Christie brings glittering projection to luxury hotel

The glorious island of Cyprus is synonymous for many with sun, sea and sand. It’s little surprise, then, that its hospitality industry hosts a wide variety of accommodation to suit all budgets and tastes for its millions of annual visitors. One hotel which stands out from the rest of the island, however, is the Parklane, a Luxury Collection Resort & Spa. The resort covers 100,000 square meters of land, featuring a comprehensive array of hospitality facilities, with five restaurants, two bars, and unrivalled meeting and conference facilities, including the vast 800 square meter Diamond Ballroom.

As part of a complete refurbishment for the seaside hotel, ALA Equipment Co Ltd (ALA) was responsible for an array of integration tasks, including the AV technology, IT systems, fiber optics and lighting, in order to deliver an unrivalled hospitality experience. In a gargantuan project, Andrea Piemonti, Managing Director at ALA, was excited by the prospect in front of him, with no expense to be spared in order to realize the hotel’s vision. “This installation was an opportunity of a lifetime. They wanted the best of the best; in terms of performance, in terms of installation knowhow, and in terms of the best brands. They told us that they wanted something that was extraordinary.”

The team specified five Christie Crimson laser projectors to be used in the Diamond Ballroom – the hotel’s premier hospitality experience, housing up to 1200 guests. In the space, one projector is used to power a display in the center of the stage, flanked by projectors powering additional displays to the left and right. A further two displays are positioned further left and right of these, forming a quintet of screens arrayed in a 240-degree angle. The projectors are each housed in a unique custom scissor lift, which had to be specially designed to house the 165lb technology.

“Crimson was a fantastic solution for us; as it doesn’t use lamps, this reduces costs of replacement over time. It was the first installation of Crimson in the world. To have five Crimson projectors in one single room really delivered that ‘wow factor’ – it’s something completely unique.”

As with any project on this scale – spanning five years of refurbishment – it was not without its issues to overcome, however. “One challenge for us was that there was a chandelier in the way of where would have installed the projector. We were off axis by about fifteen degrees, which really caused problems with the display. Thankfully the Christie Twist system came into its own, allowing us to overcome this issue. Aside from that, there were many long hours put in to making sure everything was carried out to perfection.”

Crimson projectors were first tested for an opening party in November 2018, whilst other aspects of the hotel were still being built. The room has since been used to host an array of corporate live events. “In 11 months, we have not once touched the projectors. They have shown how reliable they are.”

An onsite AV team inside the hotel operates the technology on a day to day basis, with ALA’s teams available for any specialist requirements. “There’s a lot of support involved for this caliber of installation, and there is always someone on call.” The versatile room – suitable for social and business events – can also be divided into two sections, and cater for up to 600 persons for dinner on round tables, with space for a dance area.

In an additional hospitality room, three 12,000 lumens Christie projectors were used. “They were compact and delivered more than enough brightness required. Two projectors power the display on the main stage area, and one is used as a relay. Custom ceiling lifts were also used to ensure they remained hidden when not in use.”

The hotel has already received an international award for its use of AV technology, and has been recognized as one of the elite Marriott, Luxury Collection hotels.

“The results are clear; we were able to do something unique in the industry,” summarizes Andrea. “When a client gives you tens of millions to spend, expectations are clearly high. When they tell you ‘the room is stunning, but the picture is simply breath-taking,’ it justifies all the hard work. The client is astonished. It is the room that we have received the most feedback on, and we’re delighted.”