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Old Jun 18, 2016, 4:39 am
FlyerTalk Forums Expert How-Tos and Guides
Last edit by: HadesNL
Update 2023:
- it seems no new RA have been invited by IHG
- criteria for RA requalification are still unknown
- geographical location of member / country account registration seems of some impact due of covid19(restrictions/availability)
- RA is processed in weekly batches starting december 2022
- proof by nicolas75 shows RA qualification for 2024 seems to be strictly based on IC hotels only (not Regent, Kimpton, SixSenses anymore)

As per Tim O'Brien's post about IHG-corporate explaining RA criteria:

As you are aware,
Royal Ambassador is our invitation only tier with the number of members invited each year
limited to ensure our hotels are able to consistently deliver on the benefits promise,
elevating your stay experience at InterContinental Hotels & Resorts.

Although we do not currently have a published criteria for Royal Ambassador,
consideration is determined by variable activities within a members account such as
- qualified paid room nights & spend across our luxury brands (, 2023 EDIT: Post-Pandemic from 2024 InterContinental only : Pre-Pandemic also Kimpton & Regent ) ,
- member region,
- primary hotels,
- category (of the hotel class / €$¥£ price levels compared to currency rates / competition / city / region / country / continent )
- tenure (repeat custom / average spend at hotel)
Accompanying or adjoining reservations,
such as the additional rooms of your family etc are not included for Royal Ambassador consideration
but are included in determining Spire Elite status within IHG Rewards Club
.


* FT:IHG forum community group consensus / empirical evidence shows
- that members must have stayed at different unique hotels per city / country / region / continent
the amount of uniques needed for RA qualification is unknown but generally extended long stays at just 1 hotel do not qualify
- IHG-corporate showing keen interest in how much guests are spending €$¥£ at hotel's own operated F&B / Spa / transport / extra services / other venues
atacama40 has given us insights that extra spend at the hotel charged to the hotelfolio generates EQP but also flags the database as high valued spending guest
- one must have AMB to get considered for RA invitation by IHG as they seem to evaluate over a longer period the length of one's tenure / devotion / spend / undisclosed criteria at stayed IC-hotels

2024
Royal Ambassador 2024 (Re)Qualification - statistics

Thank you everyone who graciously shared their status and statistics. I took the liberty to compose an overview.
The common factor that is instantly recognisable is:
  • everyone has a valid AMB membership
  • everyone has spent a good amount in €$£
Shoven
IC: 69 N - 4 unique IC - $17400 - 2 unique country

AndyMick
IC: 96 N - 10 unique IC - 7 unique country - 164778 EQP

Ithink
IC: 78 N - 10 unique IC - £27000

Richelieu
~

ProjectSunburst
15 unique IC (USA) - $35000
Kimpton spend: $11000

Milleage Millionaire
IC: 100 N : 58 revenue & 42 award - 166514 EQP

Raynyan
~

Nicolas75
~

ILS2
$20000

HadesNL
IC: 41 N - 8 unique IC (2x USA, 1x UK, 3x EU, 1x Indonesia) 250458 EQP

Marlin1978
IC: 40 N - 9 unique IC (USA + EU) - $13000

HClee01
IC: 30 N - 6 unique IC - $8700
2x Kimpton / 1x Regent : 22 N - $7400

VAbeachgirl
IC: 88 N - 14 unique IC - 8 countries
2x Kimpton : 7 N
total $20000 (IC + Kimpton)

PremexecSNA
IHG : 85 N - 147000 EQP of which
90% revenue stay
85 % IC + Kimpton
10 unique IC
15 unique Kimpton

Darby1970
IC 100 N : 59 revenue of which
37 N : 11 unique IC (USA)& 4 (non-USA)
187682 EQP

Atacama40
IC + Kimpton : 40 N : UK, ME, Asia
Roomrate > £1000

EmeraldLady
11 unique IC : 4 continents
IHG: 87 N
$20000

Dmac1418
IC: 3 N - 2 unjque (IC Houston MC & IC San Diego)
6S Fiji $22000 (room: $10000 + spend $12000)

Smythmeister
~

Additional statistics can be found in the comments of LL
https://loyaltylobby.com/2023/12/03/...4-share-yours/
The only other place on the whole interweb that has an interest in Royal Ambassador.
============================

2023
Below our FT-members from the IHG forum with RA status
some of whom have graciously shared their statistics to shed some light
-----------------------
Mileage millionaire: 155359 EQP - IC nights 58 - total nights 108 - unique IC 15
Shoven : $16000 - IC nights 49 - Kimpton nights 8 - total nights 57 - unique IC 5 - unique Kimpton 2 - [unique countries UK/Thailand]
Stimpy: overall stats higher than Shoven
Nicholas75 : 230236 EQP - 93 EQN
Raynyan : 190000 EQP - IC/Kimpton nights 90 - unique IC/Kimpton 10
Vsevolod4 : $24000 - IC nights 67 - total nights 87
Vabeachgirl : $17500 - IC nights 75 - Kimpton nights 4 - total nights 79 - unique properties 13 [unique countries 7]
Hclee01: >$12600 - >156K EQP - 54 EQN - unique IC 3 - unique Kimpton 1 - unique Regent 2 [unique countries Singapore/Thailand/Taiwan/Japan]
Chinatrvl :
Ithink : 220.000 EQP - 47 EQN
Ninjalad : 150000 EQP - IC nights 34
Andymick : 145000 EQP - IC nights 100
Gentleman adventurer :
Marlin1978 :
Pseudo nim :
Hadesnl : 250000 EQP - Kimpton/IC nights 30 - 44 EQN - unique IC 3 - unique Kimpton 2 [unique countries UK/NL/FRA/Indonesia]
Itadakimasu : 120000 EQP - IC nights 12 - 51 EQN
Atacama40 : >£25000 - IC nights 60 - unique IC 8 - unique Kimpton 1
Eein : corporate rates global & local
Raynyan's friends : RA extension because their account is Japanese registered
Tim O'Brien: after own friendly persuasion effort : $8,500 - IC nights 79 of which 49 at pres.suite - unique IC 4 [unique countries US/AUS/CAN]


----------------
The only other place on the internet that has an interest in RA (re)qualification statistics is at the comments at Loyaltylobby,
more 2023 RA datapoints can be found there:
https://loyaltylobby.com/2022/12/09/...re-your-stats/
https://loyaltylobby.com/2023/01/18/...re-your-stats/



==============================================

Update 2020 / 2021:
RA status was extended due to the global pandemic of covid19


================================================== =======

Update 2019: The RA status granted at the start of the calendar year 2017 and 2018 has been based on IC revenue. As from 2019 criteria again have become vague. RA is not achieved through IC spend only. Other, unknown elements are taken into account as well. (Fact: Some users with very high +25k IC spend were not renewed in 2019.)

Update December 2018: it looks like some accounts are proactively being renewed in December 2018, well ahead of the stated expiration of Jan 31, 2019. It is currently unknown what criteria were used, but previous years appeared to indicate around $10K++ in IC spend only.

As before, please Divide EQPs by 10 to get $$$ Spend
================================================== =====
December 2019 / January 2020 Link to RA Renewals & Upgrades
================================================== =====
================================================== =====

JANUARY 2019 RA RENEWAL STATS [put total IHG vs. IC if you can]
================================================== =====
NAME.... IHG total (paid)/IC/EQP, break out IC spend if you can
Pseudo Nim 73 IC nights, $14.6K IC spend ($17.7K total),
Shoven 70 (50) IC nights, $17.3K IC spend ($17.3K total),
Unterwegs 52 IC nights, approx $12K net IC spend. No other brands this year! No more mediocre HIs to make status.
Kaix 63 IC nights, $14.4K IC spend ($15.1K total)
Tim O'Brien 26 IC Paid Nights as at Dec 27, when notified of RA renewal, 140,171 EQP, IC Net Spend 14, 017.
Vsevolod4 IHG total 132, IHG total paid 101, IC nights 85, IC Qualified Spend $16.5K, total EQP 398,800, Kimpton nights: 3, RA Ambassador Kit renewed Dec 27, RA renewal (again) and Kimpton Inner Circle upgrade Jan 4.
kaka(mom) 34 nights 1 country (all IC), IC spend:23k USD
Lewis42 / 81 Total (unknown IC) / $16k IC / $2k Kimpton / 4 Continents
81 nights total
$18k Kimpton / IC (about $2k kimpton)
stays in 4 continents

been Ra for ~3-4 years

ID;Name;Confirm;Kit msg; Revenue ;Nights;Challenge?;Additional Info

40;stimpy;+;none; $9,000.00 ;50;?;RA since 2001 - exceptional renewal
38;turner32;-;none; $9,000.00 ;?;?;8/9 years as RA
49;hannes08;+;01/16/2019; $9,990.00 ;52;2000;renewal probably because of challenge
17;Lewis42;+;12/27/2018; $10,000.00 ;?;2000;renewal probably because of challenge
27;scienm;+;none; $10,032.00 ;32;?;8 years RA
25;hclee01;+;none; $10,142.16 ;37;?;current RA since 2014 - manual renewal
18;annihilation;-;none; $10,605.00 ;39;?;
51;crosskonaftw;?;none; $10,700.00 ;35;?;not yet RA
30;Land-of-Miles;+;none; $10,999.00 ;19;?;
16;Kimsbrand;-;none; $11,297.88 ;5;?;not RA yet. 13,532.92 USD total?
48;Urby38;+;12/27/2018; $11,300.00 ;47;?;Royal since 2012
42;SAWorldVoyager;?;12/21/2018; $11,391.52 ;?;?;
14;Cielito_;+;none; $11,511.00 ;62;no;77/62/8 with 12042 USD after batch
45;whimike;+;none; $11,700.00 ;?;?;RA for about 7 years
10;Unterwegs;+;12/27/2018; $12,000.00 ;52;yes;
44;serendipity1211;+;01/16/2019; $12,300.00 ;45;no;first-time RA
28;cazane;+;12/27/2018; $12,600.00 ;61;no;4 prepaid nights not posted until 27th 11890 -> 12600
11;VaBeachGirl;+;12/27/2018; $12,750.00 ;68;no;
50;lukah;?;none; $12,800.00 ;80;?;3 years RA
15;336;-;none; $12,900.00 ;16;2000;NOT completed challenge / Lots of adjusted stays
1;DonPedro;+;12/21/2018; $12,971.00 ;49;no;
47;SD2019;+;none; $13,000.00 ;35;no;stays erroneously adjusted or marked as overlapping
36;BRUSS;+;01/16/2019; $13,001.00 ;?;?;
13;Tim O'Brien;+;12/27/2018; $14,017.00 ;26;?; Kimpton;
33;marlin1978;?;12/27/2018; $14,182.00 ;46;no;
26;Kaix;?;12/27/2018; $14,400.00 ;63;?;
9;Pseudo Nim;+;12/27/2018; $14,600.00 ;73;?;
41;PMMMDL;?;?; $15,000.00 ;50;?;
23;nicolas75;?;12/27/2018; $15,000.00 ;81;?;
5;sharps1337;+;12/21/2018; $15,200.00 ;79;no;
3;Raynyan (friend2);?;12/21/2018; $15,500.00 ;69;no;
22;pantanal;+;12/27/2018; $16,000.00 ;?;?;
24;vsevolod4;+;12/27/2018; $16,319.00 ;84;no;
34;boekel;?;12/27/2018; $16,950.00 ;60;no;
21;ILS2;+;none; $17,000.00 ;40;?;
8;skaya (2x);+;12/27/2018; $17,000.00 ;?;?;
7;shoven;+;12/27/2018; $17,304.00 ;50;?;
51;EmeraldLady;+;12/27/2018; $18,000.00 ;47;?;
32;Mr. Chan;?;12/21/2018; $19,582.00 ;45;yes;completed challenge
46;kaka;+;12/21/2018; $20,001.00 ;34;no;
31;christenlabelle;?;none; $22,000.00 ;51;1k + Kimpton;
39;marcel.baden;?;12/27/2018; $22,000.00 ;77;?;
35;Flying Lawyer;?;12/27/2018; $22,135.00 ;70;?;
37;Roey007;?;none; $25,000.00 ;42;?;9 years RA - 9k adjustment: no kit message with 11k before
12;IThink;+;12/27/2018; $25,000.00 ;85;no;
19;HadesNL;+;12/27/2018; $28,273.90 ;52;?;
4;Raynyan (friend3);?;12/21/2018; $30,000.00 ;73;no;
29;btravers33;?;12/27/2018; $30,000.00 ;98;?;
2;Raynyan (friend1);?;12/21/2018; $32,000.00 ;75;no;
20;Raynyan;+;12/27/2018; ? ;70;?;~30 nights not counted somehow
6;samjnz;?;12/21/2018; ? ;?;2000;


04 JAN 2018 RA RENEWAL STATS [put total IHG vs. IC if you can]
================================================== =====
NAME.... IHG total (paid)/IC/EQP, break out IC spend if you can
Pseudo Nim 139 (116)/85/192K, of which $18K in IC
Boekel 85 (70)55/170K, of which $15K in IC
Tim O'Brien 29 IC Nights 2 Non IC IHG nights, 341,976 EQP
scubaccr 55 paid IC Nights , us$13,000++ / 4paid non-IC nights us$900++ (plus 8x IC reward nights, 20x non-IC reward nights) <== Sorry.. forgot to cop exact EQP values before 1/1/2018 acct zeroing
Cielito_ 81/77/5 - $7,353 F&B + $11,656 Room = $19,009 IC net spend - EQP 468,000 (First Time RA)
hclee01 50 IC us$13k++
Land-of-Miles ?? IC us$10.5k++
cazane 60 IC us$11.8k++
VaBeachGirl 54 IC us$13k++
PiffPaffPuff 60IC us$25k++
??????? 35 IC us$10.2k++ <== first time RA ref PiffPaffPuff colleague
Spitcool 40 IC us$15k++
Eltham 40 IC us$12k++
shoven 43 IC us$15k++ <== first time RA
skaya (partner) ?? IC us$10.2k++ <== renewed
darby1970 62 IC us$13k++
The Mileage Millionaire 102 paid IHG nights / 100 paid IC nights / 229k EQP / $22.7k++ IC spend
Orion_1 8 nights at IC, spent at 2 properties - USD 10,200 in total at ICs (honeymoon...)
HadesNL Elite qualifying points: 239,095, Qualifying nights: 39
Aussielori 50 IC us$8k++ 9.2k overall renewed on 16 jan

04 JAN 2018 RA LOSS STATS [put total IHG vs. IC if you can]
================================================== =====

tarek.h ?? IC us$9.1k++

sharps1337 IC us$9.9k++ (and 129 non-IC us$17k++ )

04 JAN 2017 RA RENEWAL STATS (Please include 2016 y/end EQP count)
================================================== =====
NAME.... IHG/IC/IC's EQP $$$$s
SCUBACCR 80/56/13 EQP=14,979 (Split $12864 + $2115)
HANNES08 76/46/10 EQP=11,200
OZ_CATALYST 75/63/8 EQP=14,700 (first Time RA) ($12414 at ICs)
TAREK.H 46/37/4 EQP=14.500 ($10,917 IC Spend)
TravelTheWorld66 147/33/11 EQP=27.972 ($8500 IC Spend)
HCLEE01 67/50/6 EQP=14880
ATACAMA40 82/56/10 EQP=??,???
VaBeachGirl 84/42/12 EQP=15,000
Land-of-Miles 87/73/10 EQP=40,000
SSH4POOH 132/99/28 EQP=50,000
???????? 75/35/8 EQP=??,??? (First Time RA, ref SSH4POOH)
iThink 82/36/11 EQP = 18,200
aussielori 75/45/5 EQP =15,100
1010101 50/48/4 = 12,500
MYSTERY7 63/45/? EQP=25,000 (First Time RA)
EmeraldLady 68/42/10 EQP=15,500
NKU 86/80/5 EQP=20,000
Petrus 110/40/3 EQP=20,000 ($8500 IC Spend)
JOHHENRIK 74/65/10 EQP=16,800
SyLance 76/76/4 EQP=17,500 (RA again after 3years missed)
Pseudo Nim 90/58/15 IC spend $9,500, $17K across chain (175K EQP)
Tim O'Brien 58 nights, EQP 474,576 , July 31, 2017 Year End, renewed to Dec 29, 2017
HadesNL 22/20/7 and us$20,000 ref two posts.
PROTEOME 53/36/? $25,000 (Plus further 30x IC Non-qual nights and 18 IC Award nights) <== nb Maybe/Maybe-Not the IC Non-qual $$'s count as about half EQPs spend, probably > 10k IC qual spend
Chinatrvl 88 nights (in all brands, but c. 75 in ICs), 300,000 EQP, ADR c. 115 USD as I stayed mostly on a locally negotiated rate (spend c. 10k USD)
Unterwegs 78(my count 86)/63/10/285.000 (according to email, I would have expected less. my spending estimate is 15-20K$)
Lewis42 77/39/10 EQP=16010
Whimike 88/35/12 EQP=14220

04 JAN 2017 RA Demotion to xxx Ambassador stats (if > 75/30/3)
==================================================
NAME IHG/IC/IC's EQP $$$$s

[Archived - no longer valid] New (Royal) Ambassador Criteria

A document was unintentionally available in the internet about changes to the (Royal) Ambassador Qualifying and Re-Qualifying criteria.
The document is available on

http://viewfromthewing.img.boardinga...Ambassador.pdf

Older discussion
There was an ongoing discussion about the criteria for some time. This thread is now closed.

update from Executive Liaison Sept, 2023,
spend at other IHG luxury brands does count for RA, and Renewal.
Brands weren't stated, but reasonable to assume Six Senses, Regent, and Kimpton.

















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New RA qualifying criteria based on IC Revenue

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Old Mar 12, 2019, 12:56 pm
  #3391  
 
Join Date: Mar 2008
Programs: SAS Diamond, Hilton Diamond, IHG RA Spire
Posts: 423
https://loyaltylobby.com/2019/03/12/...m-devaluation/

Is it one of us?
Well-written by the RA and a fairly unimpressive response by Mr. Canty.
Neither IC in NYC offers anything out of the ordinary for RAs anymore, so I've moved all my stays elsewhere. As expected, I'm not the only one.
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Old Mar 12, 2019, 1:17 pm
  #3392  
FlyerTalk Evangelist
 
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: MAN and LON
Programs: Mucci, BAEC LT Gold, HH Dia, MR LT Plat, IHG Diamond Amb, Amex Plat
Posts: 13,768
Originally Posted by ILS2
https://loyaltylobby.com/2019/03/12/...m-devaluation/

Is it one of us?
Well-written by the RA and a fairly unimpressive response by Mr. Canty.
Neither IC in NYC offers anything out of the ordinary for RAs anymore, so I've moved all my stays elsewhere. As expected, I'm not the only one.
Totally agree it would one of the good Hilton or Marriott properties for me in NYC now. The IC TS was unexceptional even with half decent upgrades, it would be insane fir any RA with status elsewhere to stay there now.

I cant say I will make any real effort to renew RA next year. Lounge access for RA has shot the golden goose in my view.
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Old Mar 12, 2019, 7:51 pm
  #3393  
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Join Date: Aug 2000
Location: London
Programs: Hilton, IHG - BA, GA, LH, QR, SV, TK
Posts: 17,008
Originally Posted by Land-of-Miles

I cant say I will make any real effort to renew RA next year. Lounge access for RA has shot the golden goose in my view.
Well, yes, but it's got some way to go before it becomes like the Hilton Honors diamond programmes, where lounges seem provided simply to service the low expectations of Diamond and occasional Gold members.

There are exceptions: some are rather nice, but so far i have seen nothing like the facilities provided by a number of ICs in Europe and most in Asian ICs. Tonight in a Hilton lounge it was a party of two familes with six kids picknicking through cocktail hours, while the inevitable singlets, shorts and flip-flops came and went.

Since being thrown out as a RA, I'm trying to get to used to Marriott/SPG and Hilton, while staying at the ICs at which I'm prepared to buy up to the facilities I value. To their credit both competitor chains were open-armed in welcoming me to their loyalty programme.
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Old Mar 14, 2019, 4:20 pm
  #3394  
336
 
Join Date: Apr 2013
Posts: 1,443
There are quite a lot of people here who did not renew RA, even though they have spent much more than 10k USD at IC only.

To those in this situation: did you happen to use more than one BOGO certificate in the past calendar year?
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Old Mar 14, 2019, 7:49 pm
  #3395  
 
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: Korea, USA
Programs: IC Dia RA / Marriott LT Plat / WOH Globalist / Hilton Diamond / OZ Diamond Plus
Posts: 340
Originally Posted by 336
There are quite a lot of people here who did not renew RA, even though they have spent much more than 10k USD at IC only.

To those in this situation: did you happen to use more than one BOGO certificate in the past calendar year?
There are member number and name printed on it. So it's not possible to use more than one unless the IHG sent it more than one by mistake.
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Old Mar 15, 2019, 12:56 am
  #3396  
336
 
Join Date: Apr 2013
Posts: 1,443
They only added the name in the course of 2018. Before that certificates were nameless. Also the 2017 certificates had expiration dates well into 2018.

There are lots of scenario's possible, where a member could have used more than one certificate during calendar year 2018, without using someone else's certificate.
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Old Mar 15, 2019, 1:07 am
  #3397  
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Originally Posted by 336
There are quite a lot of people here who did not renew RA, even though they have spent much more than 10k USD at IC only.

To those in this situation: did you happen to use more than one BOGO certificate in the past calendar year?

Used only one - reducing the price of a second night at Bali IC by USD50
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Old Mar 15, 2019, 2:11 am
  #3398  
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Join Date: Dec 2003
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Posts: 13,768
Originally Posted by IAN-UK
Well, yes, but it's got some way to go before it becomes like the Hilton Honors diamond programmes, where lounges seem provided simply to service the low expectations of Diamond and occasional Gold members.

There are exceptions: some are rather nice, but so far i have seen nothing like the facilities provided by a number of ICs in Europe and most in Asian ICs. Tonight in a Hilton lounge it was a party of two familes with six kids picknicking through cocktail hours, while the inevitable singlets, shorts and flip-flops came and went.

Since being thrown out as a RA, I'm trying to get to used to Marriott/SPG and Hilton, while staying at the ICs at which I'm prepared to buy up to the facilities I value. To their credit both competitor chains were open-armed in welcoming me to their loyalty programme.
isnt that more of a commentary on US lounges of all chains? Only RC and the small number of IC lounges in the US are worthwhile but I would rather have better rooms and a free minibar than a lounge I might never want to or be able to (due to hours on working days) use.

Elsewhere both Hilton and Marriott lounges can be on a par with or better than IC clubs. In London the JW or Hilton Bankside or Tower Bridge for example.
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Old Mar 15, 2019, 2:49 am
  #3399  
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Originally Posted by Land-of-Miles
Elsewhere both Hilton and Marriott lounges can be on a par with or better than IC clubs. In London the JW or Hilton Bankside or Tower Bridge for example.
Never been to the Hilton Paddington have you?
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Old Mar 15, 2019, 5:34 am
  #3400  
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Originally Posted by stimpy
Never been to the Hilton Paddington have you?
Not recently to be fair but that is slightly more unique in having a Towers lounge too for "proper club" guests.

Have been to the Metropole relatively recently that was rather grim but then went to the Heathrow T4 last week which was on the whole rather nice. I personally think the biggest problem in the non-US lounges comes from having too many people in them rather than the shorts and flip flop and family brigade or the quality of the underlying product itself. I do think this is partly the result of the expansion of number of elite members.

It is remarkable how different the lounge experience is at the more expensive properties e.g. Park Lane, Tower Bridge, Bankside etc. This does not seem to be a coincidence and that is surely why fundamentally why the IC lounge experience is also broadly better. I just don't think the trade between IC lounge access and now poorer room allocation, minibar etc. is a good one.
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Old Mar 15, 2019, 5:46 am
  #3401  
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Posts: 17,008
Originally Posted by Land-of-Miles


isnt that more of a commentary on US lounges of all chains?


Nope. Same in most places I've had the pleasure of making a comparison between Hilton and IC. Athens, Bali and Kuala Lumpur were the latest.

Bare feet and swimeear were the look in the Bali Hilton lounge, while the inter-table conversations hinged on how to smuggle food out of the lunch-time buffet.

but you're right, US hotel lounges rarely impress. Though the IC SFO is an exception to that.... when it's not busy!
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Old Mar 15, 2019, 6:49 am
  #3402  
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Posts: 34,339
Originally Posted by Land-of-Miles
Not recently to be fair but that is slightly more unique in having a Towers lounge too for "proper club" guests.
Yes, but Hilton Diamond members do not have access to the Towers, which is almost a different hotel. Diamond members are directed to the lobby level lounge which has the flip flop and family brigade who leave the lounge "destroyed" with food and bottles lying all around. These groups are probably mostly paying with points as this Hilton is rather expensive. I've always had to pay well over 200 GBP mid-week for the cheapest room. This is an argument in favor of not granting elites Club access when staying on points.

Another Euro lounge that reminds me of that level of mess is the Hilton CDG. Probably you can say that most all airport Hilton's have poor lounges. The Hilton FCO is another example. I've not been to LHR T4 since BA left so maybe that's OK? However there aren't many airport IC's and the IC's in city centre's generally have very good clubs. Ironically the two Miami IC's which are very close to the airport have excellent lounges. The IC Doral even has an airport shuttle. But these two IC's never, IME, have crowded lounges with poor guests.

It is remarkable how different the lounge experience is at the more expensive properties e.g. Park Lane, Tower Bridge, Bankside etc. This does not seem to be a coincidence and that is surely why fundamentally why the IC lounge experience is also broadly better. I just don't think the trade between IC lounge access and now poorer room allocation, minibar etc. is a good one.
So far I haven't seen poorer room allocation and the minibar seems to be sometimes run like it used to be for guests that are known to the hotel. I'm hoping IHG reverses the mini-bar policy soon.
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Old Mar 15, 2019, 7:29 am
  #3403  
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Originally Posted by stimpy
Yes, but Hilton Diamond members do not have access to the Towers, which is almost a different hotel. Diamond members are directed to the lobby level lounge which has the flip flop and family brigade who leave the lounge "destroyed" with food and bottles lying all around. These groups are probably mostly paying with points as this Hilton is rather expensive. I've always had to pay well over 200 GBP mid-week for the cheapest room. This is an argument in favor of not granting elites Club access when staying on points.

Another Euro lounge that reminds me of that level of mess is the Hilton CDG. Probably you can say that most all airport Hilton's have poor lounges. The Hilton FCO is another example. I've not been to LHR T4 since BA left so maybe that's OK? However there aren't many airport IC's and the IC's in city centre's generally have very good clubs. Ironically the two Miami IC's which are very close to the airport have excellent lounges. The IC Doral even has an airport shuttle. But these two IC's never, IME, have crowded lounges with poor guests.

So far I haven't seen poorer room allocation and the minibar seems to be sometimes run like it used to be for guests that are known to the hotel. I'm hoping IHG reverses the mini-bar policy soon.
My point re: the Towers is that proper club guests who pony up get a good experience in the Towers whereas others get a lesser experience in the club lounge. I think that's fair and actually makes the Towers a more interesting proposition. However the failure to keep lounges in good condition is also common to other brands too like CP, Hilton, Marriott etc. and seems to stem for absolutely minimising the staff numbers devoted to lounge duties rather than keeping the lounge in good condition.

I have noticed quite dramatic room allocation changes in hotels that I have stayed a lot at (IC PL, IC O2) over the last 12 months and the IC PL are very firmly pushing a £35 minibar limit come what may, resulting in a £25 bill for the half bottle of Perrier Jouet I drank last Sunday evening as something of a take one for the team experiment. I don't think that club access is a fair trade for the things that have been lost from the RA programme. I primarily valued RA for the ability to get a great suite for the price of a good room or mediocre suite (now gone) or for minibar freedom (also now gone beyond 2 or 3 mid priced drinks at best) and instead have access to lounges I wouldn't normally spend time in because they have finished the most valuable service of the day before I have left work, or finished my evening gym session. Before Lounge access was a RA benefit I was always happy to pay for club access (via room choice) when I wanted it, or skip it and still get good benefits when I did not care about the lounge. Now I no longer have that choice. That isn't changing anytime soon as IC move towards a more common programme straddling the upper end IC, Regent, Kimpton and Six Senses brands.

There are few club lounges anywhere in the world that I would prefer to spend time in rather than a nice bar elsewhere, that goes for IC's too although the lounges are generally OK.
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Old Mar 15, 2019, 8:44 am
  #3404  
 
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Afternoon all. Been out the game a while on projects and just trying catch up but going blind doing so!

Can anyone take pity and give us a quick summary of what happened please since Jan?

What does an RA get now? Have to confess I've not seen any huge difference so far but noticed reading through that some elements of club lounge are in (or out)?

Totally confused ... would appreciate a steer or pointer to a post that explains. Many thanks
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Old Mar 15, 2019, 9:19 am
  #3405  
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Originally Posted by Atacama40
Afternoon all. Been out the game a while on projects and just trying catch up but going blind doing so!

Can anyone take pity and give us a quick summary of what happened please since Jan?

What does an RA get now? Have to confess I've not seen any huge difference so far but noticed reading through that some elements of club lounge are in (or out)?

Totally confused ... would appreciate a steer or pointer to a post that explains. Many thanks
In my experience this year, hard 2 cat upgrade no more and real restrictions on any upgrades beyond a base suite

Lounge access as before

Generally $50 (or local equivalent) minibar consumption capped at 4 days total, that may include taxes and restocking fees

One free night e-voucher

Some of us got Kimpton IC which I now value slightly higher than RA for my week to week stays
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