Silver Membership
The same butler opens the next door, too.
About Silver Membership
Silver is the first membership that allows you to name a Buddy, your own dedicated butler. For ¥200,000 per month (tax included) you use 32 hours a month in one-hour units, and we take your requests on a priority basis from 21 days ahead. Overnight stays draw 16 hours each and are available up to twice a month; membership is limited to four. Open to women only.
- 32 hours a month, used in one-hour units
- Priority booking from 21 days ahead
- The naming of a Buddy as your dedicated butler
- Overnight stays up to twice a month, each drawing 16 hours
- Membership limited to four
- Overnight stays for one guest only
Your Buddy carries the memory of your last visit into the next
Time with a Buddy means the same butler at your side on every visit, gradually learning your tastes and the way you like to spend your hours. From the bow as the door opens, to taking your coat, to the moment tea is brought, the memory of your last visit flows into the next.
Both male and female butlers are with us. Tone of voice, the pauses in conversation, the manner of small attentions: compatibility is not settled by a single introduction. Meet several butlers at the Manor over a few visits, and choose the one with whom you feel naturally at ease.
For days when your Buddy is unavailable, please consult us at the time of booking. Whether to change the date or to be attended by another butler, we will check your schedule against the butlers' availability and advise you.
What a Buddy means
Your Buddy comes to know you through five stages
Meeting at the Manor
As a Visitor or Bronze member, meet several butlers and notice the differences in how they speak and how they wait. Remember the one with whom you felt at ease.
Expressing a preference
When joining Silver, tell us which butler you would like as your Buddy. We confirm the butler's availability and whether the request can be accepted.
Learning your tastes
Your Buddy asks about your tea, how much conversation you like, what you wish to read and how bright the lights should be. Rather than gathering every answer at once, he learns from how each day unfolds.
Carrying the memory
The porcelain you chose last time, the book left half-read, the next thing you wished to try: your Buddy carries these into your next visit. Silence, too, is received as a preference.
Planning the next visit
We take your preferred dates from 21 days ahead. As dates cannot be guaranteed, we propose alternatives where necessary.
32 hours can combine short visits with longer stays
| Example of use | Allocation of hours | Suited to |
|---|---|---|
| Eight evenings a month | Two hours, eight times; the remaining 16 hours on other days | Building a rhythm with your Buddy through frequent short visits |
| Four half-days a month | Four hours, four times; the remaining 16 hours as you wish | Choosing the study, the lounge or the dining room on each visit |
| Two overnight stays | 16 hours, twice | Leaving the flow from dusk to the following morning to your Buddy |
| Longer days | Six hours, five times, and two hours once | Savouring several scenes at leisure in a single visit |
Each overnight stay draws 16 hours. Dates are advised after confirming the butler's availability.
With the same butler, more and more needs no explaining
Beginning with the porcelain you chose last time
The curved-glass display cabinet holds English and French porcelain. Your Buddy remembers your last cup and asks whether you would like the same or a different one.
Read more
Returning to where you left off
In the study, with its 1980s English desk, your Buddy prepares the continuation of your last reading. Once tea is set down, he waits until you look up.
Read more
Seeing you off until the next promise
When you leave, your Buddy arranges your coat and accompanies you to the double doors. He does not press you to fix the next date on the spot, but waits on your schedule.
Read moreIncluded in Silver
- 32 hours a month of service within the Manor
- Priority booking from 21 days ahead
- Naming the Buddy of your choice
- Individual consultation on arrangements when your Buddy is unavailable
- Overnight stays up to twice a month
Privileges not included in Silver
- Routine carry-over of unused hours to the following month
- Butler visits away from the Manor, included from Gold upwards
- Chauffeured pick-up (to and from five locations), a privilege from Gold upwards
- Complimentary companions
- Use of the Manor unattended
What we confirm when you name a Buddy
- We confirm the availability of the butler you request
- When your Buddy is unavailable, we consult you individually on a change of date or attendance by another butler
- Only a limited number of butlers can enter into a butler contract
Six questions to judge whether Silver suits you
| Do you want the same butler? | Silver suits those who wish to name, as their Buddy, a butler whose compatibility they have confirmed at the Manor, and to have their tastes and ways received continuously. |
|---|---|
| How often will you visit? | It suits those who wish to come several times a month, dividing 32 hours among short tea visits, afternoons of around four hours and overnight stays. |
| When will you book? | We take your requests on a priority basis from 21 days ahead. Giving several candidate dates rather than a single first choice makes it easier to match your Buddy's availability with the Manor's. |
| Do you need care outside the Manor? | Silver centres on service within the Manor. If you need care away from it, including butler visits and chauffeured pick-up, please compare Gold and above. |
| Overnight stays | Each draws 16 hours, with a limit of two a month. Placing your overnight stays first makes it easier to allocate the remaining 16 hours to daytime visits. |
| The next step | Beyond a relationship nurtured with your Buddy at the Manor lies the possibility of a butler contract. However, only a limited number of butlers can accept one, and joining Silver does not guarantee a contract. |
QWhen do I choose my Buddy?
Either on joining or after several visits. Meet a few butlers and choose the one whose pauses in conversation and manner feel natural to you.
QCan I change my Buddy later?
Yes, we will discuss a change with you. We check your next booking against the butlers' availability so that your time with a new Buddy continues without interruption.
QWhat happens on days my Buddy is unavailable?
Arrangements for your Buddy's absence are discussed individually. We check the Manor's and the butlers' availability and advise whether a change of date or attendance by another butler is possible.
QCan unused hours be carried into the following month?
Unused hours ordinarily expire at the end of the month. Only where the Manor was unable to accept a booking may the hours concerned be carried over, once, to the following month only.
QIf I book 21 days ahead, is my preferred date guaranteed?
Twenty-one days ahead is the point at which priority booking opens, not a guarantee of the date. If we cannot accept it, we propose alternatives taking your Buddy's availability into account.
QCan I spend time with my Buddy at home?
Silver centres on service within the Manor. If you wish to be attended at home or elsewhere, please consult us through the enquiry form. Only a limited number of butlers can enter into a butler contract.
Your Buddy gently reads the wishes you leave unspoken
A Silver afternoon is not only about what you do, but about settling, with the same butler, how much to talk and how much to be quiet. If your voice or your pace on arrival suggests you have been hurrying, your Buddy does not pile on questions; he takes your coat and first shows you to a seat where you can settle.
Once tea is brought, if you open a book, your Buddy withdraws to the edge of your sight. On a day when you wish to talk, he finds an opening in the Manor's furnishings or the thread of your last conversation. Not filling silence out of awkwardness, but respecting the mood of the day, is also what it means to be served by the same butler.
Before seeing you off, rather than pressing the next appointment upon you, he tells you your remaining hours and when priority booking opens, 21 days ahead. If you prefer to decide later, he remembers that wish and waits.
Before choosing a Buddy, consider three kinds of compatibility
Does the frequency of his words suit you?
Some butlers explain things in detail for first-time guests; others say only what is needed, briefly, when it is needed.
Read more
Do you feel at ease with how he handles things?
The hand that chooses the porcelain, carries the silver teapot or takes your coat reveals each butler's own pace and pauses.
Read more
Does his way with quiet suit you?
In moments without words, some butlers offer the next suggestion at once; others withdraw and wait. Tell us which distance feels most comfortable while you read or watch a film.
Read moreAbout members' reservations
- Hours and visits are upper limits; depending on butlers' availability we may be unable to accept a reservation, in which case we will propose alternative dates
About your Buddy
- A Buddy agreement depends on the butler's availability and requires the consent of both parties. We cannot guarantee that an agreement will be made
- Only some of our butlers are able to enter into a butler agreement
You may also wish to read
Would you like to spend 32 hours a month with your own Buddy?
Tell us which butler you would like and the days you prefer. We will confirm membership places and the butler's availability and advise you.