Troopers

Thanks but I don't see King Suite on your list.

ETA: I called and was told that a King Suite upgrades to the 1 Bdrm Suite.

Troopers

Just returned from a two night weekend stay. I booked King Deluxe Club and received upgrade to a Club Intercontinental Suite as a Plat Amb. Corner room on the 63rd floor with views to the norh/northwest. Received 600 bonus points and two drink coupons for any onsite restaurant/bar at check-in. In the room was a welcome note, fruit, Evian water and tin can of chocolates.

Some thoughts:

Club Lounge: Better than we expected. We utilized the lounge multiple times daily. Offerings were tasty, hot and cold dishes with variety and availability. Two pseudo-Korean hot dishes served during breakfast and evening cocktails/hor d'oeuvres. ^ for Smart Water and Fever Tree drinks. During breakfast, scrambled eggs are complementary; other made to order eggs are not. No more than 10 people at lounge at any time. Staff/service was excellent.

Public spaces: We were in and out of hotel quite a bit and didn't experience the wait for the elevator. We intentionally returned to the lobby/70th floor for the club lounge. We did see some people try to go up to floors 71-73 but they walked away when the ground floor keypad denied the upper floors. Didn't use the pool but went to take a look...access is odd; pool area was just ok. It was hot this past wknd so lots of people at the pool. Lobby seating/bar Spire 73 was packed both Fri and Saturday evenings...had to wait in line to go up elevator.

Room: Nice, spacious with superb views. Controls by bed a tad wonky...couldn't figure out how to turn on/off certain lights. With the corner room, lots of windows which means lots of drapery..you have to go behind several pieces of furniture to manually pull curtains. Only one vanity provided but good size counter. Shower and tub was good.

Service: Great at the lounge, check-in/out, valet. Piss poor service for housekeeping. Took over an hour for a second bathrobe to be delivered, called twice for status. Ended up going to bed waiting for it...found it hanging outside in the morning. Called twice to have room serviced (completed around 8pm).

Overall thoughts: We would return only with club access.

Sweet Willie

I have a King Suite booked yet do not see it on this list. Missing or it is actually called something on this list as opposed to what my reservation states? TIA

ralphs

I stayed in an Executive Suite over the weekend. It wasn't a corner room but had a nice sitting area with couch and two single seats surrounding a coffee table.

GundamWing01

very surprised nobody is sharing detailed info on elite recognition benefits and food credits, tips/tricks/hacks, etc. just a bunch of "hard product" assessments. for other threads, especially marriott and hyatt, elite benefits are heavily discussed like a religion.

stimpy

I certainly discussed the Club access, free minibar and suite upgrade for RA's. What more do you want?

xZ4sdDMlSu4aiq63

Old reference points but i've stayed there on three occasions in the last year as a Spire Ambassador.
First time october 2018: 1 night. Got upgraded from Superior Club to Deluxe Club, late checkout and not much more from what I can remember
Second time January 2019: 2 nights booked in a Club International Suite and they upgraded me too the 1 bedroom Club Suite. Option for late cehckout which I didn't need.
Third stay: March 1st, same day as new Ambassador benefits kicked in, for two nights. Booked Club International Suite with POGO certificate and got upgraded to a 1 bedroom Club Suite, this time corner room which I loved. Also got the 20$, i think it's that amount, to use in hotel resturants. Option for late cehckout which I didn't need.

GundamWing01

everyone on this thread is free to share however much or little as they wish. therefore, if you believe you have provided all the details worthy of sharing, then nothing more is needed. however, since you had asked "what more do I want?" well, lets begin with your IC RA status. that is not a trash level like IHG Gold. meaning there are actual elite benefits at iconic properties like IC DTLA.

looks like you had received your guaranteed two category room upgrade and complimentary lounge access. you even got to bring 2 additional guests when the TC specifically states, "Valid for two people including the member, staying in the member's room only". this is very useful YMMV information.

but what about your guaranteed early check-in 10 a.m. or late check-out of 4 p.m.? did you use or ask for those? any "guaranteed" benefit is actually very important because any service failures would be comped. in this case, it would be either a restaurant bar or spa credit of $50, or 10k pts if the 4PM late checkout was not available.

furthermore, properties like IC DTLA get very interesting because they charge a "Hotel Facility Fee" of $25 where you get a $20 F&B credit DAILY. not to mention your IC RA Minibar credit of $50 DAILY up to $200 (which i would like details on how they charge) or $20 F&B credit per stay for AMB. and when you also add in Chase LHR with Full Breakfast for up to 2 guests DAILY at Dekkadance + $50 F&B per stay + Amex IC Offers via split tender, then we are at crazy talk.

so hopefully you can see where im going with this. forgive me if I am not satisfied with "oh wow, the views are so pretty" "wow the gym is nice" "my bed was so soft" "service was so great". this is FT. not TripAdvisor.

also thank you for your contribution.

nice. thank you for that input.

stimpy

I have been RA for something like 18 years and have never had an issue with early check in or late check out. It is a non issue for RA's. Also IME there is no mini bar limit. But that seems to vary from reports. YMMV.

GundamWing01

thank you so much for that info. very useful. gonna assume you were with Six Continents Club prior to IC. there are a lot of upset RAs over re-qualifying for 2019 and i will for sure not make it again for 2020 if $30k IC spend is now required. the moving target is frustrating. and RA benefits have too much YMMV.

boekel

if 30K$ IC spend is the target, then I'm afraid there are not so many RA's left .

stimpy

I am not certain it is true that a lot of RA's are upset over requalifying and I am very sure there is no $30K requirement. My 2019 experiences have been excellent with over 70 IC nights so far. But this is not the thread to discuss overall membership. Maybe we should stick to this particular IC.

woodford02A

Does this property waive their $25 resort fee for award stays or not?

hi55us

I didn't pay it when using my uncapped free night cert a month ago.

GundamWing01

well its been rumored that IHG is trying to thin the herd because of "too many" RAs and not being in line with the "top 1%" of AMB. hence the moving requirements. so i guess its on a curve now.

officially, no. you have to pay resort fees on award stays unless ur RA. however, i have seen a few times where its YMMV based on FD agent skill/knowledge. not because they like/dont like you, but apparently, its not automatic. sometimes its tacked on and sometimes its not. i assume its some type of manual code that an agent has to put on. YMMV.

Terms & Conditions:
"For IHG Rewards Club Reward Night stays: Points will automatically be deducted at time of booking. Rate does not include tax or Resort Fee."

thats why i try to stick with HH and Hyatt. they consistently waive resort fees on award stays. and Hyatt also waives resort fees for globs on paid stays. def not starriott. and IHG seems YMMV.

interesting point for starriott when resort fees are charged:
"Participating Properties that have mandatory resort charges, which include internet access, will provide a replacement benefit, to be determined at each Participating Property’s discretion."

doubt anyone will have any success redeeming that.

are you RA? if so, its waived. otherwise its YMMV.