Sensational-Adelaide.com

Hilton Hotel flags upgrade

Guiseppe Tauriello From: The Advertiser May 10, 2011 12:00AM



Woods Bagot Principal Rosina Di Maria who will work on the master plan for the Hilton Hotel ground floor with Michael Schmitt General Manager of the Hilton Adelaide. Picture: Higgs Greg Source: The Advertiser


THE Hilton Adelaide will upgrade its ground floor in a bid to revitalise the 30-year-old hotel building.

Hilton Adelaide general manager Michael Schmitt said the design would be "ahead of the times".

"The master plan we are now developing encompasses the entire ground floor space, which is close to 3000 sq m of space," he said. "We are looking for something exciting, something new, something innovative, something that's not yet here in Adelaide."

Adelaide-based architecture firm Woods Bagot has been engaged to deliver the master plan and principal Rosina Di Maria said the time was right to create a fresh vision for the way the hotel interacts with guests.

"The building set the way for lobby glamour but hasn't been significantly touched on the ground floor since 1982 when it was built," she said. "Adelaide needs it. If you look at the proposal for Victoria Square and down to the Riverbank, it's about linking these two precincts and attracting world-class events."

The planning process has included workshops where the project team has discussed the suitable mix of retail, food and beverage and guest services.

"Some discussions in the workshops have included the changing landscape of the food and beverage industry, global trends in consumer requirements and the future of guest services and hotel offerings," Ms Di Maria said. "We're bringing the best minds together to make sure the vision is an amazing result."

Mr Schmitt, who is part of the project team, said it was important the team engaged with the community. "We have to listen to what our guests are saying," he said. "We are also speaking to food critics and journalists to see what they think.

"To make sure we have all the right offerings in the right spaces with such a large area demands very careful planning, and we will take the time to challenge ourselves on a continuing basis."

Matt wrote:A full scale demolition and re-build would be a grand start.
Regardless of how it looks inside, the exterior is an absolute dog. Seriously hideous, particularly for a building in such a prominent location.

Didn't they do something similar to the Hilton in Sydney? Or did they move altogether?

[Shuz] wrote:I must be the only one who likes the Hilton. I appreciate the architecture of its era.

AtD wrote:A nice piece of land up for sale behind the Law Courts. You may remember some time ago a mid-rise apartment block was proposed for this site.

http://www.realcommercial.com.au/proper ... de-5776209

ml69 wrote:

[Shuz] wrote:I must be the only one who likes the Hilton. I appreciate the architecture of its era.

I don't mind it as well Shuz. I think the modelling and shadowing of the facade is quite good, and better than most of that era.