Which room did you book and which upgrade did you receive?
Booked King Classic room, shortly before arriving at hotel. At checkin, inquired about status of Ambassador upgrade and was informed that it upgrades are dependent on availability. I mentioned that almost all of the room categories were still showing as available for that night and was again in a very scripted manner informed that the upgrades are dependent on availability and that she would get back to us. Annoyed but not in the mood to discuss further, we went up to the room, then to the lounge, and stopped again at the front desk to check on the situation.

Again we were sort of curtly informed they would get in touch with us, but we wanted to sleep, preferably in a upgraded room. Within a half hour, she called us and informed us she was able to upgrade us to a King Premium (two categories higher). Room and bathroom were slightly larger, with a sofa at the foot of the bed, but no major improvement honestly. The only nice thing was the new room was a few doors from the Club Lounge (on level 1 of the wing facing the Atheneum, so for us Americans second floor, not first floor as listed in the European style on their website). I had called before making the reservation and was told we would be upgraded to Junior Suite as Ambassador...

How are the rooms?
The overall decor of the hotel is nice - lots of wood and green as a dominant color. Bed was decently firm to my satisfaction. The floor in the bathroom is stone, but would benefit from some sort of rug or at least a larger, thicker towel for when stepping out the shower, which was large and good water pressure. No coffee machine in the room, but electric kettle and instant coffee.

How is the exec. lounge?
Since we booked with points, we paid 50 euro per person to access the lounge, and I think it was worth it. Not crowded at all, nicely appointed and decent selection of food and beverage. There is also an outdoor terrace for warmer weather, as well as a private dining room with larger dining table. Teatime from 2-4pm, "happy hour" from 6-8pm (although everything was left out until closing at 10pm) with some small hot plates (salmon with cream sauce and a ratatouille, which were both tasty), breakfast in the morning, and snacks and non alcoholic beverages the rest of the time. No hot egg dishes at breakfast, but the attendant, who was always around and offering to help bring stuff to the table, offered to order anything for us from the kitchen. Coffee machine, coffee and teas are Julius Meinl.

What was good and what was bad?
Good
We took the drink voucher at check in and redeemed it for two glasses of red wine at the Roberto's restaurant and took them up to our room. Did not get a chance to visit the bar, though would like to next time.

The welcome note mentioned that Ambassadors get single occupancy rate regardless of if there is more than one person. I was not aware of this as a published benefit but this would be good to know because when booking a cash rate it does increase the rate when a second person is added.

Bad
Front desk did not immediately seem to be aware that Ambassadors are supposed to get a guaranteed upgrade or compensation and could have just handled the inquiry the first time at check in instead of making us move later.

The pool/fitness center is located in the back of the back wing of the hotel, on the ground floor. There is no ground floor hallway, so you need to go up at least one floor, walk to the end of the hall, and take the elevator back down. Only issue is the 2nd floor is completely under renovation for more conference space (although the door isn't locked), even though the signage in the elevator lobby on the 2nd floor instructs you to walk through there. When we were upgraded to the different room, they gave us a different welcome note which mentioned this, unlike the first one. Could be signed/communicated a little better. The pool area itself is a bit Hilton-y and would benefit from some sprucing, although the pool chairs were the same as other Intercontinentals.

The price structure for the rooms is a bit confusing. For a room with lounge access, it seems you need to book a King Classic Lounge Access or the Diplomat or Palace Suites, or pay for lounge access separately. But strangely, if you book a King Classic Lounge Access rate, it gives you the options to purchase breakfast and/or Club Lounge access.

Value for $ or Priority Club Points? Would you return?
Booked the room at 20,000 points under the current 20% off promotion. Overall, even with paying 100 euros for lounge access, this was better value than paying full price with cash but because we were booking day of, the prices were a bit steeper than had we booked in advance. Day-of cash price for a King classic would be closer to 190USD vs 130 non refundable in advance, and for a King Classic Lounge Access day-of around 270USD. This was a staycation, first time alone overnight since our son was born, and was worth it. Unfortunate that you cannot book anything other than a King or Twin Classic with points.