Curtis Doubles up for DoubleTree

Work has just completed on extensive hotel bedroom refurbishments by Curtis Furniture for the Hilton Group’s fastest-growing DoubleTree brand.

Curtis 

The most recent project involved 333 rooms over 10 phases at DoubleTree by Hilton Leeds City Centre, which completed earlier this month (August), and 285 rooms over eight phases at DoubleTree Manchester Piccadilly, which completed in April.

Curtis has worked with Hilton’s DoubleTree brand for the past 15 years and in that time has completed 10 projects. For the latest two projects, Curtis was specified by hospitality management consultants Valor Hospitality and liaised with interior designers ABDA on the design, size and finish of a diverse range of bedroom furniture.

At Granary Wharf, Leeds, the bedroom furniture comprised bespoke headboards with an upholstered section, stone-topped hybrid and bedside tables, TV units, wall panels, armchairs with bespoke foot stools, laminated TCMF minibar tops, sofa beds and desk/dining chairs by Curtis’ sister brand Lugo. There were also some additional works to the suite bathrooms. The portfolio at Manchester was the same except for the sofa beds.

The ABDA design team for the Leeds project said they were asked to develop full concept designs for the bedrooms, suites and corridors, with a full strip-out but maintaining the existing TCMF/mini bar, wardrobes and desks to the suites.

The team said, “There have been numerous challenges on these projects, with quite quick turnaround on each phase to stay on programme. The additional works to the bathrooms in the 11th floor suites meant a design solution had to be sought and products found to suit the constraints of the handover deadline. But we’ve been happy with the outcome of the products and service provided by Curtis.”

Eleanor Bromley, Curtis’ Project Manager for the Leeds refurb, said, “Refurbs often have challenges with site pre-existing conditions. In this case, we had a couple of surprises with random ceiling heights but the great thing about being a local manufacturer is we can easily adapt.”

Rachael Sheldon, senior designer at ABDA for the Manchester project, is also currently engaged in a project with Curtis for the voco [correct] hotel brand.

She said, “The hotel's floor footprint resulted in various room types and configurations to accommodate the available space. To ensure the correct setup and components for each room, a master matrix was developed for Curtis to refer to. Each phase had a one-month timeframe, which Curtis had to manage efficiently to meet handover deadlines. Occasionally, the team had to work at a fast pace to accommodate additional joinery requested by the client. But the installation process was consistent throughout each phase to meet handover.”

Simon Young, Development Manager at Valor UK & Europe, said, “The team at Curtis Furniture have supported us with 1,000+ key refurbishment projects over the past three years. The projects have been delivered at speed, with concurrent phases across a national portfolio of hotels, and the quality of case goods and loose furniture has remained consistently high."

“We trust Curtis to align with our standards of excellence, particularly in respect of quality and sustainability. We also know that, if and when projects throw up issues, we can rely on the team to respond swiftly and proactively.”