Intercontinental news, Vol. 16, No. 1, 1980

              Joins Inter-Continental
The Hotel Ritz Lisboa, described as the epitome of quiet elegance, came under the InterContinental banner in December 1979.
The 300-room, fully air-conditioned hotel, located on a hilltop in the heart of Lisbon, offers spectacular views of Edward VII Park, the Tagus River, and the gaily colored city below.
The hotel opened in 1959 and more than 15,000 tons of Portuguese marble were used in its construction. Even the extra-large bathrooms are done in marble. Footsteps are muffled by inch-thick carpeting, using 20,000 square yards of specially designed, hand-woven Portuguese carpeting. Lamps and chandeliers are made of Portuguese rock crystal. Tapestries, paintings and sculptures collected in Italy, Belgium, France and Spain complement the tasteful decor.
Guestrooms and suites are located on the upper ten floors of the 14-story
structure. The spacious rooms average 15 x 20 feet and each has its own private balcony. Ten-foot high ceilings and extra-wide corridors add to the feeling of spaciousness. Guestrooms are furnished in pastel tones of light grey, pale yellow or cream. Sound-muffling insulation and double glazed windows help preserve the serene atmosphere of the hotel.
Included in the public areas of the hotel are an elegant restaurant, the famous Grill Room and Bar, shopping arcade and coffee shop. For meetings and conventions, the hotel has a 420-square meter ballroom, a 600-square meter exhibition hall and a variety of smaller function rooms.
Portugal is one of the best travel bargains in Western Europe. With travel to Lisbon on the increase, the Ritz Lisboa will be a major venue for vacation as well as for meeting and incentive travel.
Signing the agreement to operate and manage the Hotel Ritz Lisboa are from left M. de Queiroz Pereira, Chairman of Sociedade de Investimentos Imobiliarios (SODIM), Dr. Eric H. Bleich, InterContinental's Regional Vice President Corporate Relations, Europe and Samuel Bensimon, Director of SODIM.
The luxury Hotel Ritz Lisboa
From the Chairman
We can all look back with pride on the decade of the 70’s. It saw the continued growth of our company not only in the number of hotels, but in levels of guest service and profits. Despite the many problems we faced, you have excelled in your ability to meet and overcome them and thereby have contributed to our current position as one of the world’s preeminent hotel chains.
The 1980’s will present a series of new challenges and opportunities for all of us. We must carefully monitor how we are investing our financial and material resources to achieve our objectives.. I have every confidence that together, we will meet any challenge successfully and take advantage of every opportunity because of our primary and most important resource,—you, the people of InterContinental, who are our past, present and future.
I am sure you will continue to excel in all areas and request that you keep up the fine efforts you have achieved in the past as we enter this new decade.
Chairman

Elegant Ritz Lisboa
VOLUME 16 NO. 1	1980