What is your Priority Club status?
Diamond Ambassador

Were you (or for multi-stayers are you generally) happy with the hotel/stay?
No.
Which is a shame as I was here quite a few times pre- and post-pandemic and I used to like that place.

Which room did you book and which upgrade did you receive?
Booked 2x Queen Standard, received one Queen Standard and one Executive King. Disappointing because I was travelling with Family and had requested connecting rooms. Phoned ahead several times to confirm, but someone overrode this to confirm the upgrade when I needed the connecting rooms really. No connecting rooms were available when we checked in

How are the rooms?
Still modern, pale colours, quite nice actually. Very clean. Mainenance is not great though, and as the hotel is now a few years old, small problems start to emerge. My sink didn't drain at all unless you gripped the plug with your fingernails and lifeted it about 2 mm up (it would't move any further). Minibar was empty; I was asked at check-in whether I'd like it stocked, but that that would be done by housekeeping the next day i.e.after we had checked out.

How is the exec. lounge?
n/a

What was good and what was bad?

Good
Location close to Airport, clean, parking available

Bad
The hotel is not only understaffed, but training is lacking. At least I hope it is, because if the following issues were down not to inept staff, but to management instructions, then someone from HQ would have to come down hard on management. I mean, where to start?

• at check-in, I asked for a late check out. I was informed that "we don't do that here." - "Not even for Diamond customers?" - "No."
• Check-in was very unprofessional. There was only one agent for a long line of customers, and she announced all room numbers in a loud voice, even for single female travellers. That's a no-no in my book ("This is your room number" pointing at the number on the room card is how I understand it's supposed to be done).
• I asked for the amenity and was offered points. Asked about breakfast and the agent said "your rate includes breakfast anyway". I knew it didn't because I never book with breakfast, but agreed to the points (they didn't post). It turned out later that there is not enough staff to police entrance to the breakfast area, so it's de facto free breakfast for everyone, like at HIX (and of similar quality unfortunately). Fair enough, but the Hotel still offers rates with and without breakfast, which I find borderline dishonest. Even worse, the bill will now itemize "breakfast" and "hot drinks" in addition to the room rate, which is a problem for those who get reimbursed for the night but not for food, or who get per diems it food is not included.
• I was asked for my credit card ("just a deposit") and was surprised when I wasn't asked to swipe it on the card reader, but the agent manually put the number in (and the CVV number, as it later turned out). What happened in fact was that at that moment, the card was charged with the full amount - at checkout, I got a bill with the line "Mastercard - card not present" (as for online sales). Totally unacceptable in my book, and dangerous for the hotel as well (see below).
• Room service is suspended. You can order food to the hotel, but front desk refuses to call the room when the driver arrives. Poor Lieferando.de (German incarnation of takeway.com) guy had to call me on my mobile and wait for me to come downstairs.
• Restaurant staff are rude, even by German standards. At breakfast, a lady in a Hijab but a bread roll in the conveyor toaster. A female member of staff rushed over, pointed her finger at the lady and shouted in heavily accented German: "Can't you read? It's only for flat toast! Don't you have that where you come from?" She then gestured at a sign with German and english text saying that only slices of toast should go on the conveyor toaster, so fair enough don't put a bread roll on there, but the tone was Stalag III more than Holiday Inn.
• Returning from breakfast, the keys didn't work. A trip down to reception revealed that all room keys deactivate at 10 am (checkout is 12 noon). The explanation was that they have lots of people overstaying checkout. I asked how deactivating the key was to discourage who was already in the room from overstaying, and was told that whey they came down to be let back in the room, they could be checked out there and then. None of that was communicated at check-in, and I've never stayed anywhere where keys are deactivated 2 hours before checkout as a matter of policy.
• at checkout, I handed back the keys, and the agent told me that I was free to leave and the bills had been settled. I was surprised because I hadn't paid and asked for a printed bill. When I got it for the first room, it showed the line "Mastercard - card not present" (as well as itemized breakfast and hot drinks). I asked about how this happened and was told that the "deposit" is actually payment for the entire stay. I was annoyed, not just because I consider it beyond the pale to take a card for a "deposit" while charging the entire stay without telling the customer and using an unsafe method, but also because I use different car for actual payment (as opposed to deposit) and asked to see the bill for the other room. Sure enough, it was unpaid. I asked the agent why she had told me that the room was paid, and she said they'd look at it later. I asked to pay there and then, and the agent called the Guest Relationship Manager.

Now I know there is a ban on discussing names, so I'll call the Guest Relationship Manager M.
M was lovely. She seemed genuinely embarrassed and apologized for staff. It turns out that you can have a late checkout if you're Diamond but staff "forget" (I declined her offer to go back to the room, I had by then packed and was ready to leave). The Minibar should be restocked. The key issue is a technical glitch they haven't been able to resolve for several months now. She amended the bill to show a "room only" rate.
While she was doing that the agent was dealing with the next customer, who asked if he could extend his stay. "Sorry we're full" was the answer - a quick check on ihg.com showed availability for all room types, the agent hadn't bothered to check. The customer asked for a late checkout, and she said "of course you can have a late checkout." - "Great, until when?" - "12 noon!"


Value for $ or Priority Club Points? Would you return?
Not worth the money at the moment. There are other options nearby where at similar rates you'll be treated better (the Hyatt Place for example, or even the Moxy). Not the Hampton next door, that's run by the same group, Primestar Hospitality.
Poor M really does have her work cut out. Unless things really improve, I will not return.