youhavebeenupgraded

InterContinental Vienna

What is your Priority Club status?
Platinum 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 with points
Received: Studio Suite, Club Access, Room Service Breakfast and complete Minibar

How are the rooms?

The Studio Suite:
http://www.youhavebeenupgraded.blogs...ntal-wien.html

View:
http://www.youhavebeenupgraded.blogs...al-wien-2.html

New Years Eve:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_f40kTAYhyM

How is the exec. lounge?
Between nice and ok

What was your welcome gift?
Wine

Did you receive fruit in the room?
Yes

What was good and what was bad?
Good

• Location (near CAT Train and city of Vienna)
• Upgrade (Reward night)
• Free Minibar (Reward night)
• View over Vienna

Bad
Nothing

Value for $ or Priority Club Points?
40 000 points are ok

Would you return?
Yes

nicolas75

What is your Priority Club Status?
Platinum 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 the cheapest advance rate + points, and received a king deluxe suite with club access for all the stay (7 days)

How are the rooms?
Around 70 sqm
Slightly dated design, but perfectly well maintained


Large living room with sofas, desk, dining table, flat screen television with large selection of channels (but no way to switch from Spanish to English language for cable channels, as it is possible to do in some hotels)

No kettle/coffee machine

Separate toilets

Bedroom with flat screen television, very comfortable bed
iPhone station, 2 closets

Bathroom with Jacuzzi, separate toilets and shower. Local amenities

Very quiet
View over the buildings next to the hotel and the Andes Mountain

Wifi was working pretty badly in the room (poor signal, and numerous interruptions)

Fruits and water replenished every day
Newspaper delivered only one day (in Spanish).

Video of the King Deluxe suite

How is the exec. lounge?
Not huge but very pleasant
Located in the most recent tower
Very elegant design. Terrace but unfortunately with closed access.

Friendly staff (but staff has no desk like most clubs: no way to check-in/check-out at club lounge).
No computer

Cold breakfast is served at the lounge. But I was proposed to have breakfast at the very pleasant restaurant, where a full buffet and good breakfast is served
Evening canapés and drinks. An Australian lady – who obviously likes too much wine – loudly complained about the wine (did not drink some) and food (I think it was perfectly fine: selection of very good Jamón, cheese, canapés, fruits, pastries).
No drinks during the day, including soft drinks (the club has no fridge), but only coffee/tea/cookies

What was good and what was bad?
Good:
- Nice upgrade, including on points
- All Royal Ambassador benefits, including for the stay on points. Ability to have free breakfast at restaurant.
- Location in the most exclusive district of the city. Restaurants nearby. Metro station at 10 minutes walk.
- Nice indoor pool, with great view over the city (but strangely no shower, and towels only available at the fitness centre, located on the floor below)
- Most of the staff is friendly and tries to make his best (but some speak very badly English, which can make interaction quite difficult).
- Great weather and lovely city

Bad:
Just some details:
- Internet works perfectly in the club lounge and restaurant, but very poorly in the room
- The room – and the bathroom – faces some buildings in a district where the density is higher than in Hong-Kong (which means poor privacy).
- The suites require some soft renovation (club rooms in the new Tower are much more recent, but small and pretty dark).
- When calling Instant Service, you are connected to housekeeping speaking badly English and inviting you to call reception
- Advance purchased happened to be USD 30 more expensive than the best flexible rate
- Shower pressure was either strong/medium hot, or very hot/not strong which was quite unpleasant (no way to have a “soft” shower)

Value for $ or Priority Club Points?Would you return?
Yes, definitely for Royal Ambassadors, considering the upgrade, club access (including on points).

Santagio is definitely a great city, full of trendy and creative places. I loved the Galeria Patricia Ready (excellent art gallery with restaurant), Peluqueria Francesa (lovely hairdresser and ...restaurant/cabinet de curiosités in the historical district), La Mar (very good food restaurant with superb design), Animal (elegant restaurant/coffee), The Aubrey (boutique restaurant at Bellavista, perfect for a light lunch).

mnredfox

Great job mods, thank you for taking input!

Flying Lawyer

I received the same suite mid December. Very nice and the "mirrored TVs" in the bathroom were quite nice.

FLYGVA

Sorry for another interruption ...

Some of you have suggested to add a list of all hotels at the first post. We have thought about it for some time now and since we cleaned the thread up a little bit, it seems to be a good time to start this now and try if it is doable.

We will start with the first posts in this year and hopefully be able to do this on a at least bi-weekly routine in the future.
I will also try to work the thread back to 2011. But as some you might know, I have a day job as well and therefore this could take some time. But as I have some free time ahead in the first quarter of 2013 and might be able to do this in this time. So my goal is to have this ready at the end of the first quarter

I have started such a list in the second post. I will list the hotels by continents and add a date, when the review was published assuming that the most of your Royal Ambassador experience reports are not older than a couple of weeks, when they are posted.

FLYGVA
co-moderator IHG Forum

Buzzman

Sorry... Not where else to ask this... I've misplaced my RA card.. Can someone PM me with the Ambassador Services phone number from both the US & Europe?

vsevolod4

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

Jawohl

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

Booked Deluxe, upgraded to Club King Deluxe.

How are the rooms?

Tasteful, a bit boring.

How is the exec. lounge?

Very nice; walk across a glass skybridge on the second floor. Good breakfast; moderate evening snacks, even lunch snacks. Beer and wine available pretty much all day (including some of Dusseldorf's Altbier).

Did you receive a welcome gift?

Yes, some Dusseldorf chocolates

How was the minibar?

Better than average; 8 liquors including Jagermeister, 2 half bottles wine, 4 beers.

What was good and what was bad?



-Good
Good - unlike last time, got Club Access
Friendly and helpful staff in Club. Got there late for breakfast and they had started putting stuff away, they actually went back to the kitchen to get me some items.
Good location if you're a shopper.
Reasonably close to the Altstadt ("Germany's biggest bar") but not super close.

-Bad

Bad - sort of clinical

Value for $ or Priority Club Points?
169 euro was a "good" rate.

Would you return?
Second stay, there likely will be more.

vsevolod4

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

Yeah but not delighted.

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

Booked King, got "Executive King" with panoramic view. I asked for view as it was New Year's Eve and I wanted to watch the pyrotechnics. Great view of both the river and the city. If you haven't done New Year's in Germany, they don't allow fireworks except that one evening so everyone goes crazy and there are hundreds of locations around town doing fireworks for a full 4 hours. I usually get a better upgrade here.

Disappointing was I did not get Club access -- they said they no longer do that (but they told me that previously and gave it to me anyway). So despite being a couple times a year stayer, no luck.

How are the rooms?

Due for a refurb.

How is the exec. lounge?

N/A

Did you receive a welcome gift?

Fruit, mineral water, and probably something else but I don't remember.

How was the minibar?

Meh. Usual stuff. Only oddball thing is some Frankfurter apple "wine."

What was good and what was bad?

-Good
Convenient to museums, to train station, to old town, to Sachsenhausen

-Bad
No Club Access

Value for $ or Priority Club Points?
100 euro is a good rate for an IC anywhere.

Would you return?
Yeah but I won't exactly be writing sonnets about it.

Chinatrvl

IC Phoenicia Beriut

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

Which room did you book and which upgrade did you receive?
Booked and award room, got club room.

How are the rooms?
Spacious 40 sqm rooms, comfortable bed, balcony with chairs and view of the yacht harbour. Large bathroom with tub and shower.

How is the club lounge?
Small and private lounge on the sixth floor. Good snacks and drinks for happy hour, but no champagne or sparkling wine.
Great staff.

What was good and what was bad?
Good
- Marvelous and luxurious hotel minutes away from the Corniche and Zaytuna Bay and walking distance to the city center, Beirut Souks, and Al Hamra area.
- Very friendly staff
- Terrific, knowledgable concierge team that is eager to give information and arrange tours or taxies, even when outside
- Stylish lobby lounge with faultless service and excellent cocktails
- Nice in-door pool and gym

Value for USD? Would you return?
Absolutely. Great hotel in a fantastic city.
Good deal on points.

Chinatrvl

IC Amstel Amsterdam

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 and award room, got executive suite.

How are the rooms?
As mentioned often enough here, spacious c. 55 sqm suites, small living and bed rooms. Bathroom with shower and tub.

What was good and what was bad?
Good
- Upgrade on award stay and during sold-out new year's
- Professional staff
- Excellent concierge, before our stay (email) and during our stay
- Good location right on the Amstel
- Excellent A-Bar with very local drinks

Bad
- Unusable, slow internet

Value for €? Would you return?
Anytime. Value for points was "best ever" during new year.

Goonerfish

Which room did you actually book? ta

infoworks

IC Melbourne Rialto

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 category with 25% off voucher, got junior suite o L4 (same as club level).

How are the rooms?
a good-size, nicely decorated, comfortable room. Bathroom has plenty of space.

What was good and what was bad?
Good
- Upgrade to suite. Club access was $30. Great value (2 of us staying) as we met friend for coffee in morning, had breakfast there, some afternoon tea. Lounge staff warm and helpful. Not as crowded as seen in past experiences.
- Professional, friendly staff throughout. Especially Nouveau at reception.
- Been here many times and was convenient for me
- full mini-bar.
- Internet. Had 5 devices connected and all worked well.

Bad
- Bed nicely made, etc. but not as firm as I would like, deep curves on both sides.
- Turndown left room open (we were out). Returned when they were at opposite end of corridor, so maybe that way for 20 minutes. Luckily nothing stolen.

Value for €? Would you return?
Yes. Always had good recognition and service here from friendly and knowledgeable staff

Pseudo Nim

Only got my RA status in late Dec, and have been mostly in YYZ, so all my IC experiences are in YYZ for now.

Intercontinental Toronto Centre:
- Minibar: absolutely chock full of stuff, very impressive
- Upgrades: generally nothing spectacular (but I have been booking the cheapest corporate rate). One time my booking got downgraded (i.e. lower rate was charged) but still received upgrade on checkin, which was nice. Always get a Junior Suite or a Feature Room, which I'm sick of. Got the two-level suite once, but it's a terrible non-renovated room and it's very hot on the upper floor. DO NOT take it!
- Welcome gift: usually some random fruits and chocolates. Nothing extravagant.
- Platinum drink coupon received (free drink + hors d'oeuvre at the bar); sometimes front desk forgets thinking you're RA and therefore not entitled, but just remind them
- Value for $: Yes. Would return.

Intercontinental Toronto Yorkville:
- Minibar: paucity of choice, somewhat disappointed.
- Upgrades: if booking cheapest possible rate, no higher than Studio Suite. If booking Studio Suite, had the Royal Suite twice. Pretty consistent.
- No club access (because no club level floors).
- Value for $: Yes, but mostly because of the Royal Suite upgrades. The regular suites are a bit meh.

scubaccr

IC Bucharest, Romania

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

Which room did you book and which upgrade did you receive?
Booked = Multi-night Stay mostly Company flex basic room (mixed with a cheaper w/end ADR basic room)
Received = Upgraded to a Proper 2-Room J/Suite (Hotel has 20 J/Suites and 1x Presidential suite)

How are the rooms?
Large, smart, good soft/hard furnishings, light colour scheme
Room1 -
Bedroom Very Comfy bed, pillows, good lighting, table, 32" tv 2 chairs, wardrobe space, safe, minibar, Bathroom with Jacuzi, bidet, Full balcony
Room2 -
Sofa, large coffee table, armchair, workdesk, 42" tv, wardrobe, minibar, Bathroom with shower, Full balcony

How is the Club Lounge?
Very nice room on 21st floor. Good staff. Drinks 1800-2200 + nibbles

What was your welcome gift?
Full Bottle white wine in an ice bucket

How was the mini-bar?
2 minibars each with, 2 Vodka, 2 Chivas whisky, 2 beers, 2x Bran Romanian drink 45% proof, 1/2 bottles of red+white wine, loads cola/water etc, 2x 100g Choc bars

Did you receive fruit in the room?
Yes, massive fruit plate centered around a full large pineapple
2 Bottles water per day

What was good and what was bad?
GOOD
+ RA recognition
++ At checkin offered Lounge for 35 (instead of 40), I asked for 20euro as per earlier stays, as I'm solo, have free minibar and my rates includes breakfast. Checkin rang Lounge to ask, I was immediately told they would be embarrassed if had to pay, and my Lounge Access this stay would be complimentary.
+ Location
+ Welcome letter stating minibar included
+ free drinks vouchers
+ comped 2x minibar, refilled each day
+ Location to bars/restaurants
+ Could not fault staff in any hotel area, really pleaseant and helpful at frontdesk/lounge/concierge/restaurant/bar/bellboys/cleaners.
+ reliable and fast wifi
+ Nice Lounge
+ Nice evening drinks selection for 4hours, nice evening food, which was varied throught the week.
+ Lasagne from restaurant

- Airport Limo now 42 euro was 35, (website still says 35euro), although a nice Mercerdes, 42 Euro = 190 RON, and metered taxi Hotel->Airport was only 25RON for my return flights. As xfer now 42 euro I have kept 50 RON in my wallet for my next visit. Taxi in future for me here.
(Due to limo service newly subcontracted to different Limo company with newer cars and better insurance, previously was also a nice Merc )

Value for $ or Priority Club Points?
W/End ADR-10% was about 62euro night, excellent value
Fixed Company Rate also excellent non w/end nights
(Award nights never worth booking here, price/points ratio wise)

Would you return?
Most Definitely. I have and certainly will again.

IAN-UK

If you are not burdened with much baggage, and happy using public transport, you'll keep a hefty bundle of lei in your wallet if you take the bus

The Express 783 takes 20-30 minutes to the stop in front of the hotel. It runs every 20 minutes, and keeps going 24-hours (though the schedule reduces during the night).

Fare is RON7 for a return ticket: you need to pay for an electronic card (RON3.5 I think) but you can load the card for metro trips.

It's an Express service, so perfectly comfortable.

As you seem to visit Bucharest regularly you might be interested in the slightly quirky blog http://www.bucharestlife.net/about-bucharest-life/
and, if you haven't found it already, the indispensable http://www.inyourpocket.com/romania/bucharest