As Inspector Morse once said, “The secret of a happy life, is to know when to stop and then to go that little bit further.”

At Storm Windows, we always like to go further for our clients, and during our recent work in Oxford, we did just that in one of the fictional detective’s former watering holes. The Randolph Hotel was where the author Colin Dexter penned many of his classic Morse novels, and in his honour, the bar has now been named after his fictional creation. If you enjoyed the TV series, you’ve probably seen the hotel.

The Randolph has centuries of history and is located in the cultural epicentre of England’s city of learning. The luxury hotel is now owned and managed by Graduate Hotels, who recently commissioned us to install 68 windows that protected and enhanced the classic aesthetic of the building. These were a mixture of lower vertical sliding sash units, slimline units, horizontal sliding units, and shaped slimline units.

Working in a busy hotel, our key aim was to minimise disruption to guests. Windows were installed within the handover times of the bedrooms, with multiple surveyors on site to maximise the daily fitting that could be completed before check-in. We also had to work quickly and discretely in the communal areas of the hotel.

We initially installed sample glazing at the hotel, giving the hotel group owner and conservation officer the chance to see it in situ. It was chosen as the least obtrusive and for its superior thermal efficiency. Add to that the enhanced acoustic benefits, the new windows at The Randolph have made the rooms cosier and quieter in the heart of a bustling city.

To find out more about the benefits of our secondary glazing units, please click here.