Reception Desk Touch-Up at the Embassy Suites Atlanta Buckhead

The front desk is the first thing guests see when they walk into a hotel. It sets the tone for the entire stay. So when the reception desk at the Embassy Suites by Hilton in Atlanta’s Buckhead neighborhood started showing its age — chipped finish along the base rail, peeling at the center stiles, scuffs and wear from years of daily foot traffic and luggage bumps — it was the kind of damage that needed attention before it became a bigger conversation.

The desk itself is a beautiful piece. Dark-stained wood framing with textured decorative panels, clean lines, a design that fits the property’s upscale Buckhead location. But the lower portions were taking a beating. The base molding had multiple spots where the finish had chipped down to bare wood. The vertical center stiles where the two desk sections meet had visible peeling and scratches. It’s the kind of wear that happens gradually — you don’t notice it until one day you really look, and it’s everywhere.

The Work We Did

Our team handled this as part of an ongoing scheduled maintenance visit, which is exactly how these things should get caught. Rather than waiting until the damage spread further or the property had to consider replacing the entire desk, we addressed it on-site using Mohawk color-match touch-up products.

The process started with a careful color match. This desk has a layered, warm-to-cool dark stain with subtle variation across the grain — not a simple single-tone finish. We matched the color precisely, then worked section by section along the base rail and center stiles, filling the chips, blending the touch-up into the surrounding finish, and restoring a consistent look across the entire front face of the desk.

The whole job was done during normal business hours. The front desk stayed open. Guests kept checking in and out. No closures, no disruption, no temporary reception setup in a back hallway. That’s the point of on-site touch-up work — it fits into the property’s day, not the other way around.

The Results

Compare the before and after and the difference is clear. The chipped, peeling base rail is now smooth and consistently finished. The center stiles that had visible peeling and bare-wood exposure are restored to match the rest of the desk. The whole piece looks cohesive again — the way it did when it was first installed.

More importantly, this wasn’t a $15,000 desk replacement. It was a targeted touch-up visit that kept an existing investment looking sharp and extended its usable life by years.

The Takeaway for Property Managers

Reception desks take more abuse than almost any other surface in a hotel lobby. Luggage wheels clip the base. Shoes scuff the bottom rail. Cleaning products slowly wear down the finish. The damage is always worst at the lower edges — the parts closest to foot traffic — and it builds up faster than most people expect.

A scheduled maintenance plan catches this kind of wear early, when it’s a touch-up job and not a refinishing project. The Embassy Suites Buckhead team gets regular visits from our crew, which means their front desk — and every other finished surface in the lobby — stays in the condition their guests expect.

If your property’s reception area is starting to show wear in the places guests notice most, we should talk. Reach out at sales@TouchUpMaestros.com or call our Atlanta office at 404-237-6000.