Hotel:          

InterContinental Lusaka Hotel

Location:     

Lusaka, Zambia

Architect:

Mr. William B. Tabler, Sr. (b. 1914-2004), American

Mr. William B. Tabler, was an Architect at the head of the movement to design hotels for efficiency, rather than charm, who designed more than 400 hotels in his career, most notably the mammoth hotels for the Inter-Continental Hotel Corporation properties, including, but not limited to:

• El Salvador Inter-Continental Hotel, San Salvador, El Salvador, 1958-1975

• El Ponce InterContinental Hotel, Ponce, Puerto Rico 1960-1975

• Dublin InterContinental Hotel, Dublin, Ireland, 1963-1972

• Cork InterContinental Hotel, Cork, Ireland, 1963-1972

• Limerick InterContinental Hotel, Limerick, Ireland, 1963-1972

• InterContinental Jerusalem Hotel, Jerusalem, 1964-1988

• Karachi InterContinental Hotel, Karachi, Pakistan, 1964-1985

• InterContinental Dacca Hotel, Dacca, Bangladesh, 1966-1983

• InterContinental Lahore Hotel, Lahore, Pakistan, 1967-1985

• InterContinental Rawalpindi Hotel, Rawalpindi, Pakistan, 1967-1985

• InterContinental Lusaka Hotel, Lusaka, Zambia, 1968

• InterContinental Nairobi Hotel, Nairobi, Kenya, 1969

• Rose Hall InterContinental Hotel/Country Club, Montego Bay, Jamaica, 1974-1982

• The InterContinental New York (known as the Barclay Hotel) Hotel (Restoration), New York, New York, USA, 1978-

Mr. Tabler, Sr. was further known for his work with various other corporations, including the New York Hilton at Rockefeller Center in New York, the Washington Hilton and the Hilton in San Francisco. He died on February 3rd, 2004 in Upper Brookfield, New York at the age of 89. Mr. Prince worked directly with Mr. Tabler, Sr., and his son, Mr. William B. Tabler, Jr., who remains with the firm and continues the legacy of talents of the highest level of experience that is difficult to find in todays market for Hotel Designers. Mr. Prince, noted many times over that with experience, brings solutions to every problem, and that is why the William B. Tabler  Architecture Firm did to allow the Inter-Continental Hotel Corporation to grow with great speed to what it has become today, the leader in International Hotel Industry.

Mr. William B. Tabler, Jr.  

Since Mr. William B. Tabler Jr. joining the firm, he has worked closely with the founder, his father, the late William B. Tabler Sr., FAIA on many award-winning projects located throughout the world, including The Hilton Hotel in New York City; The Meridian Hotel in Cairo, Egypt; The Heliopolis Meridian in Cairo, Egypt. He has also served as Project Designer and Project Architect for many projects constructed throughout the United States and overseas. In recent years, Mr. Tabler, Jr. developed an interest in combining a thorough knowledge of preservation with the advantage of modern design techniques in the renovation of many landmark hotels in New York City. Mr. William B. Tabler Jr. earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Harvard College in 1965; a Masters in Architecture from Texas A&M in 1969 and a Masters in Urban Planning from Texas A&M in 1970. Mr. Tabler, Jr. is a Registered Architect in Arizona, California, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Iowa, Rhode Island, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia and NCARB. Mr. Tabler, Jr. is the chairman of the planning board at the village of Matinecock, New York.

Lead Interior Designer:

Neal A. Prince, R.A., A.S.I.D, Lead Designer

V.P. of Graphic and Interior Design Department, InterContinental Hotel Group 1960-1985

Guest Rooms annd Suites:        

210 completely air-conditioned guestrooms. Hotel is walking distance of the various embassies and governmental buildings.

MEMO: The Prints for each Guestroom and the Suites were designed by Stanely Linder, under the pseudonym name of Randolph Beaumont¹

How does Mr. Prince's identify an outstanding Hotel?

Response: When you arrive at the Hotel, telephone room service and order a club sandwich to be delivered to your room. Once the room service had delivered your requested club sandwich, take a moment to access how it was prepared, what materials they used to create your club sandwich and then taste the sandwich. Mr. Prince firmly believes, from 55 years of travelling around the world that if a Hotel is able to prepare the "simple" club sandwich correctly, then that Hotel is being operated correctly.

Restaurants/Lounges:       

Specialty restaurant, 2 informal restaurants, 2 cocktail lounges, bar, snack bar and casino:

Laungwa Bar -

The Mutanda Coffee Hut -

Mutanda means "little house", reflects the casual mood for breakfast, lunch or light snacks. This coffee hut was designed to become a charming, informal place for meals.

Makumbi Rooftop Restaurant and Bar-

Makumbi means "up in the clouds" and this rooftop restaurant and bar are just that.

Meeting Facilities:       

4 functional rooms, accommodating up to 450 people.

Comments:

In 1966, Neal Prince hired the G.B. Designs, Inc., located out of New York City, whereby the G.B. Designs, Inc. was a partnership between Joseph Grusczak, A.I.D., President and James Ray Baker, A.I.D. to provided complete renderings for the New Construction, which consisted of various design renderings detailing of all fixed decor, provide the selection of all furniture, fixtures and soft goods, provide documentation for bids and purchasing for the public Lobby, the Mutanda Coffee Hut, Lauangwa ar, the Makumbi Rooftop Restaurant and Bar and the various Guestrooms and Suites, with the final approval by Mr. Neal Prince, for the Hotel. The renderings and designs were inspired by the local culture of Lusaka, Zambia, Africa.

The G.B. Designs, Inc. Agreement was disbanded in 1972 and Joseph Grusczak and James Ray Baker continued to be hired by Neal Prince, on the behalf of the InterContinental Hotels during Mr. Prince's tenure.

Images held by the Collection: