The Savoy - a green hotel?

London's iconic luxury hotel, The Savoy, re-opened on Saturday after being closed since December 2007. The entire hotel has been restored, from its iconic entrance and the American Bar to its renowned Savoy Grill as well as the hotel's 268 guestrooms and suites.

Much has been written about the fact that the Savoy had a green makeover during its £240 million re-fit, so greentraveller's Chief Executive Richard Hammond was given a sneak preview of the new hotel last month, while greentraveller contributor Anna Shepard was given a guided tour of the hotel last week in order to provide 'expert comment' for a BBC Fast Track documentary: BBC World News: A tour of London's Savoy after its £200m restoration.

One of the new Edwardian suites at the Savoy overlooking the London Eye

According to the hotel, more than 1000 craftsmen and women, artists and artisans have worked on the restoration, creationg interiors that are designed to be in keeping with the spirit of the original hotel, which was established in 1889 - the brainchild of the Gilbert and Sullivan impresario Richard D'Oyly Carte.

Thirty-eight new River Suites and Guestrooms have been added, plus there's a whopping 350-square foot Royal Suite. New to the hotel is The Beaufort Bar, an Art Deco bar built on the hotel’s original cabaret stage that provides champagne, cocktails and cabaret, a bijou teashop, while within the Thames Foyer, there's a stunning gazebo beneath an ornate glass dome.

The Savoy's new high-tech efficiency boilers help to reduce the hotel's energy consumption by 40%

A green hotel?
It's hard not to be wowed by the sheer extravagance of the place. It's credentials as a luxury hotel need no introduction from us. But how green is it?

Luxury comes first. But behind the scenes, measures have been taken to reduce the environmental impact of such a large, energy-intensive hotel. In particular, we were impressed with some of the big energy saving initiatives, such as the computerised metering room that monitors the energy use in the hotel every half hour, plus the state of the art boilers that have replaced the hotel's extremely inefficient old steam boilers. We felt too that they have genuinely considered how else to reduce their impact on the environment, from the laundry to the lighting and heating controls in the rooms as well as the hotel's devotion to finding a renewable solution to food waste.

According to the Savoy's Green Team Chairman, Debra Patterson (who is also the Personal Assistant to the General Manager), over £2.4 million was spent on environmental initiatives. Here's a summary of the key initiatives:

• a combined heat and power (CHP) plant that reduces the hotel’s reliance on the national grid by approximately 50 per cent
• an innovative system reclaiming the heat from all kitchen appliances to preheat domestic hot water
• the cooking oil from the hotel’s restaurants is recycled and turned into biodiesel
• an energy management system with 24-hour energy consumption smart metering
• guestroom thermostats in all rooms and suites designed to control lighting and room temperature and using natural ventilation to regulate the temperature in rooms
• low-energy lighting ('where possible') and low-flow water systems
• waste management systems that recycle up to 90 per cent of waste from the hotel
• a partnership with the charity Thames 21 to help maintain the stretch of River Thames in front of The Savoy.
• hybrid vehicles among the fleet for transfers
• BMW bicycles for guests’ use
• the hotel works with local charities to recycle items such as candles, spectacles, stamps and computers
• a 'green butler', Nicolas Ollivier, who, in addition to providing all the traditional ‘butler’ services (such as unpacking and packing - using recycled tissue paper -, serving morning coffee, and arranging receptions), provides advice on ‘all things green’ in and around London, such as where to find eco restaurants, eco bars, environmental architecture and eco-retail outlets.

The Savoys computerised metering rooms monitor energy use thorughout the hotel every half hourVerdict
The Savoy is a huge hotel, massively energy intensive and opulent. Providing laundry services, alone, for all 268 guestrooms and suites has an enormous environmental footprint, so too will all the heating, lighting and dining facilities. And by the way, just one night in the Royal Suite, costs US$15,000, so guests paying that amount of money, one suspects, wouldn't want to compromise on anything. Indeed, as the Savoy's Debra Patterson says: "Guests would never have to sacrifice anything when they come to the Savoy. They can indulge and luxuriate, in the knowledge that everything behinds the scenes is been done to be an environmentally responsible hotel, but at the luxurious end."

We were, however, impressed with the Savoy's soft green underbelly, particularly its efforts to reduce its considerable draw on energy. Investing in a state of the art computerised energy monitoring system (above) and energy efficient boilers does set an example to other large city centre hotels. As Anna Shepard says in her BBC World interview: "it's sending out the message that a big hotel as big as this - and as luxury as this - can reduce its impact".

It's interesting to note, too, what Kiaran Macdonald, General Manager of the Savoy Hotel, says about a new definition of luxury: "Luxury has changed in the last few years from the point of how it is defined... it used to something that was very materialistic... and very new. Now people are looking for authenticity - something that has integrity behind it".

If only all large hotels in London, indeed throughout other European cities, as well as the many thousands of new hotels that are currently being built in Asia, attempted to reduce their energy requirements by 50%, as the restored Savoy has done, what a difference that would make.

Review by Richard Hammond and Anna Shepard.

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The Savoy 'Elements' Package, which includes the services of the 'green butler', an organic, 3 course dinner in the River Restaurant and organic breakfast, costs from £825 per night, based on double occupancy.

For more information on the Savoy's green initiatives, see Savoy's Environmental Initiatives.