Gleeds completes refurbishment of Turnberry golf resort
(06/08/2009)

The renowned golf resort Turnberry, A Luxury Collection Resort, Scotland re-opened for The Open Championship 2009, hosting the world’s oldest golf championship for the fourth time on its renowned Ailsa golf course from 16 – 19 July 2009, won this year by Stewart Cink.

Gleeds has been praised by specialist golf and leisure development company, Leisurecorp, for their work as Project Manager, Cost Manager and CDM Co-ordinator to the £40m refurbishment of the golf resort.

Joe Sita, Chief Executive Officer, Nakheel Hotels, the parent company of Leisurecorp, said: “It is an incredible honour for Turnberry to once again host The Open Championship. The upgrade of the golf course and the completion of an extensive hotel restoration programme has been a key deliverable for 2009 and we have worked closely with heritage consultants to ensure that the building’s history is preserved while delivering beautifully designed hotel rooms and facilities.

“We have dedicated close to £40 million to restore the hotel to its rightful place as the premier property in the West of Scotland and it was vital that we worked with partners such as Gleeds who shared this vision and were able to complete the project with consummate professionalism. We are delighted with the quality of work that Gleeds has achieved.”

The £40 million refurbishment focused on 40 of its 211 luxuriously appointed guest rooms and public spaces which were re-designed in line with the vision of original architect James Miller, with a focus on space and opening up the views across the course to the ocean,
New air conditioning and sprinkler systems were installed, while all mechanical and electrical services were renewed.

In line with client wishes, Gleeds undertook significant value engineering during the early months of the construction phase. Commenting on the challenges for Gleeds, Stuart Senior, the Managing Partner responsible for Turnberry said, “This has been a rewarding project for us and the combination of cost reduction initiatives by our QS team and the calming influence of Gleeds Management Services looking after the overall Project Management meant that the client gained what they needed at a cost that was required as the brief changed over time.”

He went on to add: “Leisurecorp had faith in our ability to adapt and adopt as needed and I feel we didn’t let them down. The Open Golf Championship is a cornerstone of golfing excellence and needed appropriate facilities to support the world’s best sportsman. I am proud that we played a part in making that happen”