She's safely back at home in Buckingham Palace, in London, with her husband Prince Philip. But the two nights British monarch Queen Elizabeth II slept at the Carlton Savannah Hotel in St Ann's, Port-of-Spain, is now triggering a rush to book the same suite. It was the first time the 83-year-old Queen had ever slept on land in T&T in her three visits to this country since she became monarch in 1952. Previously, she would retire for the night on the royal yacht Britannia. Now the Carlton Savannah is set to capitalise on people who have a yen to rub their shoulders where royalty went before. Guests, however, have to be able to fork out the steep US$999 a night to boast that they shared the same plush three-room Wow suite where Queen Elizabeth stayed. Lyle Pauls, general manager of the hotel, whose motto is "Rest assured," was tight-lipped about details of the royal couple's visit. All Pauls was prepared to say was the royal couple were very gracious and were "fabulous" to work with.
LEFT: ?The four-poster bed, equipped with six pillows on which the Queen slept for two nights while here to formally open the CHOGM.
"They made absolutely no special demands." Called the Wow Suite, it's located on the 11th floor, and comprises Rooms 1110, 1111 and 1112. Sunday Guardian learnt that directly after the Queen and her consort vacated the suite, it was occupied by a couple who had flown into T&T for their honeymoon. The next occupant was an international businessman who had booked into the Carlton Savannah, but on learning that he was in a hotel where the Queen of England had stayed, he immediately requested to be upgraded to the Wow Suite. Last Thursday, the Sunday Guardian was treated to a special tour of the sitting, dining room, bed and bathroom facilities that housed the?blue-blooded royal couple. Luxuriant white is the predominant colour of furniture and fittings in the suite, even the dining table, writing desk and, of course, the four-poster bed on which she slept. The white is offset with faint black and grey tones, creating an imposing aura that trumpets: supremely fit for a queen.
Four books among T&T cultural treasures: Temples of Trinidad by Fr Anthony de Verteuil and Trinidad and Tobago Heritage–Drawings of the Island's Past, by Gerard G Watterson; Orchids of Trinidad and Tobago, by Prof Julian Kenny; and Trinidad and Tobago Photographs, by Alex Smailes, provided intellectual food for the royal couple, who came to formally open the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM). Two giant flat-screen colour TVs are strategically placed to service the sitting and dining room; floor-length curtains are white and grey, and ultra-modern chandeliers and reading lamps lend a majestic touch to the rooms. But it is the opulent four-poster bed with six fluffy pillows which holds pride of place in the suite. The bathroom the royals used, including bathtub, shower and toilet, were all lily white, as were the numerous strategically-placed towels.
