Measuring guide · Hotels
Measuring for hotel curtains and blinds
Guest rooms need dark, quiet and fast housekeeping; public areas need drama and scale. Both start with the same two figures.
What is different in a hotel
The curtains, roman blinds, pelmets and tracks and poles guides cover how to take every measurement. This page adds what is different about measuring in this sector and gives you the schedule we need.
Hotel bedrooms almost always run a blackout curtain with a voile on a double track, often behind a pelmet or in a bulkhead. That means two sets of measurements per window, returns and overlaps on the blackout, and a clear decision on how the curtains meet the bed, the desk and the air-conditioning unit.
Guest rooms
Double tracks: measure each separately
The blackout runs on the front track, the voile on the rear. Measure the width and drop of each track on its own; the rear track is usually shorter because it stops at the wall return. Make the voile 20mm shorter than the blackout so it never shows at the hem.
Blackout: overlap and returns
Light leaks at the centre and the ends, not through the cloth. Specify a track with an overlap arm and give us the projection so we make returns; both are standard on our blackout make-up. If the track sits in a bulkhead or behind a pelmet, tell us the bulkhead width and depth so the returns are sized to it rather than to the wall.
Where curtains finish
Floor length (A, 10mm above the floor) is the norm in guest rooms and hides the wall behind the bed. Where a fan-coil unit, desk or bench runs under the window, finish 20mm above it (C). Housekeeping vacuum under floor-length curtains; anything that puddles on carpet wears quickly and is a trip hazard, so give us the smallest of three drops.
Pelmets and bulkheads
A pelmet is sized to the track (see the pelmets guide). A bulkhead built by the fit-out contractor needs its internal width and depth recorded and the track position inside it confirmed before the curtains are made; if the bulkhead is not yet built, give us the drawing.
Ceiling-fixed tracks
Common in refurbishments where the wall above the window is glazed or tiled. Measure the drop from the ceiling and tell us the track type; we make the glider allowance.
Public areas
Lobbies, bars and function rooms
Tall glazing and heavy cloths (velvet, lined jacquard) stack deep. Allow at least 15% of the window width each side for stack-back, or specify a ceiling track that runs past the glazing so the curtains can be drawn fully clear. Wide-width fabrics reduce seams on drops over 2.8m; note the drop so we can advise.
Bays, turrets and curved glazing
Measure each straight run along the track line and the angle at each change of direction, or send a photo with the runs marked. Curved tracks are bent to a template; a scaled drawing or a strip of card cut to the curve is enough for us to quote.
Measuring in phases and room types
Most hotels have a handful of room types and a long tail of exceptions. Measure one room of each type in full, then check every other room against it: width and drop, and whether the fan-coil, desk and bulkhead are in the same place. Give the exceptions their own line on the schedule. For a phased refurbishment, note the dye lot on the first order; we hold the reference so later phases match.
The schedule we need
One line per window, all figures in millimetres. Send it as a spreadsheet, a PDF or a photo of a marked-up plan.
- Room / window reference
- Room number and window position, e.g. 204 W1. Sewn into the curtain label.
- Fixing
- Track or pole; new or existing; overlap arm; returns and projection.
- Width and drop
- Track width; drop from track to finish point (smallest of three).
- Finish point
- A floor, B sill or C below sill / above radiator.
- Heading, lining and fabric
- As specified, with the fabric band and colourway.
- Voile
- Rear track width and drop, made 20mm shorter than the blackout.
- Pelmet / bulkhead
- Width, depth and whether the track is fixed inside it.
- Room type
- So identical rooms can be batched and exceptions flagged.
Rather we measured?
For larger projects we can measure on site. Site surveys carry a fee that depends on the location, the number of windows and the stage of the build; we confirm it before anything is booked. Site surveys and installation.
Frequently asked questions
Do you need the room's furniture plan?
It helps. Where the bed, desk or fan-coil sits under or beside the window decides the finish point and whether the curtains need to stack past the furniture. A marked-up room plan or a photo per room type is enough.
Should the voile be on the front or the back?
Behind the blackout, on the rear track, nearest the glass. The blackout draws over it at night; during the day the blackout stacks to the sides and the voile gives privacy.
What fire standard do hotel curtains need?
BS 5867-2 Type B. Every fabric on this site is inherently FR and certified; the certificate comes with the order for the O&M manual. Hotels with a higher-risk assessment sometimes ask for Type C; filter the hotel collection by standard if so.
Send the room schedule
Send a window schedule by room type, or the drawings, and we quote blackout, voile, blinds and pelmets together. For larger projects we can measure on site. Site surveys carry a fee that depends on the location, the number of windows and the stage of the build; we confirm it before anything is booked.