Case Study: Royal On The Park
In 1969, the then lord mayor of Brisbane, Clem Jones, opened the Park Royal Motor Inn in Alice Street Brisbane.
The location of one of Brisbane’s most prestigious and well recognised hotels is in the classical heritage precinct that includes Parliament House, the Queensland Club and overlooks the magnificent vista of the immaculately manicured gardens of the world famous Brisbane Botanical Gardens and the Brisbane River. The Royal, as it has been lovingly referred to by locals and guests, has always had that savoir faire associated with classical and splendid hotels. Renamed in 2001, The Royal on the Park Hotel has long been known for its Walnut Restaurant and Lounge Bar, rich timber décor and the general grand appointment.
The Royal on the Park can genuinely claim to be one of Queensland’s most recognisable icons. The hotel’s international and national reputation was such that it regularly played host to world class entertainers, politicians and Brisbane’s A list.
After four decades of trading, it was time for the grand old lady to be returned to her former glory. The board of directors and the general manager decided on the Renaissance of the Royal on the Park, a multi-million dollar refurbishment.
General manager Steve Underwood said, “We held informal focus group with our most loyal guests to find out how they thought we could improve the hotel. In the process we found out that they thought it was time we did a refurbishment.”
“Traditional, classical and at home were the common themes expressed in these groups, as what Royal on the Park represented,” Mr Underwood said. “We asked if we were a piece of furniture what would we be? The r
eply was a comfortable leather arm chair. We asked if we were a person who would we be? Dame Helen Mirren was the answer. Sixty and still sexy, professional, courteous and caring,” he said.
“That was the renovation brief. That is how Royal on the Park is in the eye of our most loyal guests and customers” he said. “We took this information to the four companies tendering for our business and used it as the creative design brief. We wanted to retain our key distinguishing factors – the wood panels, the formality of the arrival experience, the elegancy of the lobby. We wanted to reflect the modern needs of our guests and full-service nature of the hotel, while retaining and enhancing the classic elegance and superior service of the original establishment.”
Noble House Design was selected as the project management and interior design company in September of 2010 and given a tight deadline to complete the refurbishment. To handle the time pressures, the board and general manager travelled to Shenzhen in China to view a mock-up room and make final design selections with Gary Russell, Noble House’s executive chairman and Kay Schieb, Noble House’s interior design expert.
The refurbishment started in early January 2011, however the Brisbane floods stopped progress as an anxious wait began to find out if the containers of furniture stored at Grace Brothers in Rocklea had survived. Thankfully, the containers were stored on high ground and the new furniture had survived.
“The flooding that affected our lower ground car park pool and lifts was certainly a challenge and the need to evacuate the hotel of guests and set up our servers, reservations and phone lines offsite while clearing the entire ground floor level was challenging. These challenges were overcome and The Royal missed flood waters in the lobby by a matter of inches. There was both a sense a relief but also a new sense of camaraderie amongst the team.” said Mr Underwood.
Having overcome this hurdle, Noble House resumed installation four floors at a time, completing the full refurbishment on 26 February.
Over 1450 twinkling multi‐faceted crystal chandelier baubles, 4000m² of the finest Australian woollen carpets, 145 sets of custom‐made furniture, six weeks of installation, eight months of planning and $3 million dollars later, the Royal on the Park Hotel began a whole new era.
Elegant refurbishment of all 145 Deluxe King and Deluxe Twin rooms was the focus, including new carpets, paint, curtains, flat screen TVs, guest desks, chaise lounges and furniture. The hotel lobby and Walnut Restaurant and Lounge Bar were transformed with new luxury furnishings and exquisite chandeliers.
“The stand-out area is the Walnut Restaurant and Lounge Bar, now refurbished with hand crafted wallpaper, new private dining areas, Egyptian crystal chandeliers and leather chairs, accentuated by a renewed focus on the food delivered by Ross Howell, a multiple award winning chef who delivers classical French cuisine with a modern twist. There are echoes to the past in the Walnut Restaurant and Lounge Bar that are delivered with some classical favourites: Tournedos Rossini, Crêpe Suzette flambéed in the room and the wonderful silver roast trolley where Filet of Beef Wellington is served from time to time,” a proud Mr Underwood said.
“The service levels are improved and enhanced in the guest rooms with leather bound guest compendia and the introduction of pillow menus, in-room shopping, and health and dietary options. Guest feedback and communication systems were implemented and rating improved significantly on external survey sites as well as in-house feedback. Customer satisfaction ratings are at 97% – the best results seen in five years,” Mr Underwood proudly boasts.
“Having done more than nine refurbishments in other hotels, this was the best planned and executed I have done. The level of knowledge and on-site daily senior staff management by Noble House meant that delivery and cohesion of the refurbishment saw lower levels of downtime for floors out of service and that each floor was delivered on time and complete from all trades. Noble House provided all the soft furnishing and worked closely with the housekeeping team to ensure the perfect room. The ground floor lobby and restaurant areas were a joint effort as we re-used some beautiful old doors as an entry to the new private dining area and assisted with the hanging of the crystal chandeliers. This brought a sense of excitement and ownership to the hotel team and made them excellent ambassadors for the changes.”
Not only did the décor change but, coincidentally, we reviewed our operating functions and our corporate and social responsibilities. We developed over 1500 new policies and procedures prior to the renovation and revitalised our staff and guest recognition and reward programs, developed and implemented a corporate responsibly partnership with the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital Foundation and achieved significant operating savings from our sustainability programs. We selected new team members that fit the revitalised culture of the business and then developed our strategy to improve service delivery.” Mr Underwood said.
The reputation of the Royal on the Park is rapidly improving following the refurbishment and the operating review. “We have moved from 58th on TripAdvisor to 9th Business Hotel in Brisbane and we are still rising. Customers have been very positive and feel that the work has been sensitive to the age and style of the hotel.
“We have also had the opportunity to show event managers and new clients the facilities and this has resulted in new corporate and conference clients as well as additional patronage to the Walnut Restaurant and Lounge Bar.”
“This is a great hotel and each person I meet has a wonderful story about the property,” said Mr Underwood. “Comments from our guests confirm that the classical and traditional delivery of the changes has been on target and we now look forward to delivering on our mission statement to our guests – ‘Where service comes first’. The refurbishment has given confidence to the hotel owners who continue to invest, with further enhancements planned.”
History of an icon
Opened by the lord mayor Clem Jones in 1969, the Royal on the Park was the vision of larger-than-life entrepreneurs Irvin Rockman and Jessel Rothfield who wanted to create one of the most impressive and expensive hotels in Brisbane. At the time, the hotel (then known as the Parkroyal Motor Inn) was designed to make an architectural statement on the skyline to move the city forward and help grow Queensland’s tourism market.
Rockman and Rothfield believed that Brisbane at the time was on the threshold of a big expansion in tourism, and were later proved correct.
Rockman’s Northrock Group sold the Parkroyal hotels to TraveLodge in 1970.
Now owned by the Sultan of Brunei, the Royal on the Park has undergone its greatest refurbishment. Over 1450 twinkling multi‐faceted crystal chandelier baubles, 4000m² of the finest Australian woollen carpets, 145 sets of custom‐made furniture, six weeks of installation, eight months of planning and $3 million dollars later, The Royal begins a whole new era.
From the early days, the hotel was “the place to be” hosting many of the international celebrities and performers who played at what was the nearby Festival Hall on Albert St. It has also hosted dignitaries, politicians and sporting legends and continues to do so as the home-away-from-home for many of Queensland’s sporting greats.
The history of the Royal on the Park has not been without its dramas. In 1974 the massive Brisbane flood inundated the ground floor of the hotel – the level of the flood can be dramatically seen on the wall in the foyer – but survived. The waters of the 2011 inundation were lapping at the front door and in the basement areas.
In 2010, transport minister, Rachel Nolan, advised the Royal on the Park of the state government’s intention to resume the site (along with 38 other properties) for the ambitious $82 billion (and growing) Cross River Rail project. While this is looking less and less likely, it still hangs over the hotel stalling further investment in even greater improvements and expansion.
What a project!
“Noble House Design was delighted to have been chosen to carry out the refurbishment program at one of Brisbane’s leading five-star hotels, Royal on the Park,” according to the company’s commercial sales manager Jeremy North.
“The design brief was simple, the owners wanted to maintain the classic elegance of original hotel but give a modernised look to the existing rooms. Kay Schieb, Noble House Design’s senior interior designer was able to delight the management and owners with her choice of design and colour combinations. The rooms have been upgraded with the rich colours of gold and claret that compliment the cherry toned timber furniture. Beautiful sheers and solid fabric were selected for the drapes from local and overseas suppliers. The earthy coloured carpet matches perfectly with the newly painted walls in warm white and the general décor of the refurbished rooms.
“Stage two involved the refurbishment of the restaurant, lobby and bar areas, where Kay chose a modern classic theme complimented with beautiful crystal chandeliers and wall sconces. In addition a few walls were featured with classic wall paper. The sofas and armchairs were upholstered in a beige man made leather for serviceability and stained in mahogany tones to match existing timber finishes. The Bar area flows impressively from the lobby, and the five-star restaurant has taken on a very sophisticated image for it’s fine dining with the addition of custom designed mahogany screens providing privacy for intimate dining for those who require it.
“The refurbishment by Noble House Design is ongoing with the addition of custom carpeting to the lobby and upgrading of the spa and penthouse suites over the coming months.”
Environmentally friendly waste bins
Consumers’ environmental awareness is ever increasing and there is a growing trend towards staying in establishments that actively seek to reduce their environmental impact. In recognising these requirements the In-Room Environmental Double Bin is the perfect way to provide an in-room recycling program and show guests that you are conscious of reducing your environmental impact.
The John Batman Group specifically designed the double bin to suit the Australian hospitality industry and this is being used in the Royal on the Park. Throughout Australia red is the nationally recognised colour for general waste and yellow is the recognised colour for recycling, therefore each of the foot pedals on the bin have been colour coded to reflect this.
Along with the coloured pedals, the top of each lid is clearly marked with General Waste and Recycling so guests can easily distinguish between each bins disposal use.
Have some refurbishments you would like to show off?
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