Located near the centre of the Kenyan capital, the brand new 5-star Kwetu Nairobi is a Curio Collection by Hilton Hotel. Opened this spring, the hotel offers wide-ranging, state-of-the-art facilities which cater for guests and businesses alike.
With more than one hundred guest rooms and ten meeting rooms, complemented by a fitness centre, bars, restaurants, and entertainment spaces, Kwetu is the definition of a modern hotel enterprise.
In order to fully meet the demands of its broad range of users, an investment in high-quality technology was essential. The audio element covered an extensive remit, and was entirely supplied by UK-based specialist Audio Feed, who worked closely with integrators Frontier Audio Africa to deliver the systems.
The project deployed a range of MC² Delta amplification, with and without DSP, throughout. Oz Jefferies of Audio Feed commented: “We have a longstanding relationship with MC² Audio and have used MC² and partner company XTA’s amplifiers for the majority of our work over the last fifteen years or so. The reliability and durability of the units simply can’t be questioned – their Dante compatibility, particularly on an install of this size and complexity, is also highly desirable.”
Almost 150 Martin Audio ADORN series commercial audio ceiling/pendant speakers were installed throughout the hotel in areas including reception, restaurants, bars, bathrooms, gym, corridors, walkways, relaxation areas, meeting rooms, barber shop, spa facilities, lifts, staircases and courtyard. These were driven by 9 x MC² Delta 20 4-channel Dante-enabled amplifiers.
For the hotel’s entertainment spaces, including its rooftop bar, conservatory, tropical garden, pool areas and atrium, Audio Feed supplied a variety of Funktion One professional loudspeakers powered by 2 x MC² Delta 80 DSP, 3 x Delta 40 DSP and 1 x Delta 20 4-channel Dante-enabled amplifiers.
A Biamp Tesira Server-IO processor was installed to handle complex routing between spaces, utilising the bidirectional Dante capabilities of the MC² Delta DSP amplifiers.
Oz Jefferies reflected on the success of the install and Audio Feed’s growing presence in the East African market: “We’d already supplied a number of projects in Kenya, notably when we installed club systems comprising Funktion One and MC², first at Alchemist and then at Muze in Nairobi, which is now listed as one of the world’s top 100 nightclubs. We’d worked with Frontier Audio Africa from the very beginning, including involvement in some training with their team. Frontier’s work at Kwetu – a project which they procured by virtue of their excellent reputation – was exceptional, and we look forward to powering many more installations in the region with MC²’s ultra-dependable hardware.”
Joe Sirha of Frontier Audio Africa added: “We are enlivened to have installed the MC² Delta Series range of processing amps to power the 200+ speakers, spread across the entire hotel. They are really efficient and allow for crystal-clear audio.”
