Formerly the Don Quixote restaurant for over 40 years, Sanctuary Hotel sits ideally on the corner of Kent and Liverpool Street.
The space has been completely transformed into a cosmopolitan venue, an intimate hangout where the whole place feels like one big important lounge.
The decor is ideal with good-looking wall coverings of fleur d’lise pressed metal and Parisienne wallpaper, elaborate chandeliers and excessive yet comfortable furnishings.
The comfortable seating includes decadent Chesterfields, plush club chairs and antique armchairs with bespoke wrought iron tables.
Flattering lighting, natural materials and warm colours provide an atmosphere of relaxed modern comfort, whilst the light, airy and open space spills out onto Kent Street, where outdoor seating under the colonnade is provided for a 100 guests in both smoking and non-smoking sections.
With such a distinctive and attractive interior design it was important to the venue owners that the necessary audio elements did not hinder the aesthetics of the venue. This design priority was primary in the design and installation implemented by ACC Audio Visual.
“The owners were very particular about the internal aesthetics of the building,” stressed Nick Rice, ACC Audio Visual’s Sales Manager.
“It was very important that the speakers or speaker cabinets weren’t obtrusive in any of the internal visuals. We opted for white JBL 28T Control speakers as they tuck nicely up into the ceiling and do not distract from the décor, and they pack a mean punch for such a small speaker!”
A total of eighteen JBL Control 28T and four 25T ceiling speakers, available from Jands , were installed along with four JBL CS 19 subs to accommodate the extra sound required at the Sanctuary Hotel.
A Nightlife system supplies background music control but they needed the audio system to be able to beef up as the night gets later.
“We always try to specify JBL products for venue installations – they have the most available product options on the market place and of course they sound great too,” remarked Nick Rice. “The JBL speakers are powered by six Crown XLS 402 amplifiers.”
Separate zone controls were also required and Nick Rice recommended the use of two dbx ZonePRO 1261 digital zone processors, which allow zoning and volume control in the various areas of the hotel. Access to these functions is simple for the staff using the wall mounted dbx remote controllers.
“The venue is quite an open space with many different areas,” said Nick Rice. “There was plenty of access to ceiling cavities and cabling access was quite reasonable so the installation ran smoothly, furthermore, it helped a great deal that the builder had the project running like clockwork.”
“Acoustically however, it was a bit tricky. The venue is on a street level frontage with offices and other tenants around and on top of the venue so we had to be very careful with audio spill whilst needing to create a good audio level.”