Background
The elegant four-star Sandman Signature Newcastle Hotel is located in the heart of Newcastle upon Tyne, surrounded by key attractions such as the iconic Newcastle United Football Club Stadium, China Town, the city centre shopping district and Newcastle University. It is within easy walking distance of the Theatre Royal, the Centre for Life, the rejuvenated Quayside and a great selection of restaurants and bars.
The building that the hotel occupies was once the home to the former Scottish and Newcastle Brewery regional offices and following renovation secured the coveted RICS North East Renaissance Award for Commercial Property of the Year.
The Challenge
The Sandman needed to upgrade its internet service and infrastructure to ensure customers were able to benefit from fast, reliable and efficient service wherever they were in the hotel complex.
The installation of new internet services throughout a large hotel complex like the Sandman would usually take anywhere up to five months to complete but the challenge was to complete the work in record time to avoid minimum disruption and inconvenience for guests and staff.
The Solution
Drawing on its considerable expertise and experience in complex, large-scale internet infrastructure installation projects, Advantex designed and supplied superfast broadband services to the Sandman, turning around installation at the 11 storey site in record breaking time.
The work was carried out as part of the Government funded Broadband Connection Vouchers scheme with assistance from Newcastle Council’s Go Digital team. This initiative has seen the Government set aside £150 million to enable businesses like The Sandman to apply for up to £3,000 connection voucher to pay for super-fast broadband connection and associated hardware such as wireless and internet security.
The work was completed at the 170 bedroom hotel complex Gallowgate site from initial enquiry to final installation in 10 days – a project of this nature would usually take anywhere up to five months to complete.
The Results
Guests at the Sandman now benefit from the very best in high quality, reliable and secure superfast broadband internet connectivity. This is a huge improvement on the previous system and will meet future requirements as demand for wireless internet capacity grows. The quality of the service also reflects the brand standards of the Sandman hotel chain – a quality operator delivery the highest levels of city centre guest service and accommodation.
As a result of the Newcastle work, Advantex is looking at supporting possible internet upgrades at other Sandman Hotel sites in the UK.