Shangri-La Sydney’s Laundry Upgrade: Inside a Five-Star Overhaul

In the heart of Sydney’s CBD, tucked behind the iconic Shangri-La Hotel, a logistical ballet recently unfolded—one involving split-pocket washer extractors, a reinforced car park, and night-time installation marathons. Aqualogic, working closely with the hotel’s management and project teams, led a transformative upgrade to the on-premise laundry (OPL) system, tackling not just an ageing equipment fleet, but also a suite of complex installation challenges.

From Two to Six: Why the Shangri-La Rebuilt its Wash Section

The original laundry wash capacity included two large 200 kg washer extractors, a 100 kg Milnor split-pocket machine, and several smaller high-capacity washers. But after years of wear and increasing unreliability from the big 200s, it was clear change was needed.

“After many meetings with the Aqualogic and hotel teams which included plenty of layout reviews, the decision was made to remove all of the machines except for the Milnor 100 kg,” said Steven Borg from Aqualogic. “We replaced them with five more of the same model. This gives the laundry consistency, flexibility, and crucial redundancy.”

Why redundancy? “If a 200 kg machine goes down, you lose half your capacity in one hit,” Borg noted. “With six 100 kg machines, there’s less disruption when maintenance is needed.”

Space Constraints and Smart Engineering

The laundry layout wasn’t built with modern equipment sizes or installation access in mind. The biggest constraint? Getting the new machines through a sloped car park ramp and up to a raised laundry access point.

“Clearances were razor-thin—just inches above the forklift and either side of the roller door,” Borg explained. “We couldn’t afford a millimetre of error.”

To make it work, Aqualogic ordered the new machines with the electrical boxes detached and wall-mounted them, saving precious space. That adjustment enabled tighter machine placement without sacrificing service access.

Inside, the team faced further hurdles. The feeder for the roller ironer had to be temporarily removed to get the new washers into place. There was also no easy way to scaffold the machines into position without constantly dismantling and reassembling structures—a huge time sink.

Instead, a custom-engineered beam system was devised to safely support the load during movement, after extensive structural certification. Even the car park itself had to be reinforced from below to accommodate the weight of six commercial machines waiting their turn for install.

Two Weeks. Four Overnight Shifts. Zero Complaints.

Despite the challenges, Aqualogic completed the install in just two weeks—one week faster than originally estimated.

Much of the work happened at night to avoid disrupting guests and hotel operations. “We couldn’t shut the hotel down,” said Borg. “So we did a lot of work after-hours. Four full nights were spent working through to morning.”

Traffic control was carefully managed with hotel chauffeurs rerouted and briefed to ensure safety around active work zones.

More Than Just New Machines

Beyond capacity and reliability gains, the project delivered improved sustainability. Shangri-La had an existing water reuse system that had never been operational. Aqualogic worked to activate that system and plumbed the new washers to integrate fully with water-saving functionality.

Plumbing works were expensive however the long-term environmental and operational benefits are significant.

The Final Word? A Happy Client and a Future-Proofed Plant

Hotel staff have reportedly found the new workflow less physically demanding. Smaller capacity per load means less strain during unloading and more flexibility to keep operations running even if one washer is down.

Noise mitigation was also top-of-mind during planning, with efforts made to limit vibration and disturbance, especially for guest rooms near the laundry zone.

Aqualogic’ s attention to detail paid off. “There was no ‘she’ll be right’ attitude,” said Borg. “Everything was signed off and engineered properly.”

OPL vs Outsourcing: Shangri-La’s Strategic Choice

Shangri-La explored outsourcing options. They contacted several commercial laundries in Sydney however ultimately decided to maintain control of their linen in-house.

“Quality was a big factor,” The Hotel use 100% Egyptian cotton and wanted to keep complete control over stock and presentation which they believed said was hard to guarantee with outsourcing.”

Got a laundry success story worth telling? Reach out—we’re always looking to showcase real innovation and problem-solving in the field.