Meeting strict design and construction standards at ‘DoubleTree by Hilton’ hotel
In 2013, the prestigious Hilton chain of hotels proudly opened a brand-new hotel in Lodz, Poland’s third biggest city. It is the country's first ‘DoubleTree’ hotel, part of Hilton's upscale brand that features more than 350 hotels globally. Each of the 200 guest rooms and 11 apartments in the 10-storey building reflect the high Hilton design and construction standards, as do the other facilities like the concert and congress hall, the meeting rooms, etc.
Highest quality, latest technology
Integrator SLX won the tender for the audiovisual equipment in the new hotel. Rafał Kociemski, SLX’s logistics and purchasing manager, remembers how the design and construction standards were particularly stringent: “The company and the contractors working for it use the Hilton Brand Operating Standard Global Manual which advises on everything from the size of the rooms, lengths of beds, shape of glasses and the color of the walls. In terms of technology, the manual is rather general in approach, but it does insist that the highest quality and latest technologies should be used. From the beginning we offered the client the most up-to-date solution. Everything is new and we advised the customer to invest for the future, not just the next couple of years.” Hilton and SLX chose a Barco F32 WUXGA projector to ensure crisp, high-contrast projection in the 300-person ballroom.
A hotel full of cinema
More than the F32 projector, Barco also supplied a DP4K-23B digital cinema projector for use in the hotel’s theater. Cinema plays a key role in DoubleTree Lodz, which comes as no surprise as the city has been the eastern European center of film production since the Second World War. DoubleTree Lodz pays homage to the golden age of Polish cinema. Its towering, 8,000 square meter glass façade depicts a scene from one of the many Polish film masterpieces to have emanated from Lodz's famous 'Dream Factory' studios. Once inside, guests continue their journey through cinematic history with guest rooms featuring film motifs, whilst its swimming pool forms a visual tribute to the works of Oscar-winning director, Roman Polanski. Barco is proud that its DP4K film projector can help DoubleTree Lodz – and the city itself - highlight its passion for movies!
Best new hotel in central eastern Europe
All together, the feedback about the hotel’s AV install has been overwhelmingly positive. Last year, DoubleTree Lodz was recognized as the best new hotel in central eastern Europe in a contest organized by Eurobuild CEE magazine. "Over the last six years, we have expanded our Polish portfolio with hotels in some of the country's most visited cities including Gdansk, Cracow and Warsaw. Our new hotel in Lodz marks a superb debut for ‘DoubleTree by Hilton’," said Simon Vincent, president, EMEA, Hilton Worldwide.
