Канаданың Уалтертон көліндегі Принц Уэльс қонақ үйі

a hotel in Alberta

The Prince of Wales Hotel is a historic hotel located in Waterton, Alberta, Canada. It is situated within Waterton Lakes National Park, overlooking Upper Waterton Lakes. It was designed by and built for the Great Northern Railway company. It is currently managed by the Pursuit Collection. The Rustic styled building was opened in July 1927. It is with seven floors. The building is considered one of Canada's grand railway hotels, and is the only grand railway hotel built by a company based in the United States. It was named a National Historic Site of Canada in November 1992.

The Prince of Wales Hotel is situated on Alberta Highway 5, in the northern sections of Waterton, a hamlet within Waterton Lakes National Park. The hotel is adjacent to Upper Waterton Lakes. The hotel property is bounded by a roadway, parkland, and large bodies of water. To the west, the hotel is bounded by Alberta Highway 5, the only major roadway to the hotel. To the north and east, varying sections of Waterton Lakes bound the hotel, most notably the Bosporus, a narrow strait that connects the Upper Waterton Lakes with the rest of the lake. South of the hotel lies the Upper Waterton Lakes, as well as the Emerald Bay. The hamlet of Waterton lies on the other side of the bay. The hamlet of Waterton, along with the Prince of Wales Hotel is situated within the Rocky Mountains, a large mountain range that serves as a continental divide for the Americas. Located within a Canadian national park, the hotel is situated near several major landmarks and local attractions. Major mountain peaks close to the hotel include Mount Alderson, Mount Boswell, and Mount Crandell. Given the park's ecological traits, the national park was designated a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve in 1979. Waterton Lakes National Park forms a part of a larger international park known as the Waterton Glacier International Peace Park. The international park is a union between Waterton Lakes National Park, and Glacier National Park, in the United States. The international park is managed by Parks Canada and the U. S. National Park Service.

The Prince of Wales Hotel is one of Canada's grand railway hotels, and the only one built by an American company, Great Northern Railway. The hotel was designed by Thomas D. McMahon, with construction contracted to Oland and Scott Construction of Cardston, Alberta. The design of the hotel was also influenced by Louis W. Hill, the president of Great Northern Railway. Maintaining contact with McMahon, he would critique designs submitted by McMahon, placing a particular importance of functionality. Aside from functionality, he was a driving force in acquiring pictographs for the hotel from the Kainai Nation. An admirer of the Blackfoot culture, he prominently used native imagery as a marketing tool for his company. Hill was also the first to suggest the installation of power plugs in the guest rooms of the hotel for the purpose of clothes irons and curling irons. The hotel was designated as a National Historic Site of Canada on 6 November 1992. The building was designed in a Rustic architectural style. As a result, the building is primarily made of wood materials for its construction, cladding and detailing. The majority of the lumber was provided by sawmill in Somers, Montana. The Glacier Park Hotel and Many Glacier Hotel were initially used by McMahon as a design template for the new hotel. However, in an effort to place the focus of the room on the nature outside, McMahon designed a lobby for the Prince of Wales completely different from its templates. The lobby for the Prince of Wales Hotel was perpendicular to the length of the building, and incorporated two storey windows facing Upper Lake Waterton. Other rustic elements within the hotel, including a natural wood detailing, and a timber framed lobby, with open spaces ascending to the building's roof. The hotel also hosts food services in the building, including the Royal Stewart Dining Hall. The formal dining hall features large windows overlooking Upper Lake Waterton, and hosts the restaurant's afternoon tea. The Windsor Lounge is a cocktail lounge that was carved out of the east wing of the hotel in 1960, replacing the Maple Leaf Lounge. The lounge was placed in the east wing in order to prevent passers by on Highway 5 from viewing inside the lounge.

The hotel was constructed between 1926 and 1927 and was built by the Great Northern Railway of the United States to lure American tourists during the prohibition era. It was named after the Prince of Wales (later King Edward VIII) in a transparent attempt to entice him to stay in the hotel on his 1927 Canadian tour, but the prince stayed at his own nearby ranch instead.