St Martins Lane / Sanderson Hotels
The Client
Two of the flagship hotels in Morgans Hotel Group’s luxury international portfolio are the London-based St Martins Lane and Sanderson Hotels.
Taking the urban boutique model invented by Ian Schrager back in 1984, the design of these hotels extends the ‘hotel as theatre’ concept, with its now legendary bars and restaurants.
However, the background music system needed upgrading to match the opulence of the foyers and coveted leisure hospitality areas.
The Brief
Audio consultants The Sound Division Group already had a strong relationship with the two London hotels extending back five years, with their Event Production division being routinely contracted to provide production for their New Year festivities, and other prestigious parties. As a result, the company was previously asked to replace the Light Bar sound system at St Martins Lane.
The installation was such a success that the hotels’ Regional Bars Manager, Rogers Benham, again contacted the technology specialists, tasking them with providing a general upgrade at both destinations, which would be both discreet and effective, while also enhancing the aural landscape.
Aside from the signal fidelity, he was concerned about the suitability of the content playing out through the systems.
“Both places needed upgrading, and although we obtained three separate quotes, I had always been impressed with Sound Division’s professionalism and ability to get things done,” stated Rogers. “The challenge here was to make the installation idiotproof and get the right music into the building, with a consistency of styles and BPMs.”
System Solution
Sound Division’s David Graham knew that a zoned system would provide the obvious solution, with volume control and source select controllable from behind the foyer front desk and key counter positions. At the same time, he recommended replacing the existing original Rolec hard-disk music management systems with the latest models, calling in Kent Harris from specialist music profilers Imagesound (who have now taken over Rolec).
Imagesound took a brief as to the type of music to be played through each zone, and how the clientele would change throughout the day. “We needed to make sure that the music – which we update on a monthly basis – accommodated what the hotels were doing.” At the Sanderson, this would include a chilled-out lounge feel for the Terrace Bar, and something more charged for the Purple Bar.
The existing amplification (QSC USA 900) and control (BSS FDS-355 Omnidrive Compact) was clearly reusable and contained ample headroom. Therefore, the task confronting Sound Division’s Jon Carey and his installation team was to install new miniature JBL Control loudspeakers, run low-impedance with low visibility – and in some instances, concealed entirely.
The Sanderson architecture is based on six distinct areas – with a Cloud Z8 eight zoning mixer directing sound sources to the Long Bar, the Terrace, the Spoon Restaurant, the Purple Bar, the lobby, and the lifts and toilets. These all derive their own feeds from two Rolec AHD2 dual zone HD players, with the lobby playing out out Morgans Hotels’ own corporate CDs. Cloud RSL6 Remote source select and volume control panels are utilised for staff operation behind the main reception desk and specific counter locations.
Sound Division opted for a JBL solution: “partly because they are great-sounding and aesthetically styled – compact and discreet – but also because I saw them in use at the Delano Hotel in Miami (part of the Morgans Group) and it made sense to retain the continuity,” says David Graham.
Sound Division has chosen Control 23 loudspeakers throughout to suit the dimensions of the building (with Control 25 speakers in the Billiard Room). In the Long Bar, a pair of JBL SB210 subwoofers provide bass extension, and in the Terrace, Sound Division have relocated JBL Control 29AV speakers from the Long Bar. Finally in the Spoon Restaurant, the speakers are ceiling-recessed and tilted, eyeball style, with others hidden entirely behind metal grilles. Three Cloud RSL6 panels, fitted under the restaurant counter, allow for control of three separate zones.
Over at St Martins Lane, Sound Division has carried out a simpler upgrade across the four essential zones – respecifying the Light Bar around the original JBL/Martin Audio system, installing 20 recessed JBL Control 26C ceiling speakers in Asia de Cuba (along with ten Control 25AV white full-range speakers on the bookshelves around the pillars). The company has again used a pair of Rolec two-zone AHD2 players, routed via a Cloud Z8 zoner, with Imagesound-derived music relayed via the Rolec to the lobby, toilets and lifts – again aided by local RSL6 panels.
The Sound Division installation team worked transparently through the night to carry out both installations simultaneously within a tight timeline.
The Result
“It has been a privilege to have been entrusted with carrying out these crucial upgrades at two of London’s premier hotels,” says David Graham. “The sound quality and level achieved here by my reckoning makes them the best sounding hotel music systems in London, and they are certainly flagships for us.” Rogers Benham is equally delighted with the results. “I am very satisfied with the end result at both Sanderson and St Martins Lane, and look forward to working with David and the Sound Division team on new projects in the future.”
St Martins Lane / Sanderson Hotels
