Luxury Hotel’s Milk of Human Kindness
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.
