Apex Hotel, Fleet Street Apex Hotel, Fleet Street
Apex Hotel, Fleet Street

Hotel Alteration and Fit-Out

  • Client
    Apex Hotels
  • Contract value
    £5m
  • Project Manager
    ISA
  • Architect
    ISA
  • Programme
    47 Weeks
  • Contract Type
    JCT Intermediate Without Quantities
  • Sector
    Hospitality
  • Project Lead
    Nick Koliardos
  • Location
    London
Apex Hotel, Fleet Street

What did the project involve?

The existing Grade II listed building was in use as a barristers chambers in the heart of the city, but was owned by Apex Hotels whose Temple Court Hotel lies across the central court yard.The project involved sensitvely stripping out the building whilst preserving the extensive listed features.

The building was then converted into additional hotel accommodation including 7 suites, 13 bedrooms, the Lazy Ballerinas wine bar, 2 private dining rooms and entrance lobby. Externally we also lifted the courtyard paving to run new underground drainage, broke out and replaced the stone staircase and carried out a full facade clean before installing external lighting.

All of the listed features within the building including marble cladding and floors, architectural metalwork lift cladding, ballustrades, decorative ceilings and cornice, fireplaces, architrave and doors were refurbished or cleaned so that they remain pride of place within the converted building.

 

What challenges did the project team face?

As the adjacent Temple Court Hotel remained live throughout Phelan worked closely with the hotel staff to sequence, coordinate and plan the works to minimise disruption the guests and staff with particular focus being given to the timing of noisy works and the continuation of live services within the hotel. In order to manage logistics in this central London location Phelan had to bring in out of hours deliveries and store materials safely on site as well as remove waste via wait an load skips. Pavement licences were obtained for the scaffolding to the front facade and further coordination with the hotel was required to manage contractor, staff and public access routes. Phelan are experience in working within heritage buildings therefore our expert team liaised closely with the conservation officer to agree the treatment and preservation methods to be used on listed features including a complete redesign of the lift shaft to protect the listed architectural metalwork cladding.


What stand-out features did the project boast?

As an historic building the original features were factored into ISA's design to ensure these were enhanced by the project. In order to do this Phelan has bespoke joinery window casings made to house the secondary glazing and to tie in with the style of the original decorative doors, skriting and architraves. Resoration of the extensive marble floors and cladding served to provide grandeur within the building, which was enhanced by the high-spec and high-quality bathrooms which are one of the more modern touches of the design. In addition, bespoke joinery case goods provide a real feel of quality to the bedrooms. The wine bar and private dining rooms provide some existing new front of house areas and since completing this project, the ground floor bar, named the Amicable Society of Lazy Ballerinas, has gone on to be shortlisted for the Heritage Building and Identity categories at the Restaurant and Bar Design Awards 2019.

The transformation of 49/50 Fleet Street is an exciting and challenging project, sensitive conversions of historic buildings are never easy. Phelan’s have worked with Apex and the professional team to effectively resolve issues and minimize disruption to the programme. I’ve every confidence in the team at Phelan’s delivering a finished product that meets our expectations, it’s going to be stunning when finished.

Andrew Taylor, Project Director – Apex Hotels

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