Shareholder

Stayed at the IC decades ago when it opened as a Hyatt. At the time they had converted the RR station into a casino and built the hotel over it. Very central location and easy to walk to most places a tourist would want to get to and over the main suburban RR system to get to Port Adelaide and elsewhere in the immediate region. (Note the interstate RR station is now on the edge of the city.) It was typical high end international Hyatt.

I've actually booked the IC for a couple of nights next month (Ambassador weekend BOGO voucher), and will then move to the CP for another two nights (PP BOGO), so I'd also be interested in any recent reviews of both properties. If nothing appears by the time of my own visit, I will update this thread.

mario33

Stayed at the Hilton, but walked past the IC and CP.

The area around the IC seems very 'institutional' to me ; Parliament House, universities, museums etc and is at the edge of the CBD. The building looks really old and run down.

The CP seems to be more centrally located, and very close to the pedestrianised shopping street (Rundall Mall ?) which is a more lively area. Building looks new and modern, and most rooms appear to have balconies. The CP definitely looks more appealing than the IC.

I remember there is a free bus service in the city, and the tram is free within the CBD. Adelaide CBD is quite compact anyway, so I wouldn't put too much emphasis on proximity to certain attractions.

markis10

I have stayed at both in the past year, while the CP is closer in some respect to the shops, the IC is better positioned IMHO, especially with the park behind it while the tram is out the front unlike the CP. The CP has a nice feel to it being newer but the rooms are very small for local standards and at weekends the area is quiet.

While the outside is somewhat dated as far as the IC goes, inside is very nice and currently undergoing some renovations, I believe the club is being renovated as well, I posted a number of poor quality photos here:

http://www.australianfrequentflyer.c...tes-40790.html

They treat RAs very well based on a number of stays I had last year, I am looking forward to going back, the ex Hyatt properties in Australia seem to appreciate RAs better for some reason!

SanDiego1K

markis10, thank you for that helpful post. I'm an RA, so I've now flipped back to the IC. Does the IC give free internet to RAs?

markis10

I believe they do but did not use it when I was there.

medic51vrf

Yes. Check your bill, though. Many places add it to the bill automatically and then have to reverse the charges manually and it doesn't always happen. No property has ever refused or even argued the point when I've pointed it out, though.

kamchatsky

I think Hilton Adelaide has the best location of the major chain hotels, and it became my preferred hotel in Adelaide. But back on topic, I would choose IC over CP on location unless you want to hang around Rundle St getting drunk on Friday nights....

SanDiego1K

I had a better stay than anticipated. I wrote in advance as we were arriving mid morning. I wanted to be sure to be able to get a room. I was asked at that point whether I wanted a suite or lounge access. Though I am RA and was paying, the hotel offers one or the other but not both. I chose the lounge. The check-in agent told me that our room, xx05 on a high floor, was actually nicer than their suites. I never saw a suite so can't compare, but the room certainly was pleasant. It was a corner room with the desk in that cut off corner, with glass to the three sides. The view was of the new hospital under construction to the left, the stadium under construction to the right, the river and expansive green park area across the river. The room was spacious, with a love seat, dresser, desk, and two straight back chairs. The bathroom had both a tub and a walk in shower. It appeared freshly renovated.

The lounge was very attractive. It got natural light from the glassed in ceilings, though as it was in the atrium, it had no windows. Seating was better than most lounges, with lots of comfortable chairs and different height tables. Food was acceptable but not exceptional. We did not try their afternoon tea, but did go in for breakfast and for evening appetizers. Breakfast included hot dishes typically found in an English breakfast: mushrooms, tomatoes, bacon, eggs, beans. There were also cereals and fruits. Evening appetizers were little more than cheese and raw veggies. There were some small quiches and a couple sweet things.

Service was excellent. The concierges were very helpful in figuring out restaurants and some other needs. The lounge staff was truly superb, very attentive and charming.

Hertz had an office immediately across the street. Avis was half a block away.

Shareholder

Can't recall the rate I booked, but using a Weekend BOGO think it was a standard king. However, I was upgraded to a corner suite with Club access, so the policy SanDiego1K talks about might be a bit more flexible at times. I had the sense the hotel was full that weekend, which might have contributed to my double upgrade (suite and lounge). Agree snacks in the evening were pretty meagre, and aside from a centre table of breads and cheeses/fruits, these were distributed by servers ala the IC Sydney. Breakfast was a fuller offering with scrambled eggs, breakfast meats and the standard array of cold items.

Having now done Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide ICs I'd say Melbourne has the best food offering, Sydney the best view, and Adelaide trails on both counts.

(Also did the CP for two nights. Modern but nothing special. Wifi was quite expensive so your best bet -- until universal free wifi in July -- is to ask for a wifi code voucher from the front desk. These are given out for half-hour sessions to use the lobby PCs, but can be used in your room on personal laptops and tablets/phones. Every time you spot a new desk crew, request another. This should get you through your stay. The airport city bus departs just up the block from the CP so it's very convenient from that point of view, and two more blocks from the museums and galleries, and the main shopping mall.)

nobleoz

I have just stayed at this hotel. I was disappointed that Rebecca Thorn is no longer Guest Relations Manager - as a RA I always received wonderful service from her. However, she is now Food & Beverage Manager - & doing a gr8 job.

dontgoaway

Just in case anyone was still referring to this in terms of upgrades at the Adelaide IC you can throw it out the window. There has been some changes there in the last six months.

King Club Intercontinental Suite is now just an 'Intercontinental Suite' i.e. same room just without club access. It can't be booked with club access online you have to contact the hotel for the rate etc.

Now if you book the Intercontinental Suite as an Ambassador or RA you just get club access. But if you book a River View Club Intercontinental room you get an upgrade to the Intercontinental Suite with Club access. Essentially, there is no point actually booking the more expensive Intercontinental Suite. You get the same upgrade as booking the River View Club Intercontinental.

Also, you don't get an upgrade at all when booking an Executive Suite or Diplomatic Suite. This was still happening up to at least December 2012 as I was upgraded from Diplomatic to Presidential while being only ambassador.

Now it looks like:

Room Type Booked -> Royal Ambassador Upgrade
King River View Club Intercontinental -> King Intercontinental Suite with Club Access
King Intercontinental Suite -> King Intercontinental Suite with Club Access
King Intercontinental Suite with Club Access (Must book over phone or email hotel) -> King Executive Suite
King Executive Suite -> No upgrade
King Diplomatic Suite -> No upgrade

This hotel just got a lot less appealing from my perspective.

djibouti

On their website they say "early check in available" yet when I called the front desk they said it wasn't possible to confirm it. So what exactly do they mean by "available"? Has anyone ever gotten it confirmed with some extra charge?

saaveraward

It looks like the upgrade policy continues to be non-existent. Reserved a 1 King Bed Intercontinental Suite and contacted the hotel about their policy for Spire Ambassador. I was told they will offer club access "when available" but not upgrade to the next category which is an Executive Suite.

Dave Noble

It sounds like the hotel is meeting its obligations. If you booked a suite without club access and the hotel provides club access, it has met the requirement of an upgrade

The hotel does not need to upgrade to speciality suites

saaveraward

You can't book a suite with club access so I guess it somehow qualifies.

I'm not sure I'd consider a publicly bookable "1 KING BED EXECUTIVE SUITE" to be a "specialty" suite when they have multiple categories above that are not on public sale.