Inter-Continental Geneva Hotel, Geneva, Switzerland, Mr. Neal Prince, International Hotel Interior Designer

InterContinental Hotel Archives Neal Prince ASID

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

(Curriculum Vitae)

InterContinental Hotel Corporation Digital Archives

Intercontinental Geneva Hotel
Geneva, Switzerland (1964-1986)

InterContinental Hotel Collections
held by the Neal Prince Estate Holding Trust

Mr. Neal Prince,
R.A., A.S.I.D
(Curriculum Vitae)

Index Holdings Relating to the 1940's

Index Holdings Relating to the 1950's

Index Holdings Relating to the 1960's

Index Holdings Relating to the 1970's

Index Holdings Relating to the 1980's

Index Holdings Relating to the 1990's

Professional
Biography 2000's

Mr. Neal Prince Resource Image Data Base

InterContinental Hotels
Historical
Background

John B. Gates,
Chairman of the Board

Robert Huyot,
Chairman of the Board

Hans Sternick,
Chairman of the Board

John P. Sutherland,
President
Latin American
Division

Mario Di Genova,
President
Europe/Africa Divsions

R. Kane Rufe,
Sr. Vice President
Far East/Pacific Division

John C. Carrodus
Sr. Vice President
of Services

Neal A. Prince
Vice President
Graphics and Interior Designs

Departmental Staff and Contractual Designers:

Kenneth Smith,
ASID

Charles R Alvey,
Graphic Designer

Richard Simpson,
Graphic Designer

Bill Embery

Dale & Pat Keller,
ASID

Joe Grusczak,
ASID

Trisha Wilson,
ASID

James Ray Baker,
ASID

Irene D'Alessio,
Interior Designer

Arie deZanger,
IHC Photographer

CONTACT
US

InterContinental Hotel was a subsidiary of Pan Am Airlines

Pan Am Logo InterContinental Hotel Corporation Digital Archives

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Who is Mr. Neal Prince? Mr. Prince is a trained Architect from Rice University, an Art Historian, Art Collector and a person with a vast passion for Motion Pictures and Theatre History, especially Set Designs. These elements came together to build a foundation to Mr. Prince's skills, which later became recognized as his ability for designing Hotel and Restaurant Interiors. Mr. Prince incorporated his own passions of above, into an International branding philosophy that remains as strong today as it was when he developed his philosophy of Hotel and Restaurant Designs, which is visible today, in Hotels worldwide. But what makes Mr. Prince different? He was a pioneer within this Industry, along with Dale and Pat Keller, of Hong Kong, in designing Hotels in countries that never had an International Hotel presence. Mr. Prince, along with Kenneth Smith (Interior Designer), Charles Alvey (Graphic Designer), Richard Simpson (Graphic Designer), William Embury (Interior Designer), Joe Grusczak (Interior Designer), James Ray Baker (Interior Designer) and Irene D'Alessio (Interior Designer) and many others were the first, to sent the standards for International Hotel Interiors. And what is incredible is that he did not have the grand budgets that most designers have today. Mr. Prince used local talents and products, when available and appropriate, to augment his designs, which, in return, allowed local Artist, Gallery Owners, Merchants and vendors to view InterContinental not as an invader, but as a partner in creating new sources of commence within the local economy. What is even more unique in Mr. Prince being different, was that Mr. Prince has always credited his success, not in the terms of "I", but "WE". Mr. Prince, being from Corsicana, Texas, has always remained modest and respectful and always have contributed his success due to the fact that designing hotels is a "TEAM" effort, from his Departmental Staff to his Professional Associate Designers that he had brought on to do a certain project for the vast inventory of InterContinental Hotel holdings. This website is to bring together the collections, resources, stories and images documenting a period of time, before computers, mobile phones, fax's or video conferencing. This website is to recapture the time when International Hotel Design Industry remained in its infancy before the growth and development into what we have today as multi billion dollar companies. Each Hotel on this website will encompass how Mr. Prince and his Staff and Professional Associates overcame the troubles of designing Hotels, from a historic point of view, to what was necessary to open the Hotels, maintain the Hotels, and what lessons were learned to be applied for the next project.

-webmaster

Hotel:

Intercontinental Geneva Hotel

Inter-Continental Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland

Location:

Geneva, Switzerland

Architect:

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

Lobby -

Inter-Continental Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland

Interiors designed by Mr. Neal Prince, R.A., A.S.I.D (1964)

Rooms:

400 centrally-heated guestrooms, with all rooms facing either Lake Geneva or the Mont-Blanc mountains beyond. And, to ensure the utmost in comfort and convenience, there is a heated outdoor swimming pool, sauna, massage and arcade of shops complete this fine facility.

Interiors designed by Mr. Neal Prince, R.A., A.S.I.D (1964)

Interiors designed by Mr. Neal Prince, R.A., A.S.I.D (1964)

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:

Les Continents Restaurant - Rich and elegant in design, you find in this romantic setting your choice of Tahitian boula boula, Chilean crevettes � la diable, Haitian langouste flamb�e and a wealth of other grand creations, exotic and familiar.

Inter-Continental Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland

Photograph courtesy of Arie de Zanger, IHC Photographer

Inter-Continental Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland

Interiors designed by Mr. Neal Prince, R.A., A.S.I.D (1964)

Les Continents Lounge -

Inter-Continental Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland

Les Continents Restaurant -

Interiors designed by Mr. Neal Prince, R.A., A.S.I.D (1964)

La Pergola Restaurant - This restaurant was designed that one could enjoy good food in a relaxed, informal manner. The walls were designed in this manner to reflect the culture and enlargen the room, then what it was.

Interiors designed by Mr. Neal Prince, R.A., A.S.I.D (1964)

Les Palmiers Lounge - for nightcaps, brown wood wall panels, with strip carpet, with lamps designed by Neal Prince.

Inter-Continental Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland

Interiors designed by Mr. Neal Prince, R.A., A.S.I.D (1964)

Cafe Le Voltaire - Aqua color cafe, with candy cane pillars.

Inter-Continental Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland

Photograph courtesy of Arie de Zanger, IHC Photographer

Inter-Continental Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland

Photograph courtesy of Arie de Zanger, IHC Photographer

This earlier image is another example of the detail graphics and designs that were created by the talents of Charles R. Alvey and Richard Simpson, of the InterContinental Hotel Corporation's Department of Interior & Graphics Design. This image is another example of InterContinental Hotel's competitors copied for their own Graphic's applications. In some hotels, this image is used to this day.

The Salle de Bal - The Grande Ballroom

- No Photograph is available at this time-

Le Carnival Bar and Lounge - was a favorite spot at cocktail hour.

Inter-Continental Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland

Interiors designed by Mr. Neal Prince, R.A., A.S.I.D (1964)

Meeting Facilities:

The proximity of the United Nations has resulted in superb accommodation for banquets, conferences and expositions. Arrangements can be made for gatherings of from 20 to 1500 people. Conference organizers will find a full range of audio/visual equipment including simultaneous translation facilities and a vast variety of projection equipment. Platforms and podiums will enhance the value of exposition and shows.

Inter-Continental Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland

Inter-Continental Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland

Interiors designed by Mr. Neal Prince, R.A., A.S.I.D (1964)

Pool -

Inter-Continental Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland

Comments:

Location: Midway between the international airport and the city, the Hotel Intercontinental Gen�ve, like its prestigious neighbor the United Nations, is exceptionally well-located.

From the Intercontinental Hotel you embrace all of Geneva, the Lake, whose end if faces diagonally, and the Mont-Blanc mountain chain which, from afar, stands like a protective shield. It is from the vantage point of the hotel that you should first discover the city. Then you can allow yourself to penetrate its sparkling and picturesque intimacy. Geneva nurtures its eminent image while at the same time cultivating its network of world relations. It is called an “international city”, but it also retains its traditional charm. And to this end it has all of the qualifications: the souvenir of its old stones, the splendor of its parks, the moods of the lake, the opera, the gaiety of the night-clubs, the inimitable Helvetic cuisine. Geneva offers you all this, in the most generous manner. And you will also find this natural generosity reflected in the Hotel Intercontinental Gen�ve.

Images held by the Collection:

Example of the Le Voltaire Restaurant Menu, designed by Charles Alvey and Richard Simpson, of the InterContinental Hotel Graphics Department:

Inter-Continental Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland

This earlier image is another example of the detail graphics and designs that were created by the talents of Charles R. Alvey and Richard Simpson, of the InterContinental Hotel Corporation's Department of Interior & Graphics Design. This image is another example of InterContinental Hotel's competitors copied for their own Graphic's applications. In some hotels, this image is used to this day.

This earlier image is another example of the detail graphics and designs that were created by the talents of Charles R. Alvey and Richard Simpson, of the InterContinental Hotel Corporation's Department of Interior & Graphics Design. This image is another example of InterContinental Hotel's competitors copied for their own Graphic's applications. In some hotels, this image is used to this day.

Inter-Continental Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland

Attached is an 1971 MEMO from Mr. Prince on the Process of Designing a Guest Room for an Hotel

This earlier image is another example of the detail graphics and designs that were created by the talents of Charles R. Alvey and Richard Simpson, of the InterContinental Hotel Corporation's Department of Interior & Graphics Design. This image is another example of InterContinental Hotel's competitors copied for their own Graphic's applications. In some hotels, this image is used to this day.

STATEMENT

OF

INTERCONTINENTAL HOTEL

INTERIOR AND GRAPHIC DESIGN

POLICY

BY

NEAL PRINCE, ca. 1961

The approach to hotel design differs greatly from interior design for an individual. The latter is dictated by the aesthetic environmental pleasures of one particular person or family, whereas hotel design is a coordinated effort between the functional requirements if IHC Hotel Management and Operations, the architectural concept and space allocation, the desires of the local hotel company, the limitations of restrictive budgets, and the harmony and market of the country in which a hotel is located – all combined to produce a profit marking plant reflecting the current international tastes of a widely diversified market.

Although standardization would appear to be desirable in a rapidly growing industry, experience indicates the most successful efforts are based on individuality related to the country of origin rather than standardization of design, but with an overlying emphasis of international standardization of quality and service.

Each hotel in each location produces its own surveyed, conceptual, and operational requirements of IHC, its own local interior designers, and its own problems of local availability and manufacturing; however, the following outline of goals is generally applicable:

A. To produce good design based primarily on the functional needs and requirements of IHC Operations in order that Management can merchandise fully the facilities provided and develop a high quality of service; this design to be approached simultaneously along the following avenues:

1. Concept (objectivity) – initiated by IHC Operations and local Hotel Company (where applicable).

2. Function (utility) – based on past experience and current consumption of practical innovation.

3. Construction (fabrication) – utilization of local market facilities and methods wherever possible.

4. Budget (feasibility) – dictated by market surveys indicating the initial expenditure warranted by projected profits.

5. Beauty (design) – a conglomerate result of the thinking and ideas of all parties involved coordinated into a smooth, compatible result.

B. To insure that the original design concept and subsequent development of each project is based not on the likes and dislikes of any one faction but expresses the taste and insures the comfort of the international guest; and also utilizes, wherever possible, the trades, manufactures and craftsmen as well as the arts and crafts, ornamentation, styles, and traditions indigenous to the country in which a project is located.

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