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I mentioned in passing last month Sean Davoren, the Head Butler at the newly re-opened Savoy luxury hotel in London.

Mr Davoren is likely to become a national TV figure from next Monday when a documentary on the Savoy is aired by ITV.

He will be seen leading a rigorous recruitment drive to select and train a team for the hotel’s reinstated butler service – the first time the hotel has offered this facility for 50 years. “You will be the wind beneath the guests’ wings,” he tells the hopefuls.

Mr Davoren, who’s been a butler for 30 years and has served every European royal family, has been speaking – ever so discreetly – about his work. “You should be able to ask me for anything, however personal that might be, and I should give you that confidence back that I wouldn’t bat an eyelid.”

One guest asked him to go on a £19,000 shopping spree in and around London while others have had more simple requests – such as wanting to have a glass of goat’s milk. “The milk cost £3.50, but I had to send a chauffeur, who cost £650, to Wales to collect it,” he said.

Asked about the most peculiar item he had been asked for, Mr Davoren replied: “To track down a particular type of milk that is very good for the older man who has a younger wife, apparently. It comes from Africa from an animal with stripes. That was quite challenging.”

by Andy Moreton, with acknowledgements to the Radio Times

London is now brimming with top class luxury hotels to rival the Savoy. Take a look at Luxique’s comprehensive list.

The film actor Richard Gere has taken on a new role – as ambassador for Relais & Châteaux, the worldwide group of small luxury hotels and restaurants.

He and his actress wife, Carey Lowell, are owners of the Bedford Post, an eight-room country inn about an hour’s drive north of New York City, which has just been named a new member of the R&C group.

The couple lovingly restored the old former coaching inn that had fallen into disrepair, developing it as a ‘community gathering place, yoga studio and luxury lodging’.

R&C International President, Jaume Tàpies, was impressed with their achievement: “Richard Gere is the quintessential innkeeper whose personal journey to revive and maintain a historic property is an exceptional example of the passion that binds Relais & Châteaux together.”

Reviews of the Bedford Post have apparently been mixed, and Gere is frank about the couple not being trained hoteliers. “We’re learning,” he said.

The Bedford Post is one of 36 new R&C members.

by Andy Moreton

There are now more than 500 Relais & Châteaux hotels and restaurants in 60 countries – find some of them among Luxique’s comprehensive list of luxury hotels around the world.

I wrote recently about the handsome refurbishment of the Savoy, the first luxury hotel in London.

Since it was opened in 1889, the Savoy has hosted Royalty, Presidents, Prime Ministers and Hollywood stars. The Queen was first seen in public with Prince Philip at a reception at the luxury hotel; Churchill and his cabinet met at the Savoy Grill during the war; Laurence Olivier first met Vivien Leigh there.

Some celebrities wanted complete anonymity; all were treated with the utmost care and attention – and that continues. “You’d have to cut my head off before I told you anything indiscreet about any of our guests,” the Head Butler, Sean Davoren, told the Daily Telegraph.

Part of the Savoy’s history is preserved in a collection of index cards, organised by name and year of stay, detailing the whims and preferences of the guests. Thousands of them are in storage, while a few are displayed in glass cabinets at the hotel.

Marlene Dietrich required, on arrival, 12 pink roses and a bottle of Dom Perignon. If you book the Marlene Dietrich suite today, you’ll be greeted by those 12 pink roses –not sure about the champagne.

These days, the information is in Sean Davoren’s computer – or in his head. “I’m always listening, always looking, even if the guests don’t notice. We build up a detailed profile … and thank God for digital cameras, which allow us to recreate a room exactly as they’d want it.”

by Andy Moreton, with acknowledgements to Iain Hollingshead

London is now brimming with top class luxury hotels to rival the Savoy. Take a look at Luxique’s comprehensive list.

A luxury hotel in northern Cyprus is threatening to sue the singer Jennifer Lopez for pulling out of a concert there.

On her 41st birthday, J-Lo had been due at a gig to mark the opening of the $220 million (£143 million) Cratos Premium Hotel and Casino in Kyrenia on July 24th, but cancelled her appearance citing the ‘political realities’ of the region.

Protesters had called for her to withdraw because the north of the island has been occupied by Turkey since a 1974 invasion which displaced about 200,000 Greek-Cypriots. Turkey has unilaterally claimed sovereignty for the region.

Media reports say she would have been paid $3 million (£1.95 million) for her appearance, but a statement on her website said: “Jennifer Lopez would never knowingly support any state, country, institution or regime that was associated with any form of human rights abuse.”

However, the owners of the luxury hotel and resort say she’s bound by a contract, and if she doesn’t show up, they will start proceedings to recoup $35-40 million (£23-26 million) in damages.

by Andy Moreton

Holiday companies do organise trips to Northern Cyprus, but the region can be accessed only through Turkey. However, Luxique offers the best rates at three fine luxury hotels in the south of the island.

The piece I wrote a couple of weeks ago about luxury hotels becoming design icons has been borne out by work going on at the prestigious Claridge’s Hotel in London.

Claridge’s, known for its Art Deco opulence, hired the fashion legend Diane von Furstenberg (think wrap dress) to revamp 20 suites. It was something of a labour of love because she’s been going there as a guest for 30 years and declares it her favourite hotel in the world.

Time magazine asked her what made a luxury hotel room appealing: “It’s always about comfort. When you come to a hotel room, you want it to be grand, functional and beautiful. But you don’t want things that are not useful. Sometimes you go to hotels and there are all these frames and pictures of people you don’t know and you end up hiding everything in the drawer and then housekeeping come and put it out again.”

Did she think luxury remained relevant in these hard times? “For me the real sense of luxury is space. Luxury is silence. Luxury is nature. What I hate is when people think of luxury just as expensive and useless. Yes, a luxury hotel is expensive. But, God, sometimes it feels so good.”

Of course, we at Luxique are inclined to agree and we can help you book a room or a von Furstenberg-designed suite at Claridge’s.

by Andy Moreton, with acknowledgements to Time magazine

There are luxury hotels and budget hotels and then there are hotels that are just, well, trash.

A temporary hotel built in Rome was just that – constructed out of debris from the world’s beaches. Its five rooms and reception were lined with 12 tonnes of rubbish including toys, cans and car exhaust pipes.

Save The Beach Hotel, which was open for guests for only four days, was designed to raise awareness of European beach pollution. Last Saturday was World Environment Day.

The Danish supermodel (and environmental campaigner) Helena Christensen, who stayed at the hotel, said it was a striking work of art. She told the BBC: “When you’re inside, there are walls as there would be in a normal house, but they’re all made of inorganic waste. And then the outside is completely covered in everything that we throw on beaches.”

The hotel, which stood beside the 2nd Century Castel Sant’Angelo on the banks of the Tiber, was created by German artist Ha Schult. “We are in the trash time,” he said. “We produce trash and we will be trash. So this hotel is the mirror of the situation. We have to change the world, before the world changes us.”

by Andy Moreton

There’s no rubbish among Luxique’s selection of luxury hotels in Rome – we have only the very best.

A recent story that had wide coverage in the States but might have passed other readers by was that of Erin Andrews, the ESPN reporter who was videotaped nude in various hotel rooms by a stalker.

The man, who’s pleaded guilty to stalking charges and will be sentenced next month, apparently made the tapes by installing a miniature camera in the peephole of the door. He then published them online.

Erin Andrews says she still has nightmares about the voyeur, and her lawyer, Marshall Grossman, told ABC’s Good Morning America that she intended to campaign for sweeping changes in the hotel industry to protect against potential stalkers nationwide.

Security experts told ABC of some simple steps to make sure your next stay in a hotel room is a safe one, and I happily pass them on:

• Always use the chain lock in addition to the deadbolt. Using both protects the occupant even from people who may have gained access to master keys.

• If you’re suspicious of someone knocking on your door, call the front desk to make sure of his or her identification.

• Make sure the front desk doesn’t announce your room number when you check in, and be aware of who is in listening distance.

• If you think you may be a target for stalkers, some experts recommend switching rooms or hotels frequently and trying to not stay in rooms with connecting doors unless you know the other occupant.

by Andy Moreton, with acknowledgements to ABC

It’s been reported here in the UK that Beyoncé Knowles booked a hotel room - just for her luggage!

The diva was performing at the Liverpool Echo Arena, but stayed in Manchester in the lavish Charles Forte Presidential Suite at the Lowry Hotel at the rate of about £2,450 ($4,000) a night.

But after struggling to find space for her 12 items of luggage, her minders rented another room, this time at Liverpool’s Malmaison hotel.

A source there told the Press:

“She had seven suitcases, three hand-luggage bags and two boxes, all for her mammoth concert. In the cases were, apparently, 14 dresses, lots of shoes, make-up and 25 wigs.”

It apparently took four helpers to carry her luggage up the stairs to the room.

Beyoncé is not the only singer who refuses to travel light. Last year, Mariah Carey flew to London for a three-day trip – and brought 20 suitcases with her.

by Andy Moreton

Both these fine luxury hotels in North-West England – the Lowry and the Malmaison – are ready to book through Luxique

Michael Jackson has turned up in the beautiful area of west-central England known as the Cotswolds – although he apparently didn’t see much apart from the view from the window of his luxurious country house hotel.

Jackson has spent several weeks in the UK in preparation for his series of concerts at the O2 Arena in London next month, and enjoyed a secret break with his children (and small entourage) at Buckland Manor.

He took seven rooms at the Manor, which dates back to the thirteenth century and is set in glorious grounds with immaculate gardens, running stream, small waterfalls, croquet lawns and tennis courts.

The few staff who knew the identity of the celebrity behind the closed curtains were sworn to secrecy, but some details of the visit leaked out. If you believe the press reports, here are some highlights:

• The party arrived disguised in Arab veils and clothing
• Jackson used a dodgy Irish accent to order jelly and ice cream from room service
• Bodyguards were dispatched to go on shopping missions

That all seems to tie in with the singer’s reputation for erratic behaviour, but a hotel source insisted the singer had been ultra-friendly. “We had a nice chat,” he said. “Jackson was quite normal really. You read these things, but he was nice and very polite. His children were perfectly polite too.”

by Andy Moreton

Buckland Manor bills itself as ‘the best leisure hotel in the British Isles’, and Luxique has negotiated the best rates for your stay.

It’s not been confirmed which luxury London hotel Jackson will take over in the summer, but in the past he’s favoured The Lanesborough. Pop divas Beyoncé and Britney Spears recently took suites at the Mandarin Oriental overlooking Hyde Park.

One of the most famous hotels in the world – Raffles in Singapore – is reported to be up for sale.

Prince Alwaleed of Saudi Arabia is apparently seeking a buyer for the holding company Fairmont Raffles Hotels International in spite of the depressed state of the property market. The asking price is quoted as anything between $450 million (£309 million) and $670 million (£460 million).

The Prince is a multi-billionaire and 22nd on the Forbes Magazine rich list, but like so many others, he’s been hit hard by the credit crunch. Said one commentator: “He’s down to his last $13 billion (£9 billion).”

Industry sources say the Prince is also looking for a buyer for one of London’s most famous hotels, the Savoy. The price for that could be more than $290 million (£200 million).

The Raffles hotel is a reminder of British colonial times in Singapore. Its clientele have included the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh, the writers Rudyard Kipling, Noel Coward and Somerset Maugham and the actresses Liz Taylor and Ava Gardner.

There are many stories about Raffles. In 1902, a circus tiger escaped and took refuge in the hotel’s billiards room before being shot by a local hunter. And Raffles will be forever associated with the Singapore Sling, a gin-based cocktail that was invented in the hotel’s Long Bar shortly before the First World War.

by Andy Moreton

Raffles Hotel, which consistently wins top travel industry awards, is bookable through Luxique at the best rates available as well as several other award winning luxury hotels in Singapore.