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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:
Ritz InterContinental Hotel Lisbon
Location:
Lisbon, Portugal
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:
300 completely air-conditioned, with private
balconies situated on a hill top, in the heart
of Lisbon, with spectacular views of Edward VII
Park, the Tagus River and the city below. Only
five minutes by taxi from shopping area and
business center.
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:
2 specialty restaurants, informal restaurant,
tea lounge, bar and nightclub
Meeting Facilities:
7 function rooms
accommodating up to 800 people
Images held by the Collection:
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