I have known Savoir and its founder, Alistair Hughes, for the best part of thirty years. So when people ask me what I really think of a Savoir bed, I do not give them the polite answer, I give them the honest one. Savoir makes one of the finest bed bases in Britain, sells a genuinely beautiful bed, and asks a price that deserves real scrutiny. Here is my honest verdict.
Who are Savoir Beds, and where did they come from?
Quick answer: Savoir grew out of the Savoy Hotel's own bed workshop in London, which made beds for royalty, heads of state and film stars. Alistair Hughes bought the small business and turned it into one of the world's most recognised luxury bed names.
The Savoy Hotel once ran a workshop that made beds for the hotel alone. Kings, queens and film stars slept on them, asked where they could buy one, and a quiet little business grew up around that demand. When the workshop became available, Alistair Hughes, who had been a business consultant rather than a bed man, bought it with his partner Stephen.
It was tiny when he started. A small shop on Wigmore Street, perhaps four beds on display, and yet the interior design world adored it. That heritage is real, and it is the single biggest reason Savoir can command the prices it does today.
What Savoir Beds do really well
Quick answer: Their hand-lashed base is one of the best foundations made anywhere, and their design work is more adventurous than almost anyone else in the luxury market.
The first time I visited Alistair's showroom, the thing that stopped me was his hand-lashed divan. I had seen bases built that way decades earlier, the old way, before most of the industry abandoned it because it takes so many hours of skilled labour. A base built like that gives the mattress above it a proper foundation to work from. I stood there and told him honestly that I envied it.
The design and aesthetics are just as strong. He recruits students from the interior design schools, takes artwork from galleries and prints it onto his fabrics, and produces headboards you simply do not see elsewhere. He also kept control of his own shops in New York and Paris rather than handing them to franchisees, which is why the brand has stayed so consistent over the years.
Alistair's base is one of the finest foundations made in Britain. I stood in his showroom and told him I envied it.
The one thing I think a Savoir bed gets wrong
Quick answer: The mattress does not live up to the exceptional base beneath it. In my honest opinion the base flatters the mattress, rather than the two being properly matched.
Here is where I have to be straight with you. When I first saw that beautiful base, I asked to see the mattress that went on top of it, and my honest reaction was that the two did not match. The base was making the mattress feel far better than it had any right to.
When I said as much to Alistair, his answer was that they had made that bed the same way for decades and there was nothing wrong with it. That, to me, is the comfort zone that so much of the established British industry sat in for years, until the Scandinavian makers arrived and changed what a luxury mattress could be. I have a great deal of respect for what Savoir has built. I just believe the mattress has more catching up to do than the base.
Is a Savoir bed worth the money?
Quick answer: A Savoir Number One is a genuinely fine bed, but the running cost of its topper deserves a hard look before you commit.
Savoir keeps a deliberately small range, roughly four beds. Here are the two ranges side by side, all super king complete sets at 2026 prices:
| Marshall & Stewart | Price (2026) | Savoir | Price (2026) |
| Koh-I-Noor | £54,100 | Number 1 | £124,785 |
| Cullinan | £47,980 | Number 2 | £46,470 |
| Orloff | £43,750 | Number 3 | £34,425 |
| Florentine | £32,450 | Number 4 | £17,845 |
| Sancy | £25,350 | ||
| Hortensia | £18,230 |
These are not matched pairs, every maker builds its range its own way. But laid out together the picture is clear: our entire range, top to bottom, sits below the price of a single Savoir Number One. That gap is not about what goes into the bed, and I will explain exactly why in the next section.
The Number One is a very nice bed. It was developed with help from people who had worked with Hästens, including the man who was instrumental in creating the Vividus. But look closely at the topper. A Savoir topper costs in the region of £27,000, and like every topper it is a consumable. It will give you three to five years before it needs replacing.
A topper is disposable, like the tyres on a car. There is nothing wrong with that, it is simply the nature of the thing. But at £27,000, spread across three to five years, you are looking at somewhere between £450 and £750 a month for the layer you sleep on top of. It is beautifully made, yak hair and all. I simply believe you are entitled to know exactly what you are taking on before you buy.
A topper is a consumable, like the tyres on a car. At £27,000, you are entitled to know exactly what you are signing up for.
How a Savoir bed compares with a Marshall & Stewart bed
Quick answer: They are both fine beds. The honest test is to lie on a Marshall & Stewart bed before or after a Savoir, judge it on two things, whether it is made from 100% natural materials and how it feels to you, then go with what your body tells you.
People often ask me what they would feel lying on a Savoir, a Hästens and a Marshall & Stewart side by side. They are all good beds, and I will never tell you otherwise.
When I set out to build Marshall & Stewart, I did not start from a blank sheet. I had spent a lifetime in this industry and I knew it intimately. I took the best of what everyone else was doing and set out to make it better. That is the whole reason the brand exists.
So why does a Marshall & Stewart bed cost so much less than a Savoir for the same level of craft? It is never the materials, and I want to be absolutely clear about that. We are a deliberately flat business. We have no head office, no floors of admin staff, and no big glossy advertising campaigns to pay for. We have two showrooms, one warehouse, and a partner workshop in the north of England. You will find me in one of the shops most days of the week. Every pound we save on overheads goes straight into the materials and the craftsmanship, not into the back office.
When I judge any luxury bed, I look at two things. Is it made from 100% natural materials? And how does it feel to you? A Marshall & Stewart bed is 100% natural. I am not going to tell you a Savoir is not. But those are the two questions that decide everything, and the only way to answer the second one is to lie down.
So here is my honest advice. Do your homework. Read Savoir's customer reviews on Trustpilot for yourself, then come and lie on a Marshall & Stewart bed before or after you try a Savoir. Compare the two and go with what your body tells you. When people do exactly that, we are very happy with the results.
In 2026 we were named Best Bespoke Luxury Bed Manufacturer, and I was named Managing Director of the Year. I mention it not to boast, but because when you are spending this kind of money, you are entitled to know that the people behind the bed know what they are doing.
When I built Marshall & Stewart, I took the best of what everyone else was doing and set out to make it better. Every pound we save on overheads goes into the bed, not the back office.
Frequently asked questions
Are Savoir beds worth it?
For the base and the design, yes, they are exceptional. The question worth asking is whether the mattress and the topper justify the full price, and that is something you should test by lying on the bed yourself rather than taking the heritage on trust.
Where are Savoir beds made?
In Britain. Savoir manufactures in Acton, with a separate factory in Wales for the beds it supplies to hotels. The main range is made in the United Kingdom.
How long does a Savoir mattress topper last?
Three to five years, like any quality topper. It is a consumable item that needs replacing over the life of the bed, so factor the replacement cost into your decision.
How many beds are in the Savoir range?
Around four, the Number 1 through to the Number 4. It is a deliberately small range, with the Number One sitting at the very top. You can see the range on the Savoir website.
Is a Savoir bed better than a Hästens?
They are close rivals at the very top of the market, and the Number One was created with help from former Hästens people. Which one suits you comes down to feel, and the only way to judge that is to lie on both.
Try a Marshall & Stewart bed for yourself
The only way to judge any luxury bed is to lie on it. Come to our East Sheen showroom and try a Marshall & Stewart alongside the names you have been researching. Take your time, ask the hard questions, and feel the difference for yourself with no pressure and no commission. That is the honest way to spend tens of thousands of pounds on the most important piece of furniture you will ever own. Book your sleep consultation when you are ready.
