London & South East Premier Construction

Rebranding the Comfort Inn Hotel

Comfort Inn, South Lambeth, London
Written by Roma Publications

Comfort Inn, South Lambeth, London

The renovation and extension of Comfort Inn Hotel, situated in South Lambeth, London, is progressing well and is set to complete in October 2014.

The renovation project and extension was undertaken to ensure the hotel was up to date for its conversion to a Holiday Inn Express, which became official in August 2014.

All of the interior design finishes have been designed by IHG Group, Holiday Inn Express operator. TNV Construction are acting as the main contractor on the project so Premier Construction caught up with Danny Harsiani, Site Manager, to find out more.

Danny told us:

“We became involved in this project as we originally built the Comfort Inn Hotel 14 years ago, converting what used to be an old vinegar factory into a hotel consisting of three floors; ground, first and second.

“Five years ago we were the main contractor during a project to add on a further floor onto the building and now we have been asked again to work with IHG.”

Comfort Inn, South Lambeth, London

Works began on site in December 2013 and from December until March the on site team undertook an extensive refurbishment of the ground floor. The gym and conference rooms were removed and replaced by seven brand new bedrooms, all of which are in line with the new Holiday Inn design guidelines.

The breakfast area on the ground floor has also been revamped as part of the renovation project in order to facilitate the extra guests, as well as to the rebranding guidelines. The breakfast space now comprises a much larger seating area, as well as bright, welcoming light detailing and LED and copper lighting.

Work continues on the creation of the fifth storey of the building; TNV Construction have had to ensure that the building is safe. The roof is now 95% waterproofed and the team have also installed the internal room partitions, which will form another 24 bedrooms. As part of the fourth floor phase the team have rewired the space as well as completed the first fix plumbing works.

The air conditioning on the fourth floor is currently being installed; once this is completed the plastering and painting of the new bedrooms will begin. Each of the new rooms will be fitted with top of the range bathroom en-suites, which has been tiled and fitted by TNV Construction.

The refurbishment of the third floor has also been part of the renovation project but has caused a few difficulties due to the lack of fire protection on the ceiling. In order to make the fourth floor as safe as possible the onsite team used 800 sheets of plasterboard to fireproof the ceiling.

Comfort Inn, South Lambeth, London

RPA Architecture are working alongside TNV Construction during the project, which upon completion will see the hotel transformed into a 100 bedroomed Holiday Inn Express.

The hotel has been live throughout the project and so the onsite team have had to begin their working day later in order not to disrupt paying guests. During the renovation of the reception temporary partitions have been erected so the works are hidden from guests. Also when works have been undertaken in the breakfast area the contractors have ensured works do not begin until after guests have finished their meals; after 10am.

In order to inform members of the public and guests about the ongoing works programme signs have been put up throughout the hotel, alongside health and safety notifications to ensure guests are safe. The project is on track to be completed by October 2014 despite the difficulties and challenges a live hotel brings with it.

Site Manager Danny added:

“This project is very exciting and although the pressure of the job is high we have still been able to deal with unforeseen issues quickly and efficiently. As I thought the project would be manic I ordered many of the required materials far in advance to ensure the project could run smoothly and we didn’t have to wait for any products.”

  Vision Built 

Vision Built specialise in providing cost effective and innovative building structures of up to 30m in height. The structures are manufactured in factory controlled conditions and the Vision Built system enables architects and engineers to deliver hotels, hospitals, offices, housing, nursing homes, student accommodation and more at an accelerated speed which can dramatically cut construction programmes.

The Insulated Light Gauge Steel panels are made to exacting tolerances and the Vision Built designs and building systems are warranted and certified to ensure clients’ confidence and peace of mind. The structure is capable of meeting the rigorous standards of Passivhaus and the highly insulated panels reduce the lifetime energy needs of a building.

Vision Built’s projects range from hotels to housing, offices to student accommodation and more. The company is proud to work with Premier Inn, Travelodge, pads4grads and Broadland HA, amongst others and the company’s warranty is accepted by occupiers, major contractors and HSBC, LABC and Premier Guarantee.

Working on The Comfort Inn Hotel, Vision Built provided the design of the structure for the roof top extension and the solution which enabled TNV Construction to keep the hotel open as usual. Vision Built erectors finished the 32 room addition in 21 days and the M&E subcontractors were able to begin work before then.

Chairman of Vision Built, Andrew Howard, said:

“This was an important project for Vision Built as it is an exemplar of how a building owner can add value with a roof top extension. It also shows that we can achieve this with minimum disruption, high speed delivery and because of the innovative light weight design, use the existing building structure.”

Andrew added:

“Vision Built prides itself on being the catalyst to enable the professional team and the principal contractor to handover a building which is beyond the expectations of the client while always being a team player.”

 

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Roma Publications