WORLDWIDE TRAVELER

I just had a one night stay at this Hotel on Points 25k.
The Hotel is about 40 minutes by bus number 21 leaving in front of the Damascus door in Jerusalem and the fare is 2 dollars.
you get out at the last stop in bethlehem and walk down the street for 8 minutes and you will see this beautiful palace Hotel.

I booked King club room on points and got upgraded to their largest Suite just below the presidental suite very huge about 100square meters
got 8 bootle of water 4 soft drinks a fruit plate and a plate with chocolates and a welcome letter.and free fast wifi
the lounge was closed but i got all what i want to drink and superb sandwiches and pastry from 6-8 pm. for free.
also i could choice between room service breakfast or full buffet in the restaurant.
i would recommend the room service in the beautiful suite as the buffet is nothing special and defenitely not 5 stars.
all the workers are very friendly especialy the front desk and a special thanks to monica which is the guest relations manager and she showed ous our huge suite and explained everything about the history of the hotel palace and the city.
and to my surprise when i looged in the next day to my account i got back my 25k points i dont no why but extremly happy::))
would definetely recommend this hotel also interesting is 100m from the hotel you can see the Israeli wall which sourrounds all bethlehem like a big jail very said..

WORLDWIDE TRAVELER

it was the Intercontinental Hotel Bethlehem

chreydeln

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

Which room did you book and which upgrade did you receive?
2 stays on as reward stays, upgraded to junior suite and executive respectively

How are the rooms?
Spacious on Parisienne scale.

How is the exec. lounge?
Good selection of foods offered whole day. One can be filled up at all 3 meals
if not bored with same dishes.

Did you receive a welcome gift?
Yes, Fruit bowl, water and a book 'paris, mon amour'

How was the minibar?
Despite some reports saying only water is complimentary on reward stays, reception offered consumption of all items.

What was good and what was bad?

-Good
Location,
Pre-arrangement, booked same day on arrival with 3 persons, roll-away is arranged before check-in free of charge.
Club access for reward stays

-Bad


Value for $ or Priority Club Points?
Supersaver considering the 5k points vs a room with club access(around 600E)

Would you return?
Definitely

chreydeln

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 two classic rooms, one paid and one reward stay
Both upgraded to executive with balcony of view on 6th floor.

How are the rooms?
Not spacious, but rendering gorgeous view overlooking Rome, stretching as far
as San Pietro, Piazza Venezia and Spagna is a stone beneath

How is the exec. lounge?
Not one

Did you receive a welcome gift?
Yes, both rooms with local wine

How was the minibar?
Offered for the paid room, well-stocked

What was good and what was bad?

-Good
Location, but not friendly if you have bulky baggage.
Classic furnishing
Good upgrade, only very small number of view balcony rooms.
upgrade for reward stays
-Bad
No club and no minibar for reward stays, but not really a minus

Value for $ or Priority Club Points?


Would you return?
Yes

chreydeln

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 and upgraded to harbour view with terrace

How are the rooms?
Chic decoration, huge balcony(not really a terrace though) overlooking the Port Vieux.

How is the exec. lounge?
Not one

Did you receive a welcome gift?
Yes, Rose wine and large fruit basket

How was the minibar?
Well stocked

What was good and what was bad?

-Good
Location, steps away from Vieux Port and the metro, but there is a long stair going up, so a vehicle is necessary if you have baggage.
Facilities, as a new property.
Good recognition of membership, front desk manager waited to greet us.

-Bad
Nothing

Value for $ or Priority Club Points?
Yes

Would you return?
Yes, if drop by the city

chreydeln

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, upgraded to junior suite, but chose corner room with club access.

How are the rooms?
Good view overlooking the center city.

How is the exec. lounge?
Good selection of evening cocktail items.

Did you receive a welcome gift?
Yes, local wine, mozart chocolate

How was the minibar?
Well stocked, snacks offered

What was good and what was bad?

-Good
Location, opposite to stadt park and U-bahn
Spacious room
Good service at club

-Bad
Nothing

Value for $ or Priority Club Points?
Good

Would you return?
Yes

chreydeln

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, received an executive suite with club access, but the room was strangely not ready for housekeeping after check-in so moved to an executive room, also spacious

How are the rooms?
A little out-of-dated, but were in refurbishment then, must have completed now.

How is the exec. lounge?
Small room but offers good selection of items in the evening.

Did you receive a welcome gift?
Yes, local wine and snacks

How was the minibar?
Nothing to criticize, snacks not included

What was good and what was bad?

-Good
Just by Voltava, steps away from the square. Terrace restaurant has a gorgeous view on all sides of the old city.
Standard upgrade to suite with club access, could not be better

-Bad
Nothing

Value for $ or Priority Club Points?
Great

Would you return?
Yes

chreydeln

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 and upgrade to river view with club access

How are the rooms?
Overlooking Donau, castle and chain bridge, great view.

How is the exec. lounge?
Good service, staff there is very helpful to arrange travel plans

Did you receive a welcome gift?
Fruit basket and biscuits

How was the minibar?
Well stocked

What was good and what was bad?

-Good
Location
Upgrade and recognition of status
Service at the club

-Bad
Nothing

Value for $ or Priority Club Points?
Yes

Would you return?
Yes

chreydeln

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?
Cheapest and upgrade to river view with club access

How are the rooms?
Very old fashioned ,as reported many times by other FTers, small bathroom
Terrible Tv dating back to 80's

How is the exec. lounge?
Breakfast is great

Did you receive a welcome gift?
Local wine

How was the minibar?
Both beverages and snacks

What was good and what was bad?

-Good
Close to Hauptbahnhof, walkable in 10 mins,
but not very close to U-bahn
Club lounge is great,
Inexpensive

-Bad
Very popular business hotel, many events, so lobby is always croweded
Need to queue for 10 mins for checkout in the lobby, no Amb line

Value for $ or Priority Club Points?
Yes

Would you return?
Yes

chreydeln

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, upgraded to club room, can choose suite without club access

How are the rooms?
On high floors, standard style as a business hotel. View includes architecture of a typical Soviet style

How is the exec. lounge?
Best evening cocktail ever, almost a buffet(hors d'oeuvre, hot dish and desserts)

Did you receive a welcome gift?
Forget...

How was the minibar?
Includes both snacks and beverages

What was good and what was bad?

-Good
Spacious room
Good service and food options in the club
Close to railway station

-Bad
Old-style furnishing
Need to walk 20+ mins to the old town

Value for $ or Priority Club Points?
Yes, sometimes could be an low as less than 50E

Would you return?
Yes

quitecontrary

Sounds like you had a great trip around Europe - chreydein.

uk1

Yes ... mostly in 2012 .... some two years ago!

Gosh it has take a long time to post ....

Investor 11

What is your Priority Club status?
Royal Ambassador

Were you (or for multi-stayers are you generally) happy with the hotel/stay ?
Yes, very much so.

Which room did you book and which upgrade did you receive?
Booked cheapest available. Received Superior Suite.


How are the rooms?
Room was great. This superior suite was a completely different layout than the one I have had in the past. Great water views and plenty of space in living and dining room. I'd definitely recommend this version of the superior suite. Room XX47

How is the exec. lounge?
I like the lounge here. Staff is friendly and remembered us even though it had been 4 months since our last visit. Decent breakfast selection. Always enjoy the smoked salmon here.

What was good and what was bad?

Good
Everything


Bad
Nothing


Value for $ or Priority Club Points? Would you return?
Great value. Will absolutely return, one of our favorite IC's.

Investor 11

What is your Priority Club status?
Royal Ambassador

Were you (or for multi-stayers are you generally) happy with the hotel/stay ?
Yes, with the exception of one employee.

Which room did you book and which upgrade did you receive?
Booked 2 double bed superior with balcony . Received 1 king bed luxury suite with balcony.


How are the rooms?
Spacious room. 1 1/2 baths. Multiple balconies.

How is the exec. lounge?
N/A

What was good and what was bad?

Good
Received a great food recommendation from the spa staff. Use of free car service within 1.5 miles of hotel got us there with little hassle. 1 exceptional front desk staff member.


Bad
Unfortunately, there was one employee who I felt was subpar. I would love to hear feedback from others on whether my feelings were warranted. I booked a 2 bed room because I needed two beds. I called the hotel ahead of time to ask about upgrades as the only other room with 2 beds is the 2 bed luxury suite with balcony. I spoke with a member of reservations and he made a note of my request and stated he did not see an issue of upgrading to the luxury suite and to call the day before arriving to try and confirm. I did so, and 2 double bed luxury suite was confirmed. Arrived at hotel for early check in. This was the day after the Grammys, so I was not surprised to find out the room wasn't ready. After some searching I was placed in a standard room until suite was ready. Was told suite would be ready at 5pm because another Royal Ambassador was in room and taking advantage of late checkout. Fine, no quibble with that. Checked back in at the desk around 3pm just to see if room had become available by any chance. The front desk agent said it was not and that I would not be able to check into the suite until 8pm! When I asked why I would have to wait until 8pm the agent became defensive and a bit snappy. She proceeded to tell me that I was receiving a triple upgrade and that the listed rate of the room was over $600 and I had only paid $259. I said I understand what I paid, and that I was just confused on why I was being forced to wait until 8pm when the understood late checkout it is 4pm, especially if another Royal Ambassador is waiting. She then said they would be checking out late because they paid for the suite! Moved to king luxury suite.

My issue wasn't the level of upgrade. I try to never expect a certain upgrade knowing that things change. But, I felt there was a much more tactful way of shifting my room around than the way this front desk agent chose to handle it. Had I known this would be the issue I could have been moved into the king suite earlier in the day as opposed to waiting.

Value for $ or Priority Club Points? Would you return?
Good value. I have another spa gift certificate so I will be returning. After that, I don't know if I will be in a rush to return.

aulrik

Note: This "review" is for The Residence, not the hotel.

What is your Priority Club status?
Royal Ambassador

Were you (or for multi-stayers are you generally) happy with the hotel/stay ?
Yes, with a few minor exceptions

Which room did you book and which upgrade did you receive?
Booked 1 bedroom apartment, received 1 bedroom apartment (no problems, I understand you don't get upgrades at this property).

How are the rooms?
Spacious and comfortable. Decent equipped kitchen, nice bathroom and rather large bedroom. Washing machine/dryer in small room next to the entrance.

How is the exec. lounge?
N/A

What was good and what was bad?

Good
The staff (with one exception), as always at this property. It's close to feel like coming home, everyone recognize you and you feel that they are genuine glad to see you again.

Bad
* We specifically asked for an apartment facing the river, so we could watch the fireworks at New Year's eve. This was confirmed several times, but during check-in we were reassigned to an apartment facing the other way. The property was obviously not full so I have no idea why they did this. It seems like it was done at the reception desk, as the pre-prepared check-in statement was showing the apartment we initially requested, but this had been crossed over and a new apartment number written on by hand. The check-in agent was in no way interested in changing this, she just seemed upset and uninterested. We were tired after a long journey and in a hurry to an appointment, so I didn't escalate it to the FO manager.

* The check-in agent. She is the only employee at this property that for some reason never smile and never seem interested in helping out (she has worked here for a year or so and has always been like that to me). Example: She rejected to give us more than one key to the apartment! - Come on, two persons checking in and only one key?. Didn't want to argue, stopped by a little later when another agent was present, and got an extra key together with an apology and a big smile. Don't know if she hate her job or just hate me , but it stands out as everyone else here are just great.

* This particular apartment seemed to have been heavily used and showed signs of wear and tear many places (floor scratches, scratches on furniture, wall paper coming off, etc.).

* The control for the water flow on the shower console did not work. A technician was brought up to look at it and concluded that "it couldn't be fixed".

* House keeping at 08.30AM on a Sunday!. To me that's a bit too early. I didn't leave the DND sign on though, so partly my own fault.

All these small hiccups are not really a big deal, it's just that after more than 300 nights at Asiana Saigon I have learned to expect nothing but the absolute best from this place, and this time they were a bit below their usual standard.

Value for $ or Priority Club Points? Would you return?
At U$150++ per night this is a good deal for an 80m2 apartment. Obviously expensive by Saigon standards, but in my eyes worth it. Will return for another 60-80 nights in 2014.