The Londoner is described by its owner, Edwardian Hotels London, as the world’s first ‘super boutique’ hotel. It is a remarkable new £500 million, 5-star luxury boutique hotel, located in the heart of London’s Leicester Square, with six of its sixteen storeys extending over 30m underground. The Londoner combines the very best aspects of a luxury boutique hotel with a range of bespoke meetings and events spaces.
Equally impressive is its award-winning AV installation, designed, supplied and installed by Visual Systems (part of the Myriad Audio Visual Group and CP Partnership), with ARUP acting as consultants for the client.
To equip the hotel’s Ballroom - a state-of the-art event space and the largest pillarless ballroom in London's West End - Visual Systems turned to the Martin by HARMAN lighting catalogue for a class-leading event lighting system, featuring Martin ERA Series, MAC Aura Series and ELP Series. All Martin products were supplied by Martin’s UK distributor Sound Technology Ltd.
“We’ve operated in the hospitality sector for over 35 years, but this is by far and away the most impressive of projects.” commented Ray Sappal, Project Director, Visual Systems Ltd. “The client wanted a state-of-the-art facility. They wanted the AV to be discrete with the latest Audio-Visual hardware available. They also wanted the ballroom to be the best in the country.”
The 6,092 square-foot Ballroom, with a maximum capacity of 850, is a multifunctional space for all types of events including launch parties, conferences, award ceremonies and weddings. It sets itself apart with the installation of state-of-the art audio, lighting and rigging systems, such that the hotel is able to include best-in-class equipment in all its Ballroom hire packages.
Particularly impressive is its installed event lighting system, which features an all-LED line-up of 30 x Martin ERA 400 Performance moving heads, 20 x MAC Aura XB washes and 4 x Martin ELP CL Ellipsoidal profiles.
“We looked at various manufacturers on both functionality and cost, and after a lot of research and demo’s decided on Martin.” explained Martin Goodman, Lighting Consultant, Visual Systems Ltd. “I felt the units had a lot of features that would work well within the Londoner and would also be approved by external event companies working at the venue. We also have Martin fixtures within the group’s hire stock so I knew the product would work. The feedback we have had from the client and their clients has been that of surprise and amazement at what the lighting rig within the Ballroom can do.”
The Ballroom has already hosted some of the world's most creditable fashion, film and lifestyle brands including the British Film Institute, British Vogue, British Designer, Richard Quinn and Givenchy Beauty.
Nick Kalsi, Edwardian Hotels' Technology Consultant, added, “I worked closely with Visual Systems on this project and am so pleased with the design and installation carried out. Visual Systems have done a great job in providing us with systems that are not only user friendly but easy to maintain and future proof. This has been a very difficult and a long project for all due to Covid, but we have come out of it stronger and with a product to be proud of. The Ballroom is unique in that we have every item you may require for a high end event, including a spectacular Martin lighting system which just takes this area to another level."
Ray Sappal concluded, “I don’t think we are going to see many new hotels of this size being built in London. Winning the project was an honour for us. Being trusted to deliver the system and seeing the finished product working is what makes these projects a joy to work on. The Londoner is a unique hotel in its own class and I think it’s going to be some time before we see another hotel being built like this.”
Visual Systems' AV installation at The Londoner was recognised by winning the Hospitality category in the 2022 InAVation Awards at ISE 2022.
