The Ritz-Carlton Hotel & Spa

Project Overview

Turnkey project, excluding design, for a 7-storey, five-star deluxe beach resort hotel with a central atrium, guest room wings, conference centre and numerous indoor and outdoor facilities. Currently operating as the Ritz-Carlton Hotel & Spa, the hotel was formerly operated by Le Royal Meridien Beach Resort Hotel at the time of construction. GPZ has continued to carry out extensions, renovations and additional works for the hotel over the course of the last 20 years.

With a total built-up area of approximately 31,000m², facilities consist of 231 guest rooms of various grades, the Amiri suite plus another 34 suites, 4 restaurants, 3 lounges, a grand ballroom for 1,200 persons, a conference hall for 700 persons, separate meeting and conference rooms, a business centre and a shopping arcade. Furthermore, the scope included indoor and outdoor swimming pools of 225m² and 1,250m² respectively, together with refreshment facilities, a health centre including jacuzzis, gymnasia, saunas, hammam and squash court, 4 outdoor tennis courts, covered car parking, hard and soft landscaping, a private beach, lagoon, island, water sports facilities and 4 staff accommodation blocks.

Structure

Construction comprised a structural steel frame of approximately 3,000 tonnes with precast pre-stressed hollow-core concrete floors and roof slabs, a reinforced in situ concrete structural topping, precast concrete wall units, double-glazed aluminium curtain walling and screens, concrete block internal walls and a space-frame canopy at the main entrance. Foundations included 388 bored cast in situ concrete piles 16m long, with reinforced concrete pile caps and ground beams, as well as vibro-compaction to many areas.

Services

All mechanical, electrical and building services were carried out by GPZ’s MEP Division. These included installations for 11KV switchgear and transformer, standby generators, BMS, low voltage lighting and sophisticated dimmer systems, telephone/paging systems, MATV and satellite systems, intercom, public address and background music systems, hotel management computer and points of sale systems, audio-visual systems, key card access systems, new technology lightning protection, state-of-the-art fire detection and protection systems, kitchens, bars, cold rooms, freezers, plumbing, swimming pools, gas storage, gas fired steam boilers and systems, six reverse osmosis water treatment plants, soil and waste disposal systems, three panoramic lifts, one VIP lift, two passenger lifts, five service lifts, window cleaning systems, and external lighting.The heating, ventilating and air-conditioning works were undertaken on a design and build basis and comprised of a central chiller system, with a total capacity of 2,200 refrigerant tons, supplying chilled water from six chillers to air handling units, fan coil units and variable air volume and energy conservation systems, together with all associated electrical installations.

Interior Decoration

Complete interior decoration works, to the highest quality and workmanship standards, were carried out by GPZ’s specialised divisions. These required a vast range of specialised finishes, materials and installations to cater for the numerous facilities and varying decoration schemes across the hotel. High quality fit-out works for the ladies SPA added in 1999 included a fitness centre, Thalasso pool, multiple massage rooms and relaxation areas, luxury changing rooms, sauna, steam room, dipping pool and other related facilities.

Complex finishing works involved intricate marble floor patterns and wall cladding, engraved and stained glass ceilings and panels, reception counters with marble inlays, decorative gypsum works, GRC panels, cornices and mouldings. Specialist decorative finishes included sky effect ceilings, marbleizing, patinas, faux finishes, false limestone, gold leafing and guilding. Other exclusive finishing materials and elements included mosaic works, high quality custom ironmongery, metal balustrading and brass handrails, fabric wall coverings, tailor-made carpeting, sliding acoustic partitions, as well as automatic revolving and sliding doors. The extensive woodworks consisted of bespoke joinery installations, carved teak elements, maple and ash decorative wall panels and doors, iroko and teak floors, bleached timber finishes, mahogany pergolas, kiosks, fitted bars and counters.

Furniture, Fittings, Artefacts & Small Operating Equipment

GPZ carried out the sourcing, importing and installation of all furniture, fittings and equipment to guest rooms, suites and all public areas, including carpets, curtains, blinds, wardrobes, beds, tables, chairs, sofas, light fittings, bar refrigerators, room safes, pictures and numerous artefacts including sculptures. Additionally, all “small operating equipment” was procured by GPZ including chinaware, cutlery, glassware, kitchen equipment, banquet tables and chairs, table linen, bed linen, televisions and VCRs, dance floor, material handling equipment, office furniture and equipment, timekeeping equipment, training equipment, sales and catering software, shelving and racking systems, gymnasium equipment, maintenance tools and equipment, sundry items and other.

External Works & Landscaping

External and hard landscaping works comprised an outdoor swimming pool and pool area, a cafe and bar under covered tensile structure, a 3,700m² irrigation lake, fountains, waterfalls, lily ponds, wadis, rock formations, tennis courts, sports and exercise equipment, a children’s play area and equipment, jogging tracks, and a variety of paved areas. Additionally, a 1,100m long precast concrete boundary wall, feature gatehouses, security fencing, steel gates, access roads, car parking areas, a causeway, bridge and island works, outdoor lighting and feature illumination, were also provided. Soft landscaping works comprised of 40,000m² of planted areas with 500 mature palm trees, 1,000 trees of various species, 10,000 shrubs, 24,000m² ground cover and 13,000m² grassed areas, including a 9-hole pitch and putt golf course. The irrigation network included 20,000m of mains pipes, 50,000 emitters and 2,000 spray heads.

Staff Accommodation

Four separate buildings of precast concrete construction were built to provide accommodation for hotel staff. These consisted of one 3-storey block of executive family apartments comprising three 3-bedroom flats, six 2-bedroom flats, three 1-bedroom flats and six self-contained studio flats; one 3-storey block of supervisor studios comprising 18 executive studios and 24 supervisors’ studios; one 3-storey block of rank and file accommodation comprising 36 self-contained flats for female staff; one 4-storey block of rank and file accommodation comprising 108 rooms with six communal toilet, shower and laundry rooms, and 16 shop units on the ground floor. Additional staff accommodation buildings were constructed in 2003.