stimpy

What is your Priority Club status?
Spire

Were you (or for multi-stayers are you generally) happy with the hotel/stay?
Yes

Which room did you book and which upgrade did you receive?
Booked standard, given larger room. On the fire escape chart there are three room sizes on the 16th floor and I ended up in a middle sized room.

How are the rooms?
It used the extra space for a sofa which probably folded out into a bed. The light above the shower was out and the shower head leaked, but otherwise it looked like a typical Euro HIX.

What was good and what was bad?
Good
Location for Snow Hill business and a short walk to popular pubs and restaurants.
Good beer selection in the bar

Bad:
Breakfast quality, but maybe it is typical for a UK HIX. It's been a few years since I tried one.
I wasn't given a voucher for points or a drink and I was too busy to ask.

Value for £ or Priority Club Points? Would you return?
Yes, but maybe I'd try out the nearby Staybridge first.

MNManInKen

What is your Priority Club status?
Spire Ambassador

Were you happy with the hotel/stay?
Satisfied

Which room did you book and which upgrade did you receive?
- King Oceanfront With Balcony
- No room upgrade received, but made guest of the day and offered a choice of free items. Given extra drinks vouchers on top.

How are the rooms?
- Building is fairly old and bit dated in appearance and decor, but everything was in good working order
- Modest size room, but well equipped
- Ground floor room gave direct access to oceanfront and outside bar

How is the exec. lounge?
- N/A

What was good and what was bad?
Good
- Beachfront location
- Amazing staff - very attentive and keen to please
- Breakfast outside

Bad
- No real bad points, menu choices in restaurant somewhat limited

Value for $ or Priority Club Points? Would you return?
- Happy to return when in the area
- Good value for money

MNManInKen

What is your Priority Club status?
Spire Ambassador

Were you happy with the hotel/stay?
Very satisfied

Which room did you book and which upgrade did you receive?
- Part Oceanview Rooftop Terrace Penthouse booked and received
- Was offered complimentary bottle of wine

How are the rooms?
- Excellent, great decor, layout and facilities
- Very spacious
- Includes two separate basins in the bathroom, two terraces, rooftop dining area, wet bar and jacuzzi
- Excellent location on Ocean Drive

How is the exec. lounge?
- N/A

What was good and what was bad?
Good
- Penthouse rooftop suites are very good
- Excellent luxury showers
- Location
- General vibe
- Concierge stood out for being helpful
- Kitchen area with good facilities, Nespresso machine and microwave etc

Bad
- Had to argue to get late checkout, which was a stated benefit (got it in the end but could have done without the hassle)
- Not much status recognition

Value for $ or Priority Club Points? Would you return?
- Already booked to go back
- At present my preferred hotel in Miami

MNManInKen

What is your Priority Club status?
Spire Ambassador

Were you happy with the hotel/stay?
Not at all. I checked out after the first day and moved to a different hotel instead.

Which room did you book and which upgrade did you receive?
- King Bed Corner Room with a view booked. Corner Room with view over parking lot received; no upgrade or other benefits offered.

How are the rooms?
After complaining about the room layout and the "view" on the parking lot, I was moved to a similar room but with a much nicer view on the waterway and gardens. Nevertheless, I remained very unsatisfied:
- The washing basins are *outside* the bathroom, *in* the bedroom area
- The room I was first given had one of the telephone handsets out of order and there was sticky fluid/substance not cleaned from one of the bedside tables
- Room was spacious and the decor was fairly nice, but the layout of the rooms is bizarre and the decoration could not overcome its other flaws

How is the exec. lounge?
- N/A

What was good and what was bad?
Good
- Modern building with decent looks
- View in some of the rooms is very good

Bad
- Most staff were disinterested and not very welcoming
- Location - nothing much of interest anywhere nearby
- No status recognition other than the perfunctory stating of status and offer of points or drinks at check-in
- No outside seating opened for breakfast
- Breakfast itself was below expectations

Value for $ or Priority Club Points? Would you return?
- No intention to return whatsoever. Plenty of much better hotels in the general area.

HadesNL

Crowne Plaza Los Angeles Harbour - San Pedro

It's about an 40min taxi ride away from LAX-airport dependent on traffic, fare should be around the 70USD. It's located close to the waterfront.

What is your IHG Rewards Club status?
Platinum Ambassador (without the card)

Were you (or for multi-stayers are you generally) happy with the hotel/stay?
Yes, hotel is populair for cruise ship passengers who need a place to rest before boarding their Princess/NCL cruise from San Pedro cruise terminal.

Which room did you book and which upgrade did you receive?
Booked a standard king via a thirdparty website and was offered an upgrade to a mini-suite.

How are the rooms?
More then spacious for 2, enough power sockets
Standard design and clean
Small Seating area, comfortable bed with 4 pillows, desk facing the windows.
Windows can be opened for fresh air.
Combo shower/bathtub, pressure excellent. Temple Spa amenities / sleep relaxation mist/creams
Flat TV
Kettle with tea
Seperate coffee perculator
Very quiet but people love slamming their doors
View over the waterfront and the suspension bridge

How is the exec. lounge?
N/A

What was good and what was bad?

Good:
- Friendly staff at reception, gave information about the area festival of the dead celebrations
- neighbourhood seems safe, i was greeted with more good mornings walking on the street then in my hometown
- proactively got upgraded
- proactively informed about their shuttle service to the cruise terminal, they have two vans running at 30min intervals for 5USD seats about 10(deoending on the amount of suitcases. Managed to walk to the waterfront and on the promanade to the cruise terminal, very safe and doable if you have only 1 suitcase on4wheels.
- pool area looks good and view of the port
- security is present during evening/nights
- doormen pro-activly helps arriving/departing guests

Bad:
- Hotel feels very local with a crazy karaoke evening (good-bad if people sing off-key)
- the lobby looks like coming straight out of the arc of noah, it's clean and spacious but not an area to wait in


Value for $ or IHG Rewards Club Points? Would you return?
i paid about 100USD for a king standard but got a mini-suite with harbour view so perfect value. It helped that the receptionist was from the Philipines and i have been there. She seemingly claimed to have never seen an IC ambassador card and jokingly showed me an example of their standard priority club cards while saying mine must be better

JimmyJoe

What is your Priority Club status?
Royal Spire Ambassador

Were you (or for multi-stayers are you generally) happy with the hotel/stay?
Yes

Which room did you book and which upgrade did you receive?
Booked: 1 Double Bed Deluxe Room
Received: 2 Bedroom Executive Deluxe Suite

How are the rooms?
It had two small bedrooms, a small bathroom, small living room and small dining room. There was a small refrigerator and bad hot tea.

How is the exec. lounge?
Given lounge access for free. There was no charge when friends joined. The lounge was just fine for a HI -- Nothing special. There was an okay balance of foods (western/Asian).

What was good and what was bad?
The breakfast was not the most tasty. I prefer cold mike for cereal but the milk was warm. I also prefer congee with ginger, fish, egg, or pork. This congee had none.

Value for $ or Priority Club Points? Would you return?[/QUOTE]
Great value and I will return. Uber taxi or hotel van to city center was worth the cost savings. However, if there were an IHG property in the cit center, I would have booked it.

Notes:
+This hotel gets lots of tour groups. There can be many people in the lobby area on their phone and socializing.

++At check in (mid Oct), the agent said I was his second Spire ever! Crazy.

+++The staff were very nice. At check in the agent went above and beyond to make me feel welcome and taken care of without being annoying.

++++I emailed the hotel inquiring about an early check in. They had no problem with checking in at 8am.

FFlash

Crowne Plaza London - The City

What is your IHG Rewards Club status?
Spire Elite

Were you (or for multi-stayers are you generally) happy with the hotel/stay?
Yes, so happy that after the first night, I canceled another hotel booking and booked a second night on points, asking reception if I can keep the same upgraded Club room: Yes, of course we will provide you that!

Which room did you book and which upgrade did you receive?
Standard room on points, received Club room with Club access.

How are the rooms?
Spacious enough, but less than 30sqm. Room map tells that all Club rooms are different in layout. I received one facing opposite business building. There are rooms facing river Thames too, and other rooms facing inner atrium (not good).
Quite typical CP elegant design.
Desk with convenient UK and European sockets. ^
Queen bed which was comfortable.
Flat screen television with not very large selection of English and international cable channels IMO. The TV positioning was a bit weird from the side of the bed, due to layout of the room.
Bathroom with bathtub. TempleSpa amenties.
Noise conveyed through doors to the corridors

How is the Club Lounge?
Small but pleasant.
Breakfast with bacon&eggs, salmon/ham, fruits, pastries, yogurts.
Evening canapés and drinks at 6-8pm only.
Cookies and fruits during tea time.
PC with printer. Newspapers.
Friendly staff. Very friendly.

What was good and what was bad?
GOOD
- Convenient location (close to Tate Modern, easy access by underground, shares bike station very close).
- Pretty fast wifi
- Perfectly clean and quiet

BAD
- Nothing. I haven't got the amenity points yet. Probably they post later, but if not, I am happy enough that I won't mind chasing them.

Value for $ or IHG Rewards Club Points?Would you return?
Yes, definitely. 45k points in London with high cash rates.

Note: actually I contacted the hotel politely beforehand if they would let me upgrade my room to Club access by cash. They told me I would be as Spire member automatically be upgraded to Club room based on availability. Some days before the stay I saw in my App I was already upgraded. So I went and cancelled my "back-up" reservation at HI Mayfair, which I had also booked for 35k points and asked the same question, getting a reply "we can offer you to collect breakfast vouchers at reception at 13,95£ per person". No-brainer which one to choose.

[MaccA]

What is your Priority Club status?
Spire

Were you (or for multi-stayers are you generally) happy with the hotel/stay?
Yes, a decent quality hotel.

Which room did you book and which upgrade did you receive?
I booked a Superior room which I believe is the lowest grade. Upon arrival an upgrade was not mentioned so I asked if I had been upgraded. The answer was no, I assume based on availability because they had nothing that night. They offered me my scheduled room for the night (it was 1am when I arrived) and a change to an upgraded room for the rest of my stay (5 more nights) the following day. I naturally accepted and left my suitcase packed ready for them to move me

I stopped by reception in the morning as I left for a day of work to ensure they knew about the upgrade, and they acknowledged a note had been put on the account. I verified they would move my luggage and could tell by the obscure response that it would not be. When I arrived back at the end of my day I went to reception who gave me a new room key and sent a porter with me to give me access to my old suitcase still in my old room.

A bad start.

How are the rooms?
The rooms were modern with a decent bed, furnishings and bathroom facilities (including traditional shower head and waterfall style). The Tv had a lot of channels (100+) including lots of news channels, 5'ish English speaking movie channels, 4 documentary channels (Nat Geo & Discovery), plenty of sports channels (although I did not look at their language or content).

How is the exec. lounge?
I was not given Lounge access for free. However, the check-in agent offered to lower the cost per night from QAR240 to QAR200. Given breakfast was QAR125 per night and the lounge gave me access to dinner and drinks I took it.

This was my first experience of a Crowne Plaza lounge having only used Hilton and Marriott lounges before, so I was surprised to find that drinks were not 'help yourself' style in fridges. There was a waitress there the whole time the lounge was open who would serve the drinks. This turned out not to be a problem as I was able to ask for 2 unopened Cola's to take away each day. The lounge was very quiet while I was there so I wonder if this would have been frowned upon if they had plenty of customers to ask the same thing.

The food was good quality. The breakfast choice was impressive with cereal's, cold meats, cheeses, breads, pastries, fruit, and hot items like beans, mushrooms, meats, and eggs cooked to order.

No lunch was available and afternoon tea just comprised of a couple of types of cakes and cookies.

Dinner had a selection of sandwiches (not very veggie friendly) and 4 hot dishes of the indian nature usually. Every night there was rice and (for the veggies) Yellow Dahl. Then there was (on various nights) vegetable samosa's, vegetable spring rolls, chicken curry, beef curry, and other things I can't remember.

Each night between 6 and 8pm there was a happy hour when they would server alcohol. Outside these hours I assume you have to pay for it but I didn't actually ask what the rule was given this is a muslim country. They had 4 types of beer/lager if I remember correctly, all bottled, and the usual spirits. I didn't check the variety/quality of any wine/champagne as I don't drink it.

What was good and what was bad?
I had read there was a free hotel shuttle from the airport before I went but there was no email from the hotel ahead of time checking my flight details or offering transportation. When I landed I spent 5 minutes looking for a Crowne Plaza representative amoung the queue of hotel rep's at the arrivals area but could not see a sign. In the end I just jumped in a cab as it was very late and I was up early for work. When I arrived at the hotel I about how I was supposed to take the airport shuttle and was told there is an IHG desk within the airport. I didn't see it and the airport wasn't exactly busy at 1am for my view to be blocked.

Upon check out I enquired again about the airport shuttle. The airport is only 20mins from the hotel so I figure this must be a 40-60min round trip for the shuttle minibus. So I was amazed to hear the bus runs at 08.30 and then 11am! I got an Uber (taxi) at 10.30. Uber works great in Doha by the way and was very helpful given I was working at a construction site that no one seemed to know the location of yet.

The roof top pool is probably 15m long so good enough for short laps. There weren't many sun beds (~20) but plenty of cushioned seats with little tables.

The hotel is in "The Business Park" but it isn't a business park like I'd expect in the UK. It is not surrounded by blue chip companies, there are not extensive gardens to walk in, there aren't many Western food chains nearby. They are building a Holiday Inn next door but it looks at least a year away from being ready.

Value for $ or Priority Club Points? Would you return?
This was a cash business visit. To be honest, if I was going back I would stay at the Intercontinental in the City which at the time I visited had rooms for a very similar price. The IC is also in a much more touristy area and near a large shopping mall. This hotel is best for people with business in the main Doha downtown area rather than the more modern Bay area. Traffic in Doha iis horrendous so unless you're travelling outside rush hour (when traffic is just "heavy") it is wise to get a hotel near your place of business. My 20min journey (on a quiet weekend day) took anywhere from 46-60mins during rush hour.

nicolas75

What is your Priority Club status?
Spire Royal Ambassador

Were you (or for multi-stayers are you generally) happy with the hotel/stay?
Yes

Which room did you book and which upgrade did you receive?
Booked cheapest advance rate and received a quiet room on high floor.

How are the rooms?
Around 20 sqm.
Basic but very pleasant interior design.
Desk, bedroom, bathroom with shower
Good selection of national and international channels
Complimentary mineral water, coffee machine.
Very quiet. Perfectly clean and pretty well maintained

How is the exec. lounge?
N/A

What was good and what was bad?

Good:.
- Very friendly staff
- Central location
- Suprisingly good breakfast, with fresh products (but only cold option)
- Clean and recently renovated hotel (with the notable exception of the - ugly - corridors)

Bad:
- Nothing.

Value for $ or Priority Club Points? Would you return?
Yes, very good value.


pictures of the city

nicolas75

My review on ihg.com had an interesting comment from the hotel

Points Scrounger

Indigo Grand Via Madrid

What is your Priority Club status?
Spire

Were you happy with the hotel/stay?
No

Which room did you book and which upgrade did you receive?
Two rooms using points, so could only book "standard" which is what we got, although they were ready when we arrived at 9AM.

How are the rooms?

A bit small, but okay, although there were no drawers, period.

How is the exec. lounge?

N/A

What was good and what was bad?

Good:
Staff were terrific, including the bellman/concierge who took the initiative to arrange for a late Spire checkout, when all I'd done was confirm that regular hour was noon, rather than 11AM. Status also recognized by a plate each of ham and cheese delivered by the bellman fellow first night. Amenity points confirmed at check in and posted promptly, as did the stay credit and incidentals spending. Restaurant a bit pricey, but food and service were good. Centrally located.

Bad:
Nespresso machine wouldn't work
They use some sort of "aromatherapy" in the halls
No drawers meant living out of suitcase for four nights
NOISE - see below

Value for $ or Priority Club Points? Would you return?
Absolutely NOT - music from sex club across the street, along with shouting from its patrons, the ones leaving the sports bar above it, and other assorted drunks went on all night.

lotrbfme

I understand your fustration. It is mostly the location of the hotel. I stayed in the same area in a different hotel and had the same awful experience. I couldnt sleep because of all the drunk people on the street fighting and then during the night the sex noises!

stimpy

Crowne Plaza Dulles

What is your Priority Club status?
Spire

Were you happy with the hotel/stay?
So-so.

Which room did you book and which upgrade did you receive?
- Booked Standard, given Club Executive

How are the rooms?
The rooms are 1970's Holiday Inn that have been spruced up a bit. The loud window AC/Heating unit gives it away and there is only so much lipstick you can put on a pig. The exec rooms have robe, slippers, mini-fridge with some water, a microwave and a free pack of popcorn. But otherwise they are the same as any other room.

The lobby is being renovated now, so the front of the hotel is closed off and you have to enter by the rear. The biggest pain is that you have to walk a ways outdoors to access the restaurant. Supposedly the work will be done in late January, but that means that a lot of guests will have to walk outside in the ice and snow to get to breakfast.

How is the exec. lounge?
- I guess its not bad for a US CP, but Euro CP club lounges are vastly better. They had two decent coffee machines, a fridge full of coke and sprite that was accessible 24x7. They laid out some wings and chips at happy hour and they had some beer and wine for sale from a hostess. She was nice and polite, but spent most of her time texting and watching TV. Overall it was a sad place. Fortunately for me, when I checked in they said there was no breakfast being served in the lounge so they gave me free breakfast coupons for the restaurant. Unfortunately the breakfast in the restaurant wasn't as good as what you get in a lounge at a decent Euro CP.

What was good and what was bad?
Good
- Free parking
- Lots of retail nearby
- cheap rates

Bad
- Ongoing construction
- They need to renovate the rooms, or at least put in central air. But that probably isn't going to happen. They should reflag as an HI.
- quality of breakfast is poor

Value for $ or Priority Club Points? Would you return?
For under $100 its ok. But there are better choices in the area.

Retron

Holiday Inn Reading-South M4, Jct.11
(Yes, that really is what it's called - I guess they wanted to copy the Holiday Inn Reading - M4, Jct.10, which is a few miles down the road!)

What is your Priority Club status?
Spire

Were you happy with the hotel/stay?
Yes

Which room did you book and which upgrade did you receive?
Booked a "deluxe room", received an upgrade to an executive room. The room had two bottles of mineral water (one still, one sparkling) and a 4-bar KitKat as extra welcome amenities. The usual executive room toiletries were present - including a sewing kit.

How are the rooms?
On the small side, certainly smaller than the HI Reading - West which is my usual hotel.

How is the exec. lounge?
N/A

What was good and what was bad?

Good:
Welcome points posted a day before I arrived!
The check-in was the most effusive I've ever seen - I got an inkling of this when they gushed over the person in front in the queue, who made a big thing of showing off his "shiny shiny red Spire card". He asked for and received an upgrade to an executive room - and he made sure everyone knew that he stayed so often in Holiday Inns because his company, the railway line, paid for him. When I was checked-in it was lower key - I was welcomed as Spire when they looked up my reservation. I was also asked how I'd earned my Spire card (I said it's because I go to the nearby wolf centre a lot, which baffled them!)
The rooms have been renovated since I stayed here a couple of years ago.

Bad:
Room service chips were cold; I asked for vanilla ice-cream and instead received chocolate.
The sheet on the bed was stained with what looked like ketchup on one edge.

Value for $ or Priority Club Points? Would you return?
At £94 for a basic room it was the same price as a suite at my usual haunt, but as that was fully-booked it was the next-best option. I would return but only if the HI Reading-West was full again.

chrism20

What is your Priority Club status?

Spire

Were you (or for multi-stayers are you generally) happy with the hotel/stay?

Yes

Which room did you book and which upgrade did you receive?

Booked standard twin, received same as all twins are standard

How are the rooms?

Very nice. Hotel is only three months old and still has the "New" smell in the corridors. Dark wood finish throughout with very large work desk, plenty of power points at the desk and by the bed along with USB charging ports

Fridge (Can be filled on request), safe, usual tea and coffee options and shortbread.

Huge walk in shower which was very powerful.

How is the exec. lounge?

Access is available to club room guests and also Spire members. Spire access isn't mentioned on the hotel website, however it is mentioned in the hotel directory.

A good range or bottled drinks including Corona, bud, Rekorderlig, Magners.
Wine: two reds, two whites, one rose
Spirits: Absolut, Metaxa, Bacardi, Gordon's, Grouse
The usual soft and hot drinks options

Crisps, peanuts, popcorn.

Canapés: haggis Bonbons, goats cheese bonbons (Amazing), Melba toasts with ham hock terrine or slices of beef - very tasty

There has been a bit of effort put into the canapés rather than the usual duck spring roll!

What was good and what was bad?

Good

Good location next to airport with covered walkway to the terminal and near to some of the offices that are nearby.

The hotel is finished to a very high standard - better than the Newcastle one which opened within days of this one.

Excellent restaurant onsite - the duck was beautiful. Breakfast was also very, very good. Locally sourced products plus the smoothies were amazing.

Very good wifi. For the first time in ages I was impressed with hotel wifi, it wasn't just decent it was good.

Bad

Nothing really. The only niggle was the mirror in the bathroom which was one of those ones that a section doesn't steam up, however it would only be useful if you were a minimum of 6'4"!

Value for $ or Priority Club Points? Would you return?

Definitely! Midweek is pricey due to the oil and renewables industry and demand outstrips supply for hotels, however at the weekend it is the complete opposite.

£105 for dinner, bed, breakfast and a bottle of wine on a Saturday night plus club access due to Spire is difficult to beat.

This hotel can currently be reserved for under £40 a night on some Friday's and Saturdays over the coming weeks. Anyone in Scotland who still has nights to find to make their Accelerate target I would seriously recommend taking a look at here.