Originally Posted by
boekel
when comparing IHG Ambassador with other top tier status at Hyatt or Accor you are comparing apples with pears and therefore the comparison is not quite fair. As Royal Ambassador which is the top tier at IC hotels you would get the lounge including breakfast as guaranteed perk. Suite would depend on the room level you've booked.
Point taken, it's not completely fair. Perhaps it would be more accurate to say the following:
As Accor Platinum (one step below Diamond) you get lounge+breakfast, as IHG Spire Amb you don't. I cannot say whether I would have received a suite upgrade at Sofitel if I had been Platinum rather than Diamond, but in the past in some hotels of the world I did get suites although less frequently than as Diamond.
As Marriott Platinum (two steps below Marriott Amb), same thing: lounge+breakfast, although in this case the lounge was closed at JWM so it was breakfast only. Suites can be possible as Marriott Plat or Titanium as well.
Hyatt Explorist (below Globalist), could get lounge access if using one of the handful of club upgrades issued every year, not sure about suite upgrades but during my stay it would not have happened because standard suites were full and they gave me a premium suite. No way an Explorist would get a premium suite.
So bottom line I agree with you that the fair(er) comparison would be to compare IHG to levels below the top for other chains. The conclusion would not be completely different under that angle.