The Savarona is the first non-royal yacht ever built. She was built at the Blohn & Voss shipyards in Hamburg in 1931. In 1938, the Savarona was bought for $1 million by Turkish Government. The chain of events leading to this purchase is amusing. In 1936, King Edward VII visited Istanbul, and was the guest of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk on the then state yacht, the Ertugrul. Soot from the funnel so dirtied His Majesty's white flannels that Ataturk sent the Ertugrul to be scrapped and ordered a search for a new presidential yacht. The Turkish flag was hoisted on the Savarona in Southampton in March 1938.
The Savarona did not sail again until World War II and in 1989, she was refurbished to more then her former glory. Today, she once again is sailing the waters of the world, bringing an experience of elegance and luxury to those who are so privileged as to be her passengers.
34 guests can enjoy charters onboard 'Savarona' one of the worlds largest yachts; previous charterers include supermodel Claudia Schiffer, the late musician George Harrison, and actors Robert DeNiro, Hugh Grant, and Sylvester Stallone.
Fifty-two feet wide, she has all that a luxury yacht should: sumptuous staterooms (17 suites in all), 24-karat-gold-plated faucets, marble-lined baths, and grand entertaining spaces. This being no ordinary yacht, she also has some features solely her own, such as the saloon on the boat deck that's decorated to look like a Turkish majlis (coffee house), a 2,000-year-old Persian rug, and the pièce de resistance, an authentic Turkish bath featuring 60 tons of marble.
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