LaphroaigAndRibeye

IC Istanbul

Which room did you book and which upgrade did you receive?

Booked Deluxe Room, upgraded to Club Room Sea View. (This is what was offered when I emailed to ask about upgrade policies, and the Deluxe was not much more than the Standard).

How are the rooms?

The basic club room is lovely; it's no suite, but it does have a nice little seating area in the room with a small couch and table, plus a work table and chair. The sea view is great; see a nice chunk of the city plus the water. Looks fantastic from the 17th floor!

How is the exec. lounge?

This is my first IC lounge so I've not much to compare it to, but it's in the middle of international IHG lounges overall. Lounge users enjoy free breakfast buffet in the lobby, which is pretty good and has a variety of hot and cold options and several non-pork meats (6:30-11:30). There wasn't much going on for the afternoon tea (15:00-17:00) other than a few pastries, but I guess that's tea. The "cocktail hour" is where it shines: the "appetizers" they talk about are actually a hot dinner buffet that was quite complete. There are soft drinks throughout the day and cocktails available in cocktail hour, but be advised that cocktails must be specially requested; there is nothing out or that you can serve yourself, and if you didn't think to ask, you wouldn't know they existed. But they do have some beers and wines and as we speak I'm sipping on a Ballentine's. The views from the lounge are very good.

What was good and what was bad?

Good
Check-in was fast at midnight! Service is fast and friendly all over the hotel. Great value. Internet is fast. Great recognition as Spire Ambassador with free movie, newspapers, high-speed internet, etc.

Bad
Nothing comes to mind; it was pretty good all around.

Value for $ or Priority Club Points? Would you return?

Very good! My total would have been $619 USD for 4 nights ($154.75/night) which still feels great. However, with Citi Prestige 4th night free, I got a $167 rebate on that price, so ended up paying a total of about $112/night for a kick-... club room that essentially included 4 breakfasts and dinners.