Originally Posted by BA97

Arrival and Check-in

I arrived at the ungodly hour of 5.30am after an overnight trip with Lufthansa on a PrivatAir-operated all-business class A319LR. I hadn’t had much sleep, and hadn’t informed the hotel of the flight I was arriving on. Nevertheless, after escaping immigration and baggage reclaim at 6.30am I called the concierge who picked up after the first ring, and had a representative meet me minutes later. A further ten minutes went by until a Toyota People Carrier appeared with cold towels and chilled water to whisk me over to the hotel in just under ten minutes (skipping Dubai’s legendary traffic because of the early hour).

Initial impressions of Festival City weren’t great – it’s two hotels and a shopping mall, which doesn’t meet the definition of a city in my book! I noticed with some amusement a Marks & Spencer and IKEA store adjacent to the hotel. Things started to look up when I was met on the hotel forecourt, greeted by name and escorted directly to the Club Lounge to check-in. The staff there again greeted me by name, took my documents and luggage and did all the necessary processing while I relaxed with some breakfast.

Photos of the hotel exterior and Festival City

Royal Ambassador Treatment

I’d contacted the hotel in advance to give a heads-up that I wanted to use the Royal Ambassador 8am check-in benefit, and even arriving just after 7am they were able to check me in directly to a beautiful 2 bedroomed suite on the 29th floor.

I was told without asking that the room had been marked automatically for a 4pm checkout the following day thanks to the Royal Ambassador status, and also that the minibar benefits applied. The Club lounge offers a DVD library as, rather oddly, there is no on-demand movie benefit. I'm not sure if this is the case in non-club rooms.

The room I was given was a substantial upgrade, as aside from the Presidential Suite this is the largest room type the hotel offers at 145m2, with 85m2 Superior Suites and 90m2 Deluxe Suites also featuring. This room is sold online as a 2 Room (1 King/1 Twin) Suite.

Entering the suite immediately on the left was a small guest bathroom, and to the right a long, narrow, windowless kitchen area, and ahead was the living room, with a 4-seat table, generous sofas and a 40” LCD television. To the left was the twin room (with two small-double beds, another 40” TV, large closet and bathroom), and the master bedroom to the right with a Super King size bed, yet another 40” LCD television wardrobes, closet space and a dressing table.

Photos of the two-bedroomed suite

The master bathroom featured a separate toilet/bidet room, a wet room with multi-nozzle showerhead, a hand shower, a freestanding bath which filled from the ceiling, and a window with electrically-operated blinds. Two sinks were recessed into the dresser top and there were copious quantities of Ermenegildo Zegna and Elemis cosmetics provided.

Leisure Facilities

The pool area is very nice, with maybe five or six separate (albeit some of them very small) pools split between the Intercontinental and Crowne Plaza sides, though guests of both hotels appear free to use either. The big pool on the Intercontinental side has an interesting feature – the creek end of the pool is made from Perspex for the last four feet or so, so those with goggles on can put their head under the water and see straight down about six stories to the promenade below!

Photos of the pool area

There are very shallow ledges where one can lie in a few inches of water (like a beached, rapidly reddening whale) which I find very relaxing. There’s also some mini-infinity pools with optional Jacuzzi jets over in the far corner of the Crowne Plaza section which I really liked too. I had a Diet Coke from the pool bar which was a slightly exorbitant AED 16/£2.20/$4, but I guess such things are to be expected.

One thing I noted was that even though my stay wasn’t in high season, most of the sunbeds were taken. I’m not sure if they scale-up in the high season times with more beds. There was also a Jacuzzi and plunge pool next to the main pool on the Intercontinental side which weren’t finished yet.

Club Intercontinental

Booking a club room attracts about a 50% premium over the standard room rate, as is common with most upscale Middle Eastern hotels, putting the rooms almost on a par with the price of a Junior Suite (around $50/night less).

At some properties the Club premium is a waste – the Regency Club Lounge at the Intercontinental Bahrain, for example, is basically a just two rooms with the shared wall knocked through, and is poorly stocked to boot! At the IC Festival City, however, the Club Lounge is nothing short of excellent, certainly on a par with the recently renovated Ritz-Carlton Bahrain for anyone with experience of that property.

Located on the 26th floor and split into five large sections with seating for about 20-25 people in each, the Club offers breakfast 6.30-11.00, afternoon tea from 3.00pm-5.00pm and a ‘cocktail hour’ from 6.00pm-9.00pm daily. In addition to this, there is a paid bar available from 9.00pm until the Club closes at 1.00am (definitely the latest of any such Lounge I know).

Other Club benefits include complimentary round-trip airport transfers (though the airport is a mere 5-10 minute drive depending on traffic), free WiFi in the lounge and rooms, an hour’s complimentary use of the Boardroom (including a soft drinks service) located at the far end of the lounge next to the bar.

Breakfast was excellent, with a selection of cold cuts, cheese, lots of fresh bread and croissants, hot food to self-serve and in addition I was asked if I would like some eggs cooked freshly, and if so in what style. I had scrambled eggs which appeared within five minutes, though the lounge was virtually empty save for me. All washed down with fresh-squeezed orange juice and some delicious tea (www.tchaba.com if you’re interested). The lounge’s china is a heavily-ridged Mikasa set, heavy and very nice!

Photos of the Club Intercontinental at breakfast time

Afternoon tea was again an excellent selection. Traditional warm cheese and fruit scones were accompanied by various small savoury sandwiches and lots of tasty finger desserts. I was bowled over by the big jars of sundried tomatoes, artichokes, etc... in olive oil, and for kids (young and old!) there were big jars of sweets and popcorn too. The food service during the 6pm-9pm “cocktail hour” was similar, albeit with more hot savoury food.

Photos of the Club Intercontinental with the Afternoon Tea service

Update on 2nd Mar 2010

• Club Intercontinental rooms at the IC Dubai no longer offer complimentary airport transfers. I pre-arranged a transfer on this visit assuming they did, and wasn't told otherwise, only realising it was no longer a benefit when there was a charge on my bill at checkout for a ludicrous AED 170 (about £30/$45) for what is an AED 20 ride in a Dubai taxi. Not impressed.
• Afternoon tea is no longer a buffet, it's a more traditional table service of small sandwiches and cakes. Still served 1500-1700
• Evening cocktails in the club lounge is now 1700-2000. Free-flowing Moet on this most recent visit which was much appreciated

Originally Posted by turner32

Any recent RA experiences here? Upgrades, lounge access, minibar?

Originally Posted by turner32

Any recent RA experiences here? Upgrades, lounge access, minibar?

Originally Posted by diablo77

How is the club lounge here compared with other properties? Is it a good spread for breakfast, afternoon tea and Canapes.

Originally Posted by bsdstone

Trying to decide between the IC Festival City and the CP Festival city for a 2 night stay in November. I will have 2 rooms, each with two adults and one kid, using points. Currently, I'm a platinum member, but could make Aspire very easily if it's worth the benefit.
As a platinum, do I get lounge access, or is that for Aspire members only?

Originally Posted by divinebaboon

Comparing IC Festival City with IC Marina, in terms of the most basic room, which one would you guys say is better? Marina has the advantage of metro access but it's an hour away from the airport...