North Sydney Hotel, or ‘Percy’s’ as it’s known locally, recently underwent extensive refurbishment.
This included a refresh of the gaming area, which was looking a bit old and dated and in need of modernising.
Hotel management wanted the new gaming room to be improved in terms of spacing, lighting, privacy and traffic flow. The plan was to keep the existing number of machines (25) but to make the space more user-friendly and attractive.
So venue management contacted Capital Design Works requesting a new layout to meet the above needs. It was also important that the space was COVID-compliant, and that it had that special wow factor to attract more customers to the venue.
We came up with a gaming room plan that involved spacing out the machines so the area would be ‘COVID-friendly’ as well as easier to move around in.
But to ensure the room didn’t look too open and plain, we devised a plan to fill in some of the spaces with joinery. We worked with the builder to make sure all joinery would fit into the room and that the layout would work as the client wanted.
Products used in the refurbishment included Cayman privacy screens, Macau machine bases, Carpet footrests, modular warm white LED lighting, kick-faces finished in brushed gold, and wireless USB fast-charging points for each station.
The lateral screens that were placed between the bases help to fill the space while making the room feel open, welcoming and safe.
The new layout looks great, works really well and the client is very happy with it.
Mark Watkins, General Manager at the hotel, said he particularly likes the new soft subtle lighting, the lack of flaring from the screens, and the way the new layout improves the flow of foot traffic.
Trading and patronage has also improved as a result, at a rate of about 20-25%.
Mark said the transition to the new design was very smooth, and that the room “looks fantastic”. He said Capital Design Works did a very impressive job overall, and there were no problems at all.
The feeling is pretty much mutual, as we can say that the North Sydney Hotel was a great client to work with!
