Today I’m just going to share with you some photos and quick thoughts of my stay at The Savoy. The ties between James Bond and The Savoy stretch all the way back to the Dr No, where (according to Literary 007) Ian Fleming invited Sean Connery to a pre-production lunch. In attendance also was Janet, Marchioness of Milford Haven (and cousin to Ivar Bryce) who gave her approval to Fleming.
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The Savoy is mentioned the hotel in several of Fleming’s books including Dr No, Quantum of Solace and Diamonds Are Forever, where gem-smuggler Rufus B. Saye/Jack Spang called it home.
“She had sat next to Bond and chattered vivaciously about ‘what shows he had recently seen in town’ and ‘didn’t he think the Savoy Grill was the nicest place for supper. One saw so many interesting people – actresses and people like that”. – Quantum of Solace.
I’ve also discovered that Fleming drank Martini’s here at the Savoy Bar and Grill, as mentioned in the most recent biography by Nicholas Shakespeare, The Complete Man.
“When I tell you that The Savoy hotel are now mixing martini’s out of bathtub gin and sherry you will know that we are rapidly regressing into swamp life and the transitional period is distasteful.” Ch28, The Complete Man.
There is no mention or photos of Fleming or any of the James Bond actors in The American Bar, which is a shame. There are photos of Connery in The Savoy that can be found on the ThunderBalls site. After speaking to a member of staff at The Savoy, I was informed that the room where Connery is sitting down drinking champagne is in the Royal Suite.
This is currently under renovation so I did not get to see it.
The shots where Connery is getting snapped by the press on a park bench is located outside the river side entrance. I did a post on the Instagram channel, see below,
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Hope you enjoyed this post. Consider buying the physical London Bond Map for your trip to London here.
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