FlyerTalk Forums - View Single Post - Please post your Ambassador Experiences 2023

Aug 13, 2023 | 4:38 am

#63

The-Aviator

Join Date: Dec 2008

Location: Sydney

Programs: IHG Platinum Ambassador, Qantas Silver, Virgin Australia Platinum

Posts: 304

InterContinental Sydney

InterContinental Sydney

Which room did you book and which upgrade did you receive?
2 Double Classic, received 2 Double Classic High Floor (a one-category upgrade)

How are the rooms?
Recently renovated but a bit plain in my opinion. Spacious enough for a big city hotel.

How is the exec. lounge?
N/A, didn't have access.

What was good and what was bad?
The Good

Location, just minutes from Circular Quay (Opera House / Sydney Harbour Bridge) and close to various transport options.
Gym and pool are on the top floor and offer nice city views.
Good check-in experience, 4pm Ambassador late check-out proactively offered.

The Bad

No cable / international channels on the TV, all free-to-air plus two Optus Sport channels. Found this a bit surprising for a hotel which would surely receive plenty of international guests. Had Chromecast though.
Pump on the refillable shampoo bottle didn't work, had to unscrew it from the wall and pour out the shampoo. This is now the third hotel where I have come across issues with the refillable bottle, one where it was empty and now two where it was full but pump didn't work. I'd be interested to know if I am just unlucky or if others have also experienced it and it is a sign of things to come!
Breakfast buffet was extremely poor. We nominated as our Diamond welcome amenity but under no circumstances should anyone pay the AUD $50 full rate for this. It is set up in the old Café Opera space and has an interesting setup, where you can order hot drinks and eggs to order from your server and can then grab any other items from the buffet. There are menu cards on the table for the dishes you can order but not everything is listed, for example I saw others ordering Eggs Benedict so ordered one too but it is not listed on the menu. The fluffy pancakes at the buffet were delicious and definitely the highlight of the meal but apart from that it was very mediocre, certainly no sight of the BBQ pork buns or other Asian dishes I have seen others mention in their reviews. Plates at the buffet were also poorly cleaned. Overall it certainly doesn't compare with other luxury hotel breakfasts and would be more along the lines of what I might expect to see at a HI or, at a stretch, a CP/Voco.
10 days after checking out, they still hadn't removed the AUD $100 credit card hold. Had to email to request it be removed and to be fair they actioned it within a few hours. I haven't seen others reporting this issue so I'll mark it down as a one-off but would obviously be concerning if this is a ploy they are pulling on a regular basis.

Value for $ or Priority Club Points? Would you return?
Paid AUD $445 on advanced purchase rate for a Saturday night. Needed to be in this part of the city and served my needs for a night but if you're looking for a stay in Sydney that's memorable for all the right reasons I would suggest somewhere else.

Detailed review with pictures