andrewk829

Hi:

I have not had much activity in the IHG family in a very long time. I have three separate rooms booked for (1) me (2) my daughter and granddaughter (age 2) and (3) a family friend and her adult daughter at the Intercontinental in Warsaw, Poland for an 8-night stay. All the rooms are booked in my name., I am considering paying the $200 for the Ambassador program, but have these questions that will help me determine whether the expense is worth it.

(1) When an ambassador books multiple rooms, each under his or her name, do the benefits extend to each of the rooms and the guests?
(2) The 4 PM late checkout would be very helpful on the last day of our stay, due to train and airport departure times for us in the evening. Any idea if, in the absence of Ambassador membership, this property would allow a late checkout and if so how much they would charge? (If, fpr example, they charged $50 for a late checkout, the Ambassador membership almost pays for it).
(3) The room rates I booked include breakfast. Am I correct that "Ambassadors" receive a free breakfast at a dedicated lounge? How would the quality of that breakfast compare to that available to general guests? If I were to purchase an Ambassador membership, could my room rate be adjusted down to the "no breakfast included" rate?
(4) Can someone clarify what other meals/ snacks would be available to Ambassadors in the lounge?
(5) How do those with lounge access feel about 2-year olds in the lounge? I myself take a dim view of children in airline lounges, premium class cabins on airplanes, and other "adult places". So I don't want to be "that guy" who brings in a toddler. But I thought I'd ask. What is the "vibe"? Can food be taken out of the lounge for in-room consumption?
(6) Is it possible to somehow change a booking to take advantage of the "free weekend night" feature of Ambassador membership?

Many thanks in advance for any guidance here.

moolman

Don't spend the $200, it doesn't give you any of the things you think it does. Read though the many threads on the ambassador benefits.

minz56

In response to your questions:

1) I believe that Ambassador benefits only apply to your own room and not any addional rooms you book. At least that is how I interpret the following from the Ambassador T&Cs (my emboldening):

2) I don't know the answer to this. I would suggest that you conatct the hotel and ask them, as each property will have different rules on this.

3) 4) & 5) Lounge access is NOT an Ambassador benefit. You will only get lounge access if you a) purchase a room including it OR b) have a Lounge Pass selected as a Milestone Reward on achieving 40 or 70 nights in a calendar year OR c) you are a Royal Ambassador (invitation only level).

6) You will be able to do this provided your original booking has a flexible cancellation policy which would allow you to cancel the original booking without penalty and rebook the weekend nights at the Ambassador free weekend night rate. However as you have 8 nights booked you would also need to rebook the other 6 nights which may now be more expensive than you originally paid. Also note that an Ambassador Free Weekend night rate is unlikely to include breakfast.

You may find it useful to read the full Terms and Conditions of Ambassador membership which you can find here:
https://www.ihg.com/intercontinental...rms-conditions

Hope this helps.

Admiral Ackbar

No, ambassadors do not get breakfast of any kind and no Club access (unless you book a Club room). IHG Diamond members get free breakfast at IHG properties and lounge access (including Club lounges at Intercontinental) is granted at 40 and 70 nights as milestone rewards. So if you want breakfast you have to pay for it

DJ_Iceman

So to put another spin on the OP's question, what benefit WOULD he get from upgrading to Ambassador before his stay?

MichaelA380

To put another spin on the answers that were already provided:
'nuf said ... (oh, and by the way, https://www.ihg.com/intercontinental...rms-conditions is an indispensable reading material as well)

Admiral Ackbar

The published Ambassador benefits that are easily found without resorting to ChatGPT:

• Guaranteed 1 category upgrade
• Guaranteed 4pm late check out
• $20 F&B credit
• One free weekend night

all at Intercontinental hotels only. Pretty simple.

PES_B1

Ambassador are now rendered quite pointless except for the "free weekend night" and the mythical extension for your diamond.

born sleepy

I get emails weekly begging me to buy this pointless status (pointless as I never stay at ICs; they're always well over our corporate travel limit).

IHG needs to clarify that this status is only applicable at InterContinental properties. I don't think they do a very good job of that at all and it smells like a money grab. But if you can afford to stay at ICs, then maybe you don't care about the fee.

Admiral Ackbar

I mean the first entry in the FAQ on the Ambassador page is pretty clear, don't see how they are pulling a fast onehttps://www.ihg.com/intercontinental.../us/en/loyalty

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PES_B1

You get a free plat though, not that the plat got any use nowaday though.

Modo

Not mythical in my case. I renewed yesterday and it now shows Diamond expiry 31 December 2024.

Detailing Admiral Ackbars post above

• Guaranteed 1 category upgrade
• Varies in value by property. Some interpret as a higer floor but effectively same room - or not facing a road. Others will be significantly better equipped rooms or even suites. Out of 8 IC's so far this year IC O2 London did the minimum as did Istanbul and Sydney . The two Bali properties and KL really delivered with suites and even a Villa!
• Guaranteed 4pm late check out
• Can be very useful for late flights when combined with a lounge pass or preagreed deal to only use lounge on departure not arrival date
• $20 F&B credit
• Surprised how infrequently I actually use these given I have a Lounge Pass. Prices for beverages can be so ridiculously inflated (IC Stanford HK is nutz) that I resist the upsell strategy to buy more - which is what I suspect was IC corporates sell to the hotels. LOL
• One free weekend night
• Well yes. But it is the cheapest night. And the base night rates are invariably inflated significantly over BAR. And many properties are being very cute at ensuring the lowest night of the "weekend" 3 is significantly lower than the adjacent 2.

I just renewed. But it was marginal. I'll likely do 10 IC stays and about 30 nights in the next 12 months. The 15000 points for renewal made my loan of US$200 likely viable. Where I might lose is I can't see me availing the 4p checkout very often. I have used it 4X in the lat membership year. BUT I have also gifted 3 very early checkouts from premium rooms.

UKtravelbear

Every time I have checked the price of the AMB night is $ 10 - $ 15 more than the BAR,

I don’t consider that to be “inflated significantly”

PES_B1

Guess the 20USD voucher is useful for me as a Diamond that had only stayed at IHG for 12 nights.

Cthunder86

.I now book a IC hotel if available on the last day or two on every trip now because of it. 4pm checkout is huge for me instead of noon-1pm that I was getting without it. I also always use the 20usd/15 euro voucher too.