420 guest-room doors for a coastal resort, on one key hierarchy

A beachfront property 300 metres from open water, specified originally in matte black. We changed the specification before the order, not after the complaint.

The problem with the original spec

Matte black is a coated finish rated to 48 hours salt spray. On a seafront elevation with prevailing onshore wind, the finish would have shown lifting within two seasons on every exterior-facing guest door.

What we specified instead

Satin nickel — a plated finish at 96 hours salt spray — on all corridor-facing and balcony doors, with stainless fixings throughout. Matte black was kept for interior wardrobe and dummy trim, where the client wanted the visual, and where salt never reaches.

Keying

Three levels: change keys per room, a housekeeping master per floor, and a grand master for management. Plant and riser doors were put on a separate engineering master so housekeeping keys open nothing technical.

Result

420 doors delivered in 41 days across two containers, with 4% spare sets and a box of loose cylinders and thumb-turns shipped alongside. Two years on, no finish claims.