Siapan Beach Inter-Continental Inn, Siapan, Marianas, Neal Prince, International Hotel Interior Designer

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.

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Hotel:

Siapan Beach InterContinental Inn

Location:

Siapan, Marianas

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

Rooms:

200 completely air-conditioned rooms, on three levels on 7 � acres with an excellent white sand beach. Situated on Micro Beach along Tanapag Lagoon on the west side of Saipan Island, with a beautiful view of the lagoon, reef, and mountains.

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, informal restaurant, cocktail lounge, bar, and snack bar.

Meeting Facilities:

2 function rooms accommodating up to 200 people.

Images held by the Collection:

The images of the collection are 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.

Coconut Seychelles:

This item was present to Mr. Prince in 1975 by the cheifs of the Island, as a token of appreciation for his efforts for the development of the Interiors for the Saipan Beach InterContinental Inn Hotel. This is a very rare item, as this nut is trimed with brass, which permits the nut to be opened with ease.

The coco-de-mer, the Seychelles' most famouns botanical rarity. Sea coconut approximately 9" x 12" x 5", bound in brass edging and hinged to open. The legend of the Coco-de-Mer predates the time men knew of the existence of the Seychelles groups of islands. Picked up by the inhabitants of the Maldives and Arabia, as the ‘double-nut shaped seed that floated in from the sea’, it was aptly called the ‘coconut of the sea’.

It’s origins unknown; it was revered as a fruit imparting fertility and as a valuable piece of ornament in royal circles. In fact, it only grows naturally in the Seychelles, in particular on two granitic islands, Praslin and Curieuse. Were these extraordinary palms part of the prehistoric forest, a tiny fragment of the Garden of Eden or simply one of the wonders of nature? Whatever the origin, this unique nut gives the islands a very special place in the Guinness Book of Records and the annals of natural history, because it produces the world’s largest nut which takes over 7 years to reach maturity. The palm takes over 15 years to grow to maturity and many go on to live for more than 400 years.

The following Exhibit is a memorandum from March 5th, 1971, by Mr. Prince's, regarding the policy on "How to Design Hotel Guest Rooms", from an Interior Designer point of view, by Mr. Prince:

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