turtlemichael

Based on your previous question, Shareholder,why would you use a Bogo at those "low" rates - unless of course it was about to expire or you had no other opportunities?

whkchan

I already have a reservation with them, it's also with the 4k bonus. Now, I am wondering whether I should rebook using this TVZ promotion.

Things to consider:
- From previous posts, I gather that it will be count as a qualifying stay, and i will get the 2000 points. But does the stay also count in those stay 4 earn 10k, and every 2 stays earn 4k bonus promotion?
- I have never used it before, but what does access to the club entitle us to? Breakfast? Drinks? Is it worth the extra?
- I do have a BOGO voucher. While it doesn't expire until August, I do not have any more plans to stay in another IC. It does seem a bit of a waste to use it on the higher rates, like the $229 for "King Club IC", but to do so, it basically means I will still pay the same rate as my current booking, but basically trading the 4k bonus with club access - is that really worth it?

(I have to add also my situation: I have a chance to make Platinum this year, but I will probably have to buy some points, so the 4000 bonus that comes with the rate practically saves me around $50....)

What would you do in my position?

Aerotec

Yeah, just checked this thread and thanks for the TravelZoo rate link!

Now I need to think about what I want to do. I have actually booked the 4k bonus rate for a King Club IC Room for $289. That works out at $261 inc Tax.

The $289 rate with tax is $329 but I am able to get $40 shopping vouchers as a UK Customer through www.pigsback.com. So for a net extra $28 I will get the 4k points. Hmmm... Is that worth paying?

SethLevy

Rather than everyone posting questions about is it worth it for 4k pts, or shoudl I use a BOGO, I'd like to know has anyone stayed at the hotel and can we get a trip report. My first stay is March 28, so I will post a report if no one is staying before.

whkchan

We called IC San Francisco up, and they said although the TravelZoo rate is a publicly available rate, because it's booked under a group code, it doesn't qualify as using the weekend stay voucher. Are they correct?

Shareholder

If that's what the hotel says, then I would expect that's how it would end up. The property can determine acceptance of the BOGO and the cert does exclude promotions which this could be considered to be. I noted that the confirmation email does not include a rate on it, just the category of room and TravelZoo rate code.

Shareholder

We'll have to compare notes in the Club lounge and see. Since the hotel has only been open for a week there really isn't much else to post about.

SethLevy

The hotel opened on February 28, so I am surprised no FTer has stayed as of yet. Guess we will be the first!

The Mileage Millionaire

We're checking in at 8 AM tomorrow and out at 4 PM on Sunday. Anybody else gonna be there this weekend?

uclabruin82

I am not a frequent guest of IC hotels (have only stayed at the HK one a couple times but a few years ago).
upon check-in, there were 4-5 people in the valet area to help me with my bags and welcome me to the IC. I checked-in and my room was not ready yet (it was 2:00pm) so I asked the concierge for a good dim sum place and he recommended me to a place nearby that was pretty good. After returning, i went to check-in again, but my room was still not ready. After waiting for a few minutes, the front-desk lady, who was very nice, upgraded me from an executive suite to a junior suite. I was in room 1520. Rooms ending in 20 are definately the best. They are going to have the best views as they face east and north. i would also say that floor 15 is the lowest i would go before complaining. The building in front of the room would start blocking your view any lower. I did not eat at the hotel so cannot comment on that. There is wifi for $14.99 per day, and while fast, it did cause some problems with my browser. The room itself was very nice, although a bit awkward. For instance, most junior suites I have stayed in have had a clear sitting area, whereas this room was really just a big room. Second, the shades are behind the large desk and can be a little difficult to reach, especially in the dark. The TV is a large plasma and they do have high-def specific channels (ESPN, the network channels, HBO, Showtime, Universal, TNT). The robes were very soft Frette and the bed was amazing. The bathroom and shower were very nice marble, but the bath was not nice at all. Also, the toiletries were fince, but smelled quite strong and could be off-putting to some. A few other quirks. The elevator gives an annoying buzz for each floor. Also, there is a pool in the gym area. However, there is no locker room for people not using the spa, and slippers are not given anywhere. this resulted in me walking down in my tennis shoes and a t-shirt, and having to dry-off in the pool area before putting my shirt and shoes back on to go to the elevator. Also, parking was $54 per day. i am not sure what normal rates in SF are, but this seemed high (could be wrong). The concierges are quite nice during the day, but when they are busy at night seem to get a little stressed out and do not care as much. Ok, that is it off of the top of my head. If people want more specific info, let me know and I will be happy to provide it.

Overall, I would say that this hotel fits a nice niche in SF. It is not as expensive as the FS, RC, MO or St Regis, but very modern and provides more or less anything someone would want, so probably a better value. Service overall is good and hopefully any problems are just related to having just opened.

The Mileage Millionaire

Check-in at 8AM today went smoothly, except for the claim by the front desk that "only non-alcoholic beverages" are free from the minibar. Once we said that was contrary to corporate policy, we were told that they would "look into it". Shortly after we arrived to our room, the guest relations manager called to welcome us. When we asked her about the minibar, she gave us the same line: "only non-alcoholic beverages". When we protested, she said they would make an exception "this time". I double checked the online policy and it still says "beverages". So, they basically don't know what they are talking about. It'll be every time as far as I'm concerned.

Contrary to what we were told via email back in January, we were upgraded beyond a Junior Suite, to a 1 Bedroom King Suite. It's 720 sq. ft., and on the top floor. Also contrary to what we were told, we were given free access to the Club Intercontinental. We certainly did not expect that.

We checked out the Club for breakfast, and it is very nice. Interesting to note that beer is available all day (it's in the same cooler as sodas and was not locked). The Club offers the usual schedule of "presentations" throughout the day.

Best part of all is that we ended up finally booking the $129 Travelzoo rate for a standard room, rather than the $229 Travelzzo rate for a club room.

Certainly a great value overall. I don't expect this kind of treatment in the future since I suspect that they are just trying to a make a good first impression.

I'll post a full review after our stay is completed.

Mr. LAU

No alcohol from the minibar??? Hope they will step back from this policy after a few RAs have complained about that! Don´t want to argue about such obvious things! And hopefully they won´t remove the alcohol from RA minibars because of this!

Congrats for the upgrade to a suite (was also told that upgrade would only be to Junior Suite or Exec. Room) and the free club access!!

The Mileage Millionaire

Update: The amenity arrived in the room around 1:30 PM with a letter from the manager listing the RA benefits. One of them states "free beverages from the mininbar". So, the employees we spoke with earlier did not know what they were talking about.

Update: Also listed in the welcome letter from the manager under RA benefits was free Club access for first time visitors. So, change those Club room boookings back to a standard room!

Savage25

I just got a snail mail postcard...nearly threw it out thinking it was junk mail.

A Grand Offer for a Grand Opening
Exclusively for Priority Club Rewards members staying with us anytime between February 28 and September 2, 2008.

Please choose one of the following to enjoy during your stay with out compliments:

• Complimentary Club InterContinental upgrade
• Complimentary high-speed Internet access in your guest room
• Complimentary appetizer with purchase of cocktail at Bar 888

Present this card upon check-in to receive your benefit.

vsevolod4

Based on this thread, I rebooked and am currently staying here on the $229 TVZ Club rate (rather than the $249 AAA standard rate).

Upgrade is to a corner Junior Suite, a fairly sizeable room. Decor all new, modern, hip; reminiscent of a W hotel. Lots of electronics including a VOIP phone, a 40" flatscreen TV (Korean made LG) with about 55 channels including many HD channels. All the lighting fixtures have red night lights on them, which is nice but the net impact of all of this and all the gadgets is to have so much lighting to keep one awake. I had to use a sleep-mask (not supplied)
Bathroom spacious with separate shower and bathtub (but not a Jacuzzi tub, like the room I get at the Mark Hopkins). Amenities are fairly standard Floris UK, made in the Czech Republic and France. Inroom coffee bar.

The Club is not worth the $80 upsell or $100 difference in rates.
- Breakfast M-F 06:30-10:30; Sat/Sun 07:00-11:00. Mostly cold stuff (only hot stuff was some inedible French Toast). Bagels and cream cheese on one end of the room; smoked salmon and cold cuts on the other end, fruits, yogurt, cheese, 3 juices (grapefruit, orange, cranberry), milk, boxed cereal (what, are we kids?). Self-service coffee/espresso machine.
- Light snacks 10:30 to 15:00
- Afternoon Tea 15:00 to 17:00
- Hors d'oeuvres 17:30 to 19:30 ... Evening snacks and dinner consists of some taquitos, some empanadas, some crab/corn salad on spoons, a half-dozen cheeses, some cucumber capanes and some crudite. Bar with Beringer chardonnay, Beringer cabernet and a bubbly; a half-dozen bottles of spirits, and 3 kinds of beer including Anchor Steam, as well as numerous soft drinks (the beers and drinks available all day)
- Sweet Dreams 19:30 to 22:30, did not sample
- Complimentary (wireless) Internet applies only to the lounge, not your rooms. Unlike many IC Clubs where they comp you for in-room access. Good thing I now have wireless broadband. There are about a dozen unsecured wireless networks in this part of town, so those people who don't have a moral compunction and are unconcerned about any legal implications against it might be able to piggyback on someone else's dime.
- Club lounge is on the 6th floor rather than the 30th floor; I wonder why they didn't put the lounge on the top of the building like they do at most ICs. And yet they do brag about the "Panoramic views of the surrounding area"
- Large screen TVs (actually smaller than the one in my room)
- "A selection of newspapers"
No major bounties, no free parking, nothing else of note. How this adds up to $80 of value is beyond me; certainly not for one person, and even for two, you'd do better paying for a bigger breakfast selection downstairs and drinks at the hip lobby bar.

RA perks:
- fruit bowl with a banana, strawberries, 2 kinds of grapes, 2 kinds of apples, a peach, a pear, 3 small mandarin oranges
- 2 chocolates
- one bottle of Evian water ("Naive spelled backwards") with a fancy bottle designed by Christian Lacroix
- But no welcome gift; this looks like the Ambassador not an RA amenity
- complimentary beverages from the (robot) minibar. Minibar is nicely stocked with a Hornitos tequila, 2 Johnnie Walker Blacks, a Maker's Mark, a Hennessey, a Bailey's, 2 Tanquereys, 2 Jack Daniels, 2 Grey Geese, 2 Ketel Ones (a Ketel 2?), 2 Bacardi light rums, a half bottle of Gloria Ferrer Chardonnay and 1/2 bottle of B.V. Cabernet (unfortunately chilled to 45 degrees!), 2 Heinekens, 2 Anchor Steams, and 2 bottles of something called Michelob Ultra, 2 Cokes, 2 tonic waters, 2 San Pellegrinos, 2 diet cokes, 2 evians, 2 different Nantucket Nectars and one Vitamin Water. And about 9 cans including nuts, M&Ms, Snickers and other snacks.
- and the various
- a certificate for a free appetizer in their 888 Luce Restaurant
And here's the "piece de resistence" ...
Darned ... I wish I knew that, I would have booked the $129 TVZ rate ... it looks like I would have had Club access for free! It does say "first time visitors" so I don't know what will happen next time!

Finally, at checkout, the various minibar charges were all there; the clerk had removed some of them and needed help from a supervisor to remove all of the alcoholic beverages. No argument required, he just didn't know how to remove.

Also, when I was called by guest services "to see if everything was OK" shortly after check-in, I mentioned I wanted to check out late, and asked what is the latest I could check out. She put me on hold and after a few minutes came back and said "we can extend it until 1 pm" ... I told her "hmm ... I'm a Royal Ambassador so I can check out at 4; I was checking to see if I could check out later than that ..." I think this was due to teething problems that will be sorted out in due course; after all, the hotel had been open for fewer than 15 days.