Crowne Plaza/Holiday Inn Express Dual Brand Hotel, Heathrow Terminal 4

Client: Grove Developments/Arora Hotels

Contract value: £362k

Products used:  

0.74kN loading stainless steel with glass balustrade to stairs

1.5kN loading structural glass balustrade to link bridges

The dual-brand Crowne Plaza and Holiday Inn Express, which operates under Arora Hotels, is located at Heathrow Terminal 4 and opened in 2018. It consists of 300 rooms as well as business and meeting facilities. The building is directly connected to Heathrow’s Terminal 4 via an air bridge and also offers convenient access to the London Underground, Heathrow Express train service and nearby major motorway routes. 

We were instructed to supply and install more than 600 metres of balustrades, as well as over 300 metres of wall fixed handrails during the hotel’s construction phase. 

The balustrades used for the project were 1.5kn structural glass balustrades to bridges and 0.74kN loading stainless steel with glass balustrade to stairs. 

We provided approximately 300 metres of structural glass balustrades to the hotel’s link bridges. At the design stage of the project, we were advised that the bridges could deflect by 25mm, so our balustrade design had to accommodate this. 

The solution was simple but very effective – we left a 5mm gap in between each five-metre length of track, which was not noticeable when walking along the bridges but allowed for adequate movement in the structure with no damage to the balustrades or the finishes, and no compromise to the overall look. 

In addition, we adapted our handrail system to provide protection to the walls where guests wheel trollies and luggage into the hotel. By fixing handrails along the flooring close to the walls, it provided a functional yet attractive solution to avoid any marks or scratches that luggage might create.

The overall result was a mix of balustrades to the hotel’s stairs and link bridges, plus handrail finishes to the high-traffic areas of the premises that all fit in with the building’s modern and clean design.