Originally Posted by
escape4
The new BTS station is indeed something which has gone unnoticed in this thread (unless I missed it in the posts above). W did not have a great location in the past due to lack of public transportation nearby. This has now changed.
Regarding IC I am surprised that you find rates to be good there, but you might be looking at IC from a different angle than I. Personally, when I compare with other hotel chains I don't see how IC stands out. No suite upgrades as an elite guest, unlike W (and lots of other hotels nowadays) which is generous with suites. That alone is a major point for me, that said if I know ahead of time that I will end up in a standard room (more or less) at hotel XYZ due to lack of suites, then such hotel better have other material perks which IC does not have - they denied F&B credit on an IHG Luxury Collection booking, they said spa only, and there is no lounge access only 1 hour of drinks while many other hotels have 2 hours, and some snacks on top. W has a nice promo as
Fims mentioned with 3.4k THB credit and many other hotels have F&B credits too at the moment, but no such thing at IC. And the room at IC is entirely forgettable, for a non-suite I would rather be stuck in a nicer room like at Indigo or some Marriott properties (like a non-suite at W) for cheaper than IC. W gym is not my favorite either, and did not try the one at IC so that might be part of where you are coming from.
For people with elite status with a few loyalty programs, I consider W to be middle of the road, good for suites, not so good for happy hour on a long stay (only 2 drinks per stay), better for one night stay. But IC is clearly at the lower end of the spectrum for loyalty program perks and subpar value proposition from what I could tell.
Saint Louis is definitely a game changer, even though I didn't ever consider the walk through Sathorn Square building to and from Chong Nonsi much issue.
I didn't get a suite at the IC, but upgraded (but not suite) room. Yes, IHG perks really aren't worth much. As someone who doesn't drink alcohol, drink/lounge benefits are rarely utilized for me. For a longer stay though, having a good gym starts to matter a lot more to me especially if I'm in a long stay mindset and not in a vacation mindset. The difference in gyms is enough for me to consider and recommend the IC for those who do work out a lot during long stays. They have a Smith machine, enough bars available for deadlifts and free weight bench, and two cable machines. The fixed weight and cardio machines aren't as densely packed as other hotels either. I might be rare in that sense, since I can easily and often do spend over 1.5 hours in a gym each day in a hotel. For shorter vacations I'll just cheat for a week or two but with my long stay mindset the gym quality really starts to matter to me. The room also came with two pieces of daily laundry service, which the W doesn't offer.
You are right, I wouldn't choose the IC over the W typically. There is so much value right now in Bangkok, it's really hard to compare fairly, especially since the W and IC are fairly similar in price right now for standard rooms, with IC currently only about $10 a night cheaper. The price gap is normally much more significant and upgrades at the W not as common (I got studio suites sometimes before but never got marvelous suites), so if price and gym were two areas of concern for a long stay, that might sway some influence for the IC if prices were closer to typical.