FlyerTalk Forums - View Single Post - Intercontinental Adelaide [Master Thread]

Jun 16, 2024 | 12:58 am

#97

The-Aviator

Join Date: Dec 2008

Location: Sydney

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

Posts: 304

Which room did you book and which upgrade did you receive?
1 King Classic City View, received 1 King Junior Suite Club Lounge Access City View (used Confirmable Suite Upgrade reward, no further upgrades provided)

How are the rooms?
Old, but for their age are well maintained and functional. My junior suite included a guest bathroom and living room as you entered followed by the bedroom and main bathroom with separate bath and shower. TV only has free-to-air channels but they do have Chromecast.

How is the exec. lounge?
Pleasant enough space but perhaps a bit cluttered compared to other Club ICs I have visited around the world. Club benefits include breakfast either in the lounge or Riverside Restaurant, afternoon tea in the lounge from 2-4pm and pre-dinner drinks and canapés from 5.30-7.30pm. Afternoon tea selection includes the typical tiered stand with sandwiches, sweets and scones whilst the evening service is buffet-style with drinks brought to your table by the staff. The lounge is open throughout the day and you can get a coffee/tea/soft drink at any time.

What was good and what was bad?
The Good

The staff - vast majority were really good and for those who were a little new/inexperienced they made up for it with their pleasant attitudes. Was particularly impressed that when I arrived at 8:30pm on a Friday night the bell desk staff rushed over to welcome me and offer assistance with my bags.
Club InterContinental access being extended to me despite it not being included in the originally booked category.
Great housekeeping with evening turndown as well. Loved the iconic South Australian FruChocs left on the bed each night!
Variety of drinks available with your welcome drink voucher at the bar, could choose basically anything up to about $16-17 in value.
Fantastic location on North Terrace, if you exit via the front door you have easy access to the tram and railway station whilst if you exit to the back you have easy access to the Convention Centre, SkyCity casino, Festival Centre and of course the River Torrens and pedestrian bridge across to the Oval.
Impressive breakfast in the Riverside Restaurant. Barista-made coffee orders were taken on arrival and the buffet included a wide variety of items and included some less typical hot dishes like breakfast pizza and roast chicken. I enjoyed it enough to skip the club breakfast and go straight to the restaurant every morning.

The Bad

Age of the rooms.
Carpeting in the "powder room" / sink area of the main bathroom was a bit weird.
Not enough lighting in the room, even with all lights on it was still quite dark and there was no master switch.
Poor power point access near the bed. Fortunately a prior guest had moved one of the bedside tables a bit and unplugged the alarm clock which let me plug my own charger in but the other bedside table is fixed to the wall (has some weird old-school volume knobs / buttons built into it) and you can't access a power point on that side. It would suggest the rooms were built at a time when people didn't have a plethora of phones / watches / other devices to plug in at the end of the day

Value for $ or IHG One Rewards Points? Would you return?
Paid AUD $191/night for three nights, which I thought was excellent value. Visitors to Adelaide are certainly spoiled for choice at the moment when it comes to IHG options and whilst the others are a lot more modern, I think the service, location and affordable rates make the IC a good option. Ideally it would be nice if they refurbished, but part of me thinks they're more likely to reflag as a lower-end property than they are to undertake the sort of comprehensive refurbishment that other ICs such as Sydney or Bangkok have done. Would absolutely return.

Photos in the spoilers below!

Spoiler

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