Mexico. Today, both business travelers and event planners evaluate the availability and quality of technological tools when selecting a hotel to stay in or using it as the venue for a small meeting, wedding or congress.
This is how the directors of the Plaza San Jerónimo Gallery understand it, a new hotel located in the neighborhood of San Jerónimo Lídice, south of Mexico City, and that is why they invested in different systems that allow them to provide the best experience for their guests.
Among these systems, a complete audio solution stands out, integrated with Bose Professional technology, which covers all areas of public use with the intelligibility, sound pressure level, musical fidelity and easy management that a high-class hotel requires.
The Plaza San Jerónimo Gallery is part of Grupo Brisas, one of the most recognized hotel corporations in Mexico. Galería Plaza is the brand that identifies its luxury business hotels that are characterized by their contemporary style, efficient service, connectivity and hassle-free technology.
The hotel, which opened its doors in the fall of 2020, offers 141 comfortable and well-equipped rooms and 10 suites, a spectacular roof garden with swimming pool, two large terraces surrounded by gardens, executive club, business center, restaurant, bar, gym, yoga room and a versatile event room with ample capacity.
Grupo Brisas commissioned the audio system project from the Mexican company Tecnología en Sistemas Especiales (TSE), an experienced IT and AV integration company, which had already sounded another hotel of the group.
The main objective was to deliver a distributed audio system to set all the public areas of the hotel, with special interest in the San Jerónimo room, the main venue for celebrations and congresses.
TSE designed a system made up of Bose Professional teams exclusively. The solution included more than 120 speakers of various models from the EdgeMax and FreeSpace families, as well as amplifiers, DSP signal processors and wall controllers. The system was divided into ten independent audio zones, which operate over a Dante network.
TSE was also responsible for the design and integration of other IT systems, such as the voice and data network, fire prevention system and video surveillance.
EdgeMax at the San Jerónimo Hall
The biggest challenge was to sound the San Jerónimo room, a large place of 940 square meters, which can be used as a single space with a maximum capacity of 900 people in auditorium mode, or divide into up to six sections to create different configurations according to the needs of the events.
In the design process, TSE used modeler software, a 3D modeling program for acoustic design and analysis, which was very useful in defining the type of speakers and their distribution in the living room. The data obtained indicated that the best option to achieve the desired performance was the integration of a system of twenty EdgeMax EM180 ceiling-mounted speakers. The EdgeMax guarantee the necessary coverage, intelligibility and power, both for events in which the voice is the main protagonist and in celebrations in which the music carries a greater weight. In addition, due to their design of simple lines, they merge with the decoration of the ceiling of the living room, which helps to maintain an image of sober elegance.
With the help of ControlSpace Designer software, used to configure audio signal processing and network operations of sound processors and amplifiers, an efficient system solution was implemented to carry out up to six events simultaneously without interference between sections of the room.
To facilitate the use of any audio source, six ControlSpace WP22BU-D Dante wall plates were installed, on which users can connect microphones, laptops, smartphones or audio players. Operating on a Dante network, these sources can be connected in one of the six sections of the room and sent to any other section or to the entire room when used as a complete space.
To manage the operation of the audio there are two options, use the six ControlSpace CC-16 zone controllers located on the walls of the living room, or do it from the comfort of the touch screen of a tablet with the ControlSpace Remote software. This option is the favorite of the hotel staff, because they easily have immediate access to view, monitor and control the audio of the San Jerónimo room according to the configuration used.
The system is complemented by a PowerMatch PM8500N amplifier and a ControlSpace EX-1280C digital sound processor, both from Bose, installed on the site dedicated to the operation of the show.
Great indoor and outdoor sound experience
Like the San Jerónimo room, the rest of the audio system is connected to a Dante network, which facilitates its operation and control. In the interior spaces, such as the restaurant, lobby bar, gym and yoga studio, different speakers from the FreeSpace family were installed.
The outdoor spaces are another attraction of the Plaza San Jerónimo Gallery, as they can be enjoyed throughout the year thanks to the good climate in the south of the city. The hotel has two large terraces, with capacity for 100 people each, in whose planters the FreeSpace 360P Series II ambient speakers were installed, with 360º horizontal coverage.
With a spectacular view of the Mexican capital, the versatile roof garden is ideal for a cocktail at dusk or enjoying a Sunday brunch by the pool. Music is critical to generating a vibrant experience with a touch of sophistication, which is why 14 FreeSpace 360P Series II speakers and an MB210-WR subwoofer were installed to highlight bass playback. The FreeSpace 360P Series II is resistant to dust, rain and extreme temperatures, so outdoor conditions are no obstacle to its performance.
In all of these areas, hotel staff have the option to use the installed ControlSpace CC-16 zone controllers or a mobile device with the ControlSpace Remote app.
Thanks to the design of the TSE team and the vision of Grupo Brisas, the new Hotel Galería Plaza San Jerónimo has a sound system of the highest quality that contributes to the creation of a comfort experience for its guests and visitors. Music is added to other elements such as lighting, furniture or the combination of architectural materials to welcome people who enter the hotel lobby or those who enjoy the different interior or exterior spaces.
