It was just over 100 years ago that a pair of siblings founded a fashion department store at Soltorget – the Sun Square – in the Swedish city of Karlstad. Now brothers and experienced hospitality operators Mattias and Andreas Olsson have lovingly restored and transformed the iconic building into the exquisite Hotel Fratelli, a boutique property with 85 guest rooms, a luxurious spa and 3 restaurants and bars.
The Vicino restaurant promises guests a gastronomic experience beyond the ordinary, combining a memorable taste experience with a journey through local and international ingredients, while the Fratelli Bar & Deli is a lively spot for pizza, wine and cocktails. At Isola, a collaboration with Hendricks enables guests to discover an exciting list of gin-based drinks partnered with a specially curated menu.
Music is an important part of creating a vibrant and welcoming atmosphere in all three hospitality spaces, so the brothers turned to their trusted AV technology partner Audio Blix to design and install a fully integrated sound system which would combine appropriate levels of performance with straightforward operation, while remaining visually unobtrusive in the spaces.
“NEXO’s ID14 is an ultra-compact speaker and is almost invisible in the restaurant Vicino, where they are painted in a custom RAL colour to match the tops of the column on which they are mounted” reports Audio Blix CEO and Project Manager Arvid Blix.
“The different HF dispersion options offered by the ID14 make it easier to achieve consistent coverage and the partner IDS108 subs are equally compact.”
ID14s also feature in the other restaurant/bars, supplementing more potent NEXO ePS systems.
In a popular venue for private events, 8 x NEXO ePS10s with 4 x eLS600 subs installed by Arvid at Isola deliver more than enough power and headroom to create a party vibe, while the 7 x NEXO ePS6s mounted high in the Fratelli Bar & Deli are also custom RAL finished in the same colour as the walls, with LF extension from 3 x eLS400 subs.
Beyond hospitality, the Olsson brothers also extend their mission to create memorable moments to organising regular festivals in Karlstad and nearby Arvika, with Arvid often deploying Audio Blix’s inventory of NEXO line and point source systems in his role as Technical Production Manager.
“This is a beautiful hotel and another great installation by Audio Blix” comments Stefan Ljungkvist, Sales Manager at NEXO’s Swedish distribution partner Intersonic. “Arvid and the team have a lot of experience and great expertise with NEXO systems, and this comes through loud and clear at the Hotel Fratelli.”
For further information on Audio Blix, visit: audioblix.se
For further information on Hotel Fratelli, visit: hotelfratelli.se
For further information on NEXO in Sweden, visit: intersonic.se
