Had a 3 night stay here in late September, largely agree with the earlier review above. I think the renovations are mostly complete, but we did hear some banging one morning at breakfast coming from inside the building.

What is your IHG One Rewards status?
Platinum Ambassador

Were you generally happy with the hotel/stay?
Yes, absolutely.

Which room did you book and which upgrade did you receive?
Splurged as part of a 5th anniversary trip. Booked King Bedroom Suite City View. No upgrade available as hotel was completely full for a conference, but given complimentary lounge access. I had hoped to be upgraded into the even larger Palace Suite, but our room was amazing and lounge access was a wonderful consolation vs points.

How are the rooms?
Excellent, honestly one of the best rooms we’ve ever stayed in.

1BR suites are huge, very well appointed. Elegant but still functional, ample closet space and two large dressers, two mini bars (restocked daily w/ 4 complimentary bottles each of sparkling and still water), water kettle, large second bathroom with additional double vanity (no shower/tub) and separate toilet door, large TV in both bedroom and living area.

Highlight was the incredible view of the Romanian Athenaeum next door, with the old Royal Palace and Revolution Square also visible. Both the bedroom and living area had large double doors that led out onto a furnished balcony.

Bed was comfortable, though a bit firmer than I prefer. Also wish the bathroom had both a tub and shower instead of shower only.

How is the Club InterContinental Lounge?
Had 2x breakfast and 1x afternoon tea. No experience with evening service.

On the smaller side, but seating is comfortable and service from the lounge manager was outstanding. He really put in the effort to make sure we were enjoying our stay in Bucharest and made us feel like we were getting VIP treatment.

As the hotel was mostly booked for a conference, we largely had the lounge to ourselves. I saw one solo gentleman on the first morning, and a small group came in and used the small private lounge dining room, but otherwise we got the full attention of the lounge staff.

Both breakfast and afternoon tea worked the same way. You gave the lounge manager your drink orders, and then served yourself from the small buffet-style area in the back. You can also get any made-to-order items from the restaurant downstairs from the lounge manager, who does have to go down himself and grab them for you. We had eggs benedict both mornings and they arrived quickly and still hot.

Food was tasty. Breakfast was not nearly as extensive as what’s available at the full restaurant, but there were several hot items (including bacon, sausages, potatoes, and grilled veggies), cold cuts and cheeses, fresh fruit, 2-3 pastry options, yogurt, overnight oats, bread, and fresh squeezed juices (which you can’t get in the restaurant.)

I honestly don’t recall exactly what food items were available for afternoon tea, but my wife and I both left feeling satisfied with our light lunch choices.

One downside of the lounge compared to others I’ve seen is there is no real view from most tables. I do believe they had a terrace you could walk out on, but we didn’t venture outside there.

What was good and what was bad?

GOOD
-Location! We easily walked to most of the top sights in the city, and you’re close to two metro stops.

-Very quiet rooms. Even with the hotel at 100% capacity and our room overlooking a very busy area, we never heard anything. We could really tell how well the sound-proofing was working when we opened our balcony doors.

-Excellent service, especially in the club lounge. Everyone was attentive and friendly, and spoke excellent English (even the housekeeping).

-Beautifully decorated lobby and rooms.

-ATMs inside the lobby


BAD
-Honestly not much, we loved our stay here.

- The two elevators could not handle 100% capacity. We often took the stairs down vs waiting. This wasn't a problem going up as the elevators would default back to the lobby after each use.

-No upgrade despite Ambassador status, though we greatly enjoyed the free lounge access.

- Athenaeum/Palace view rooms are wonderful, but in addition to these landmarks you also mostly overlook a big parking lot.

Value for $ or IHG One Rewards Points? Would you return?
Yes, we would absolutely return if we’re ever back in Bucharest. We paid around $400/night for one of the better suites hoping to get an even better upgrade, but got unlucky with the conference. Despite this I feel like the value was good, especially with the complimentary lounge access. Bucharest is a great value pretty much anywhere, though if I returned I would probably book a lower category room.

I doubt I’d pay for the lounge. Unlike some other IC properties, they don’t have dedicated Club rooms and you instead can book a Club rate for any room. If I’m paying up for Club access, I’d prefer to also have a designated superior Club room.