the American Bar and Gallery under the dome
Rooms
15 room types, from the 27 m² Superior Queen to the 264 m² Royal Suite
Food and social life
Gallery, 3 Gordon Ramsay restaurants, the American Bar and the Beaufort Wine Bar
Wellness
A heated pool under a skylight, sauna, steam room, a 24-hour gym and 3 treatment rooms
The stay as a whole
Tea from £90; on Google Hotels, read on 15 October 2026, a night was £887 on 14 December 2026 and £575 on 14 January 2027
The 5 things that matter, as guests tell them
What do The Savoy’s guests say? They write it in their reviews, even those who only came for a drink or dinner: we read every one and tell the 5 things that matter, from the location to the bill.
Location
Nearly every guest who mentions it is happy with it. From the Strand, Covent Garden, the West End theatres and the Thames are all on foot.
Room
9 in 10 guests who mention it are happy with it. Guests come back to the newly renovated rooms, the comfortable beds and, for those who booked one, the river view; a few found their room small.
Staff and service
9 in 10 guests who mention it are happy with it. Guests remember the doormen’s welcome at the entrance, the front desk and the concierge; at the bars some describe long waits, and being turned away without a booking.
Breakfast
Nearly every guest who mentions it is happy with it. Breakfast is in Gallery, and guests remember the room and the people who served them.
Price
5 in 10 guests who mention the price find it fair. Guests who find the bill fair point to the service and an occasion to celebrate; those who find it dear often mean the afternoon tea.
The numbers, and how we count them
| What | Score out of 10 | Guests who mention it | Happy |
|---|---|---|---|
| Location | 8.5 | 76 | 95% |
| Room | 7.8 | 101 | 85% |
| Staff and service | 8.7 | 361 | 90% |
| Breakfast | 8.6 | 43 | 95% |
| Price | – | 53 | 47% |
The scores come from 500 Google reviews with text, left from 20 June 2025 to 3 October 2026. The other hotels are the ones weighed for a stay in London: for each we read its latest 500 Google reviews with text, or all of them where there are fewer, as of 15 October 2026. The score is the average of what they say, from 0 if they speak of it very badly to 10 if they speak of it very well. Where only a few mention something, the score stays close to the guide’s average: a handful of voices does not make a reputation.
The hotels we weigh it against in London:
- Corinthia London
- Raffles London
- Ritz
- Claridge’s
- Rosewood
Price: for two on the night of 14 January 2027, from £575 (seen on Google Hotels on 15 October 2026).
What a night costs, season by season
From 3 January to 11 February 2027 single nights for 2 adults run from £563 to £649; from 24 November 2026 to 2 January 2027 they climb from £842 to £1,310. I would start with mid-January dates: from 11 to 17 January 2027 nights stay between £575 and £601.
| Period | Pounds a night |
|---|---|
| 16 Oct.–19 Nov. 2026 | 654–924 |
| 24 Nov. 2026–2 Jan. 2027 | 842–1,310 |
| 3 Jan.–11 Feb. 2027 | 563–649 |
| 12 Feb.–15 Sep. 2027 | 639–1,094 |
The lowest price any seller showed on Google Hotels for one night searched alone, for 2 adults, read 15 October 2026; no room or meal plan is specified. The calendar stops on 15 September 2027. The night of 20 December 2026, at £842, is a lone low night between dearer ones; there is no price on 24 and 25 December or on 30 and 31 December 2026, nor from 14 to 18 and from 20 to 23 November 2026.
The Savoy, Raffles at The OWO or Claridge’s
Choose the Savoy for the Strand, with Somerset House 3 minutes away, or Raffles London at The OWO for Whitehall, with Horse Guards 3 minutes away and Big Ben 8. Choose Claridge’s for Mayfair, with Bond Street station 4 minutes away on the Elizabeth line to Heathrow.
| Hotel | A night, from |
|---|---|
| The Savoy | £842 |
| Raffles London | £860 |
| Claridge’s | £1,074 |
The lowest single-night seller price in the week of 14–20 December 2026, for 2 adults, on Google: the Savoy read on 15 October 2026, Raffles London at The OWO and Claridge’s on 13 October 2026; no room or meal plan is specified.
From Savoy Court to the Royal Suite
The way in from the Strand, tea under Gallery’s dome, breakfast, the Royal Suite and the scones at Scoff.
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From tea in Gallery to the pool
Tea under the dome, the 1893 bar, Gordon Ramsay’s grill, the River Restaurant’s counter, the Beaufort’s cellar and the pool.
American Bar
Open since 1893: Monday to Saturday noon to midnight, Sunday to 10pm; from 16 with an adult, though hotel guests may bring children of any age.
Savoy Grill
Gordon Ramsay, the grill and the Beef Wellington; on Fridays and Saturdays straight through from noon to midnight.
River Restaurant
British fish and shellfish from breakfast to late, with the round bar at the centre of the room.
Beaufort Wine Bar
Black and gold, Tuesday to Saturday 5pm to midnight: over 250 wines, more than 120 by the glass; over-18s only.
The pool
Heated, lit by the skylight, with a jet stream; weekdays 7am to 9pm, children 9am to 5pm.
Good to know before you book
There is no formal dress code; the hotel asks for elegance, and sports or supporters’ shirts and offensive clothing are refused in the restaurants and bars.
A discretionary 15% service is added to the tea bill, as the menu says; on OpenTable cancelling within 48 hours costs £90 a head.
The pool is included for hotel guests; non-residents come in with a treatment or the £85 day pass.
In the 5 butler suites, the house car, the transfer and the other extras come with bookings on the hotel’s site or through its reservations team, and not on promotional rates.
Dogs pay £100 a stay; they are not left alone in the room and do not go into the bars or restaurants.
The 15 rooms and suites
Getting there
You come in through Savoy Court, the forecourt off the Strand; from there Charing Cross station is 6 minutes on foot.
| Address | Strand, London WC2R 0EZ, between Covent Garden and the Thames. |
|---|---|
| Underground | Charing Cross 6 minutes, 456 metres; Covent Garden 7, 494 metres; Embankment 6 minutes by the hotel’s count. |
| Airports | Heathrow under 50 minutes by car, or the Heathrow Express to Paddington and 30 minutes by car; London City under 45; Gatwick under 1 hour 40. |
| Car and river | Valet parking by the doormen with no booking, from £22.50 for 2 hours; Woods’ Silver Fleet private boats leave from Woods’ Quay, at the door. |
Drive times, valet parking and Embankment from the official FAQ; the other walks start at Savoy Court and are measured on OpenStreetMap’s streets. Sources read on 15 October 2026.
Beyond the hotel
Somerset House next door, Covent Garden behind, the Embankment gardens in front and Trafalgar Square at the end of the Strand.
Somerset House
The riverside palace with its fountain courtyard: 3 minutes on foot, 233 metres to the Strand entrance.
Covent Garden
The market building and the piazza; Covent Garden Underground is 7 minutes away, 494 metres.
Victoria Embankment Gardens
The garden between the hotel and the river, below the River Room’s windows.
Trafalgar Square and the National Gallery
At the end of the Strand: 10 minutes on foot, 740 metres to the Sainsbury Wing entrance.
From the Strand to Covent Garden and the Thames
The hotel on Savoy Court, Somerset House, Covent Garden, the National Gallery, the riverside gardens and the Underground stations. Tap a place to see the walking route.
Loading map…
Recommended for you
A day at the Savoy
7am
Breakfast in Gallery
Breakfast is served in Gallery from 7am to 10.30am, or at the River Restaurant.
The morning
Walk to Somerset House
Somerset House is 3 minutes away along the Strand, and Covent Garden Underground 7.
The afternoon
Tea under the dome
Take tea in Gallery under the stained-glass dome, to the sound of a pianist.
Before dinner
Swim under the skylight
The heated pool, lit by the skylight, stays open until 9pm on weekdays.
Evening
Cross to the theatre
For a show in the evening, the Savoy Theatre is next door.
After the show
Cocktails at the American Bar
The American Bar, open since 1893, serves until midnight Monday to Saturday and until 10pm on Sunday.
The Savoy: reviews
Scores read on 15 October 2026 on Google and on 4 October 2026 on Tripadvisor.
Guest voices
GoogleThe doorman knew their name
In June 2026 a guest writes that the doorman, in top hat and tails, greeted them by name on arrival, and so did every member of staff after him. From the room they saw the river, Parliament and the bridges lit up at night.
Google · June 2026Read the review
GoogleThe renovated river room
In May 2026 a guest on a second visit describes the newly renovated river-view room and the service in the hotel and the restaurants; from there they walked to Covent Garden and the theatres.
Google · May 2026Read the review
Google6 in 2 connecting rooms
In August 2026 a family of 2 adults and 4 children writes that they took 2 connecting rooms for 3 people each, and remembers the breakfast and how safe the hotel felt.
Google · August 2026Read the review
Questions about the Savoy
What kind of hotel is the Savoy?
A grand hotel on the Strand, on the Thames, opened in 1889 by Richard D’Oyly Carte: by its own account Britain’s first purpose-built luxury hotel. It has 263 rooms and suites, Fairmont runs it and Accor owns it, as the official FAQ says. The MICHELIN Guide gives it 3 Keys, according to its awards page.
What rooms and suites are there?
15 types in the official catalogue: 6 rooms from 27 to 51 m², including the Luxury Double Double with 2 double beds and the Two Bedroom Family Room for 5; 4 suites from 39 to 54 m²; 5 butler suites, from the 61 m² One Bedroom River View Suite to the 264 m² Royal Suite. The Terrace Suite is the only one with a terrace.
How much does a night at the Savoy cost?
Google Hotels, read on 15 October 2026, for 2 adults and one night, showed £814 for 19 November 2026, £887 for 14 December 2026, £575 for 14 January 2027 and £662 for 15 February 2027. It gave no price for 24, 25, 30 and 31 December 2026. The calendar names no room.
How much is afternoon tea at the Savoy?
From £90 a head, plus a discretionary 15% service, in Gallery from noon to 6.45pm; from 6pm to 9.30pm there is Twilight Tea, £49 on OpenTable. It lasts 1 hour 45 minutes, with a pianist. The menu of 10 September 2026 has a Prestige version with Champagne and lobster with caviar, a High Tea with Cornish monkfish, vegetarian, plant-based and children’s teas; there is no minimum age.
Where is it, and how do you get around?
On the Strand, between Covent Garden and the Thames; you enter through Savoy Court. On foot, Somerset House is 3 minutes away, Covent Garden Underground 7, Charing Cross 6 and the National Gallery 10. Heathrow is under 50 minutes by car, according to the FAQ.
What spa does the Savoy have?
The Beauty & Fitness centre has a heated pool under a skylight with a jet stream, a sauna, a steam room, a 24-hour gym with a Peloton bike and 3 rooms for Natura Bissé, La-Eva and HydraFacial treatments, as the wellness page lists. Treatments run from 10am to 6.30pm.
Is the pool included, and can non-residents use it?
For hotel guests the pool, sauna, steam room and gym are included. Non-residents come in by booking a treatment or with an £85 day pass per person; memberships are sold too.
What is the pool like, and when is it open?
Indoor, heated, lit by the atrium skylight, with a jet stream. It opens 7am to 9pm on weekdays and 8am to 8pm at weekends and on bank holidays; children swim from 9am to 5pm.
Where are breakfast and dinner served?
Breakfast is in Gallery from 7am to 10.30am, or at the River Restaurant. For dinner there is Gallery until 9.30pm, then Gordon Ramsay’s 3 restaurants: the Savoy Grill for steak and Beef Wellington, the River Restaurant for seafood and the MICHELIN-starred Restaurant 1890, Tuesday to Saturday.
Are parking and the airport transfer free?
No: valet parking by the doormen starts at £22.50 for 2 hours, and chauffeured cars, the Rolls-Royce included, and transfers are arranged by the concierge. One of the 5 butler suites booked direct includes the house car within 3 miles, when it is free, and a one-way transfer, or valet parking.
Which room suits a family?
The Two Bedroom Family Room, 51 m², has a king bedroom and a room with 2 double beds, for 5. The Luxury Double Double has 2 double beds in 39 m². Children up to 12 eat breakfast free in Gallery and have their own afternoon tea; the concierge arranges a babysitter.
Can you hold weddings and private events?
Yes. The Lancaster Ballroom, 476 m², has its own stage and holds up to 700 for a reception; the River Room, 252 m² over the Embankment gardens, up to 300; the Abraham Lincoln, 282 m², up to 200. Wedding packages include the bridal suite and rates for guests; the official pages publish no prices.
Is there a New Year’s Eve dinner?
Yes: the Midnight Under the Big Top gala on 31 December 2026 from 7pm, with a Champagne reception, a 5-course dinner, the band Totem and a toast before London’s fireworks. In the hotel’s online shop, tickets cost £1,595 or £1,695 and are non-refundable. Gallery also has a High Tea and a 5-course set dinner.
What do the packages include?
Dine and Dream, from £800 plus VAT: a Deluxe King or above, breakfast and £50 per adult per night to spend in Gallery, the bars, Scoff or in-room dining, the Gordon Ramsay restaurants excluded. The Afternoon Tea offer gives a suite and tea for 2, with at least 2 nights and tea booked 3 days ahead.
Is the Savoy open all year?
Yes. On 15 October 2026 Google Hotels showed prices from 16 October 2026 to 15 September 2027. On New Year’s Day Gallery takes last breakfast orders at 11.30am, and tea starts at 1pm with the last sitting at 5pm.
What do guests say?
On Google it scores 4.7 out of 5 from 11,111 reviews, on 15 October 2026. In the 500 most recent with text, guests praise the location, the staff and breakfast; those who criticise the price often mean afternoon tea.
Can you bring a dog?
Yes, for a one-off £100 a stay; the dog finds its own things in the room, but cannot be left alone there and may not enter the bars and restaurants, registered service animals excepted.
Is there a dress code?
There is no formal code: the hotel asks for elegant clothes and refuses offensive clothing and sports or supporters’ shirts. The Beaufort Wine Bar admits over-18s, the American Bar over-16s with an adult, and hotel guests may bring children of any age.
What time are check-in and check-out, and until when can you cancel?
Check-in is guaranteed from 3pm, check-out at noon. On the flexible rate you cancel free until 2pm the day before arrival; after that the first night is charged. There is no smoking anywhere in the hotel, and there are 6 accessible rooms.
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