Crowne Plaza Canberra

What is your IHG One Rewards status?
Platinum Ambassador

Which room did you book and which upgrade did you receive?
1 King Bed Standard City View, received 1 King Bed Standard Park View (one-category upgrade, received an email the day before my stay)

How are the rooms?
They are very old by Australian CP standards, with the last renovation being over 15 years ago. That said they are generally in good condition. They have recently updated the TVs which now have Chromecast but in terms of channels it is only free-to-air domestic, no cable, no sports and no international. The bathroom is especially archaic, from memory at the last renovation they didn't actually make any bathroom changes so it is by far the oldest part of the room. Still a shower/bath combo, not even a curved shower rod and the space around the toilet is quite tight.

How is the exec. lounge?
N/A

What was good and what was bad?
The Good

• Location is good, close to the Canberra Centre and Ubers/Cabs are very familiar with it.
• My chosen welcome amenity of a snack and drink was impressive, we were allowed to choose basically any beer, wine or spirit off the list (even offered our choice of gin!) and any choice of hot snack from the menu, with items ranging from a bowl of fries ($9) to sliders and chips ($19). At least on paper this is an easy $30 per person in value and was a good welcome amenity.
• Large gym plus sauna and outdoor pool.
• Late check-out of 2pm was proactively offered without any fuss.

The Bad

• Arrived late and interaction with the receptionist at check-in was a little less polished than all the other staff interactions, but to be fair I find this is the case most of the time with late arrivals. For the welcome amenity she tried steering me towards points but said a snack and drink was available when I asked, I said I'd take that and she seemed to think that it could only be used on the day of arrival but regardless gave me a voucher valid for the length of the stay which I had no issues using on the second day. Giving benefit of the doubt I think it came down to inexperience with the benefits rather than a genuine attempt to mislead.
• Account preference is for a high floor room but was allocated a room on the 2nd floor.
• If you are thinking of paying extra for a park view, don't. It's not an impressive park by any means yet on advertised rates it's generally $30-50/night more than the standard city room. I feel the category exists just so they can tell guests that they've received an upgrade. Honestly, the city view is probably more interesting!
• Previously mentioned feedback on rooms, would be nice if they properly renovated them.

Value for $ or IHG One Rewards Points? Would you return?
Used points on a reward night sale, 23,375 points/night for two nights. It's always an interesting experience here because on the one hand they really need to do a refurb but at the same time with things generally in good condition and good staff making up for the shortfalls I can kind of understand why they wouldn't bother. That said, have been coming here since the early 2000s and will continue to do so.