Thwaites, Aztec Hotel & Spa, Bristol

Case Study

Client:

Thwaites Plc

Project:

Aztec Hotel & Spa - Bristol

Contract Duration:

8 months

the
project

Murray & Willis were appointed as main contractor to manage the refurbishment of numerous areas within this prestigious Bristol hotel.

Thwaites Hotels have recently been awarded 4* hotel of the year award and this showed in the high quality of finish that has been expected of us throughout this eight month project working in a live hotel environment. The project involved working on various phases in different areas of the hotel at any one time. The entire scheme was designed by Thwaites Hotel internal designers to their usual high standards.

We firstly completed the refurbishment of 16 Syndicate bedrooms, which involved a complete strip out, back to bare brickwork a full re-wire, a complete bathroom refurbishment including new sanitary incorporating new level access showers. These rooms were completed by installing new carpets, furniture and feature wallpaper and were handed over on time, snag free.

Whilst working on this phase we also undertook the works to refurbish the restaurant, which was a significant challenge due to the limited working hours.

The restaurant closed for a week to give us time to undertake the noisy, dusty work. During this closure, we carried out a complete strip out and then sand blasted the Yorkshire stone flooring.

We also had to remove a large external structural wall, which involved working closely with our own structural engineer, who not only produced drawings and calculations but also managed the works to remove the wall and oversaw the installation of the six meter double RSJ. A new pair of sliding oak glass doors were installed within the new opening and new solid oak flooring installed. The restaurant works were completed with the installation of new booth seating, the area was decorated throughout using our own skilled in-house decorators and then a specialist local graffiti artist was employed to spray paint a mural on the wall within the restaurant. The mural, which is about 25 feet high, is a real talking point and for extra effect, we had the artist carry out this work after the restaurant was handed over. The feedback from the diners, who were watching the mural take shape whilst they were having dinner, was fantastic.

During the last two weeks of this project, the restaurant was open for breakfast and for evening meals, so cleanliness was of upmost importance. Our site manager adopted a policy of stopping work one hour before the end of each shift, so that all operatives could help with the daily cleaning ready for the evening service. This phase passed without a single comment or complaint from the residents or diners.

We have also completed the works to refurbish the Cotswold Suite and this was a tricky phase, which was managed impeccably by our site manager Tony. The Cotswold Suite is in constant use so the hotel managed to give us a window of two and half weeks to complete the works. This involved our direct staff and sub-contractors returning early from the Christmas break, as this business critical phase had to be complete for Sunday 22^nd January because the room was booked out for a wedding party of 180 guests on Monday 23^rd January. This phase went entirely to plan and this is a testament to not only our own directly employed staff but also to our team of IS09001 sub-contractors. This phase was handed over two days early, which gave the hotel more time to set the room up ready for the wedding.

We are currently working on another phase of twelve bedrooms and these have also proved to be demanding due to working in live corridors and with residents occupying adjacent rooms. There have been numerous times when we have had to stop work and await confirmation to continue with the works from the hotels management team. Again, this is part of working in a live environment, something that our site managers pay particular attention to and are very experienced at doing so.

Project
Gallery