Prince of Wales Hotel facts for kids
| Prince of Wales Hotel | |
 The hotel from Township Road 13A |
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| Hotel facts and statistics | |
|---|---|
| Location | Alberta Highway 5, Waterton, Alberta T0K 2M0 |
| Coordinates | 49°03′32″N 113°54′13″W / 49.05889°N 113.90361°W |
| Developer | Great Northern Railway |
| Architect | Thomas D. McMahon |
| Management | Pursuit Collection |
| No. of floors | 7 |
The Prince of Wales Hotel is a famous old hotel in Waterton, Alberta, Canada. It's right inside Waterton Lakes National Park, looking out over the beautiful Upper Waterton Lakes. A company called the Great Northern Railway built it. Today, Pursuit Collection manages it.
The hotel opened in July 1927. It's 37-metre-tall (121 ft) and has seven floors. The style is called Rustic. It's one of Canada's grand railway hotels, which are big, fancy hotels built by railway companies. This hotel is special because it's the only one built by a company from the United States. In November 1992, it became a National Historic Site of Canada.
Contents
Where is the Prince of Wales Hotel Located?
The Prince of Wales Hotel is on Alberta Highway 5. It's in the northern part of Waterton, a small town inside Waterton Lakes National Park. The hotel is right next to Upper Waterton Lakes. The hotel property is surrounded by roads, parkland, and water.
To the west, you'll find Alberta Highway 5, which is the main road to the hotel. To the north and east, different parts of Waterton Lakes surround the hotel. This includes the Bosporus, a narrow water passage. South of the hotel are the Upper Waterton Lakes and Emerald Bay. The town of Waterton is on the other side of the bay.
The town of Waterton and the hotel are in the Rocky Mountains. This is a huge mountain range that divides the continent. Since the hotel is in a Canadian national park, it's close to many famous spots. Nearby mountains include Mount Alderson, Mount Boswell, and Mount Crandell.
Waterton Lakes National Park is a special place for nature. It was named a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve in 1979. This park is also part of a bigger international park. It's called the Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park. This park connects Waterton Lakes National Park in Canada with Glacier National Park in the United States. Both Parks Canada and the U.S. National Park Service manage it.
Hotel Design and Style
How the Hotel Was Designed
The Prince of Wales Hotel is one of Canada's grand railway hotels. It's the only one built by an American company, the Great Northern Railway. Thomas D. McMahon designed the hotel. Oland and Scott Construction of Cardston, Alberta, built it.
Louis W. Hill, the president of Great Northern Railway, also helped with the design. He worked closely with McMahon. Hill wanted the hotel to be very useful and practical. He also made sure the hotel had many pictures from the Kainai Nation. Hill admired the Blackfoot culture. He used their images to help market his company. Hill was also the first to suggest putting wall plugs in every guest room. The hotel was officially named a National Historic Site of Canada on November 6, 1992.
The hotel was built in a Rustic architectural style. This means it uses a lot of wood for its structure and decoration. Most of the wood came from a sawmill in Somers, Montana. McMahon first looked at the Glacier Park Hotel and Many Glacier Hotel for ideas. But he wanted the Prince of Wales Hotel lobby to be different. He wanted guests to focus on the nature outside.
So, the lobby was designed to be sideways to the building. It has two-story windows that look out over Upper Lake Waterton. Other rustic touches include natural wood details. The lobby has a timber frame with open spaces that go all the way up to the roof. The large wood pillars are made of Douglas fir trees. The hotel's round rotunda has posts and beams carved by hand. These are topped with special queen posts.
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During construction, the builders worked very fast. Sometimes, they didn't get the new designs from McMahon on time. The Lethbridge Herald newspaper reported this. Hill suggested changes to the design. This made the hotel much bigger. Three more stories were added, making it seven floors tall. The lobby roof became higher, and more balconies were added. Twelve dormer windows were put in where there were only four gables before. The new plans tried to keep as much of the original building as possible. The first three floors changed very little.
The biggest change was adding Swiss chalet architectural elements. Hill suggested this after a trip to Europe. This style includes rows of balconies with railings. It also has large supports for the balconies. The roofs are steep and pointed. There are also two-story dormers and a small tower called a lantern cupola. The walls are brightly colored and stand out.
Hotel Features and Rooms
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The hotel has many guest rooms and two special suites. It also has places to eat. One is the Royal Stewart Dining Hall. This fancy dining hall has big windows that look over Upper Lake Waterton. It also serves afternoon tea.
The Windsor Lounge is a cocktail lounge. It was created in 1960 from the hotel's east wing. It replaced the Maple Leaf Lounge. The lounge was placed in the east wing so that people driving by on Highway 5 couldn't see inside.
Hotel History
The hotel was built between 1926 and 1927. The Great Northern Railway from the United States built it. They wanted to attract American tourists during the time of Prohibition. This was when alcohol was illegal in the U.S.
The hotel was named after the Prince of Wales. He later became King Edward VIII. The railway hoped he would stay there during his 1927 Canadian trip. But the prince chose to stay at his own ranch nearby instead.
