The Grand Hotel, in Folkestone is steeped in history – from regular Royal visits by King Edward VII, to a frequent holiday home for Agatha Christie whilst she was writing Murder On The Orient Express.
The imposing building sits on top of The Leas, looking out to the English Channel and is now both a hotel and a place of residence for those who have retired.
TileMaster Maidstone were asked to see if there was anything they could do do help give the marble floors a bit of a lift. The tiles were original and had never received a deep clean and certainly hadn’t been polished.
After meetings with the maintenance team, TileMaster carried out a free demo where the customer could decide on the type of finish required and see, from a selected area, how it would look.
With a wealth of experience of working with marble floors, it was proposed that a deep clean of the tiles and grout followed by a mechanical polish using diamond technology would provide a finish fit for the beautiful rooms and deserving of the history. Once cleaned and polished, an impregnating seal would be applied to help with ongoing maintenance.
With the job scheduled, TileMaster Maidstone made the area safe by blocking off the area to the the public and protecting the walls. By using a combination of the heavy duty rotary machinery and TileMaster cleaning solutions (cleaner number 3 and cleaner number 2), the tiles and grout were clean and prepared for polishing.
Diamond encrusted pads from 400grit to 300grit we’re used to build a gradual shine and to produce a reflective finish – something which amazed the residents as they could see the reflection of the lights and surrounding pictures in the floor!
Once dry, a coat of TileMaster All In One Polished seal was applied to the floor which will help the maintenance team keep the floor looking beautiful for longer.
The end result was fantastic, making the rooms feel like how they would over 100 years ago.
It was a real privilege to have the opportunity to work in such a famous building and contribute to bringing the historic appearance back for the residents
