Fairmont St Andrews + The Savoy
Anyone who knows me, knows I love discovering new hotels and so was very excited to partner with Fairmont Hotels to discover how their hotels are at the heart of their communities and are working towards becoming more sustainable. The Fairmont Group have two UK based hotels, Fairmont St Andrews in Scotland and The Savoy in central London.
Fairmont St Andrews
First up, the idyllic Fairmont St Andrews Hotel, located a short drive from St Andrews town centre and set among 520 acres of land that overlooks the stunning North Sea. St Andrews is renowned for being the ‘Home of Golf’ and the hotel prides itself with having two championship golf courses, so if you’re a fan of golf you have certainly come to the right place. However, if you’re like me and not a fan (I tried it once and spent the majority of the time completely missing the ball…), the hotel offers many other fantastic facilities including a luxury spa and a number of on-sight restaurants, as well as the most incredible spot for coastal walks!
The hotel itself is huge (with 221 rooms) but what I really loved is the attention to detail especially in the design and chocolate truffles on arrival.
One of the highlights of the trip was getting suited up to check out the beehives. In a continued effort to promote sustainability, the hotel has introduced over 20,000 bees while also returned a large proportion of their manicured lawns back to natural native grasses full of wild flowers to help create an environment where the bees and local wildlife can thrive.
Beekeepers, John Keatings (General Manager) and Johnny Mitchell (Head Gardener) suited us up and introduced us to the hives and how they work. We were even lucky enough to catch a glimpse of the Queen Bee! It was fantastic to see how passionate they were about the bees and how they are continually looking for new ways to make both the hotel more sustainable.
Head Gardener Jonny, then took us on a tour of the greenhouse and gardens where we were met with rows of vegetables, fruit trees and herbs, including some of the biggest onions I have ever seen! The hotel tries to do ‘farm-to'-table’ living as much as possible, with produce from the gardens going to the multiple restaurants at the hotel. For anything not grown on site, the hotel works with sustainable farmers and responsible local suppliers such as Simon Howie who farms beef from farms around Perth and the Black Isle area and Trotter’s Independent, who source all their fruits from within a 50-mile radius.
With its cliff-top setting and stunning over the North Sea, Lobsters are never far from the table thanks to local supplier Andrew Wiston of St Andrews Seafoods. Guests are also invited to fly fish for both rainbow and brown trout combined with a masterclass with the hotels chefs in preparing their catch. I might not be one for golfing but would happily give fly fishing a go (maybe next time!)
We certainly didn’t go hungry over the weekend, with highlights including an amazing seafood platter at St Andrews Bar & Grill which has incredible panoramic views of the sea and St Andrews and where we were also treated to an incredible sunset. Also, the hotel’s Sunday International Brunch is definitely worth a visit (even if you’re not staying at the hotel), with a spectacular feast with an unlimited buffet laden with charcuterie, the the freshest locally sourced produce from the land and sea, as well as a full range of fresh salads. Make sure you save room for desserts (including the chocolate fountain).
On our final day we walked from the hotel to St Andrews along the coast with amazing sea views and rewarded with ice cream on the seafront the other end. We popped to a local store but realised soon after that we missed out on Jannettas Gelateria for the best ice cream around (will just have to come back!). St Andrews is small but still has a great selection of shops, from your usual high street shops to a few touristy stores full of Tartan and Whisky and also a gorgeous old sweet shop where we stocked up on supplies for the journey home!
Thank you so much to the amazing team at Fairmont St Andrews who made us feel so incredibly welcome!
The Savoy
A Sunday afternoon, a few weeks later, Claire and I headed to The Savoy, one of the grandest hotels in London and one seeped in history.
The Savoy was first opened in 1889 by Richard D’Oyly Carte having seen the opulence of American hotels during his visits to the USA.
The hotel has been at the forefront of innovation, being the first luxury hotel in UK to introduce electric lights, electric lifts and later extended to make room for bathrooms in each bedroom, including consent hot and cold running water - a true luxury then! The Savoy theatre next door was was the first public building in the world to be lit entirely by electricity.
With the vision of becoming London’s most environmentally-responsible luxury hotel, The Savoy works diligently to minimise the environmental impact that it has on the planet. It was the first hotel in London to start a food waste recycling programme and also partakes in Foreshore cleanups along the River Thames.
Checking into the most gorgeous suite overlooking the Thames.
After a quick dip in the pool and a change of outfits, we headed downstairs for a pre-dinner drink at The American Bar, the oldest surviving cocktail bar in London, steeped in an incredible and intricate British cocktail history. It was voted the World’s Best Bar in 2017 at World’s 50 Best and again in 2018 named World’s Best again at Tales of the Cocktail.
They have created a unique cocktail menu - the Savoy Songbook. It features 20 cocktails inspired by 20 songs that pay tribute to musicians who have played in the American Bar throughout history. Highly recommend the Electric Lover!
American Bar
We then made our way to Simpsons-in-the-Strand for dinner. I have walked past many times over the past few years and have always been fascinated by the beautiful and grand exterior so it was great to finally get a look inside and like The Savoy, learn about it’s fascinating history!
The Savoy purchased Simpsons-in-the-Strand in 1898 and is one of London’s oldest traditional English restaurants. Simpsons. Originally the ‘home of chess’, with most of the top players of the time playing there at some stage. In 1948, expanded the premises to include a restaurant which became one of London’s top restaurants, with the likes of Charles Dickens being a regular patron. The restaurant became famed for wheeling large joints of meat out on silver dinner trolleys and carving them in front of guests which would allow chess players to be served at their table without interrupting their game. The silver dinner trolleys are a custom that is still carried out today over 150 years later.
The interiors are stunning and you could see touches of history throughout, from one of Simpson's original chess sets to the corner where we were told Churchill would always sit. The restaurants within The Savoy all focus on using regional products and have longstanding relationships with suppliers. Chamberlain’s of London, a family-run fishmongers in Billingsgate has sourced the hotel’s fish for over 25 years, while Finclass in Smithfield Market provides the hotel with meat. As we looked through the menu, it was great to see how important local and seasonal ingredients are.
The food was delicious - I tucked in to English asparagus wrapped in bacon and smoked Lincolnshire poacher cheese, followed by Roast atlantic cod. Definitely recommend checking it out for yourself - I’ll be back to try the Sunday roast soon!
Simpsons-in-the-Strand
Simpsons-in-the-Strand
We fell into bed thinking we would never need to eat again, but as usual awoke thinking of breakfast. With the room bathed in sunlight, we ordered breakfast to our room and ate while still in pyjamas - my favourite!
We fell into bed thinking we would never need to eat again, but as usual awoke thinking of breakfast. With the room bathed in sunlight, we ordered breakfast to our room and ate while still in pyjamas - my favourite!
Before checking out, we met the hotel’s archivist who took us on a tour of the hotel to see the rest of the restaurant but also a few rooms we would probably never have a chance to see!
An amazing spot for afternoon, and The Savoy has recently launched it’s very first Afternoon Tea for children which is inspired by one of my favourite childhood books, The Tiger Who Came to Tea by Judith Kerr.
Thames Foyer
I fell in love with the elegance of this art deco bar and ultra-suave interiors. An amazing date spot if you’re after somewhere a little special
Beaufort Bar
Pinafore Room
One of my favourite rooms we saw, was the Pinafore Room, one of the Savoy’s original Private Dining Rooms. As with most rooms in the Savoy, there is some history every room and this room is no exception. The room is where ‘The Other’s Club’, founded by Churchil and Birkenhead with the initial membership being 12 Liberals, 12 Conservatives, and 12 "distinguished outsiders" who were not in politics. One of the aims of the clubs was to have a place where politicians from differing parties could meet and discuss everything but politics! The club have been meeting in Pinafore since the first dinner in 1911.
Pinafore Room
The Ballroom
The Lancaster Ballroom designed by French architect René Sergeant, is one of the largest and most glamorous ballrooms in London First opened in 1910, the ballroom still contains much of it’s original features and is full of history, with Anna Pavolva dancing on the ballroom stage, George Gershwin chose to perform the British premiere of Rhapsody in Blue here and you may also recognise it from the film Notting Hill where William (Hugh Grant) declares his love for Anna Scott (Julia Roberts) at the press conference.
Lancaster Ballroom
Lancaster Ballroom
The Monet Suite
Lastly, we headed up one of London’s most famous suites - The Monet Suite, where Claude Monet painted some of his most memorable London scenes.
Monet stayed a the hotel in September 1890 for almost two months taking two adjoining rooms, one for himself and one to use as a studio. In total he produced a collection of 80 canvases of London, many of which were sketched from his hotel balcony. The skyline may have changed slightly over the past 100+ years but it certainly is a good one!
The Savoy’s rich history makes the visit even more special and it is clear that the team at the Savoy will go above and beyond for guests at the hotel. I was told how Head Concierge, Dean, recently assisted a guest in finding a long-lost family connection, while Head Butler Sean, came to the rescue of a bride who spilt coffee down her dress and spent hours just focused on getting the dress fixed. If you’re unfamiliar to London, be sure to ask for some recommendations and also say hi to Tony Cortegaca, the Savoy’s head doorman who hasn’t been with the hotel for 35 years!
Thanks so much to the team at the Savoy for an incredible experience and happy 130th anniversary!
