Originally Posted by
demue
Of course they would get Club access as well which when in operations was usually quite good and nicer than Condrad or Grand Hyatt lounges from my point of view, but tastes differ.
Rest of your account is a fair representation I think, they have been much tighther and by the book for years without applying too much common sense or wiggle room.
It is still a solid hotel in a great location and can work for many, but it is important to have the right expectations and understand where treatment may be better based on elite status & benefits.YMMV.
Thank you for the feedback. Regarding the Club I don't doubt your comments for a minute, in fact others such as
Kalboz said before the Club was excellent at IC so without having seen it I would not fall off my chair to find out it's indeed superior to Conrad and Grand Hyatt. Nobody (I think?) gets complimentary Club access at IC, so it should be expected that the lounge is better than elsewhere, similar to how a Ritz Carlton or Fairmont lounge can often beat the local competition in various cities because patrons paid for it. It would be disturbing if it was not the case, and can be the best fit for people who would not get lounge access anywhere because they do not have elite status at any hotel chain.
"By the book" sounds right, there is not much I could blame them as being unacceptable but that said, I like hotels who use judgment based on the circumstances and do the right thing to please the customer, which gets my repeat business. I can give a pass to behavior "by the book" far more in cities without much hotel competition, and/or when hotel occupancy is sky high and the power is in the hands of hotels. However at this point in time, just following the rules sticks out like a sore thumb in my humble opinion - my review would have probably been different if I had stayed at IC in 2019 rather than 2021.