nicolas75

What is your IHG Rewards Club status?
Spire Royal Ambassador

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

Which room did you book and which upgrade did you receive?
Booked cheapest advance rate and was upgraded to a Superior Sea View Suite (Nicolas Cage Suite).

How are the rooms?
Around 70sqm
Classic elegant interior design (love the "quiet luxury" atmosphere of the suite). Perfectly maintained
Bedroom with very comfortable bed.
Bathroom with bathtub. L'Occitane amenities
Living room with desk, seating area
Flat screen television set with large selection of international channels
Geneva mini chain. Kettle. Nespresso machine
Very quiet (all the more quiet this time that La Croisette boulevard was closed on Sunday morning for the Marathon)

How is the exec. lounge?
N/A

What was good and what was bad?

GOOD
- I was noticed at check-in that Royal Ambassadors members have now for free all items in the minibar (including food) ^
Superb upgrade
- Very attentive and smiling staff (from bell boy, to staff at reception, beach boys, housemaid): I was very impressed by the kindness of all the staff, who made my stay really enjoyable
- Elegant décor and atmosphere
- Very nice breakfast

BAD

- No Diet Coke in the minibar, but I am sure I will get during my next stay at my beloved Carlton

Value for $ or IHG Rewards Club Points? Would you return?
Definitely : a true palace with atmosphere


Pictures of the hotel

Pictures of the city

nicolas75

What is your IHG Rewards Club status?
Spire Royal Ambassador

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

Which room did you book and which upgrade did you receive?
Booked cheapest advance rate and received a Deluxe Room on Club floor with balcony

How are the rooms?
Around 22 sqm

Seating area
Desk

Very comfortable bed

Large flat screen television with very good selection of cable channels.
High speed wifi

Bathroom with a bathtub
Agraria amenities

Very quiet
View over Hyde Park Corner


How is the exec. lounge?

Very pleasant
Excellent service
Very good ŕ la carte and buffet breakfast
Afternoon tea with very good pastries and salted amuse-bouches
Evening drinks and canapés

Most of the time very quiet (with the notable exception when a business man group considered on Sunday afternoon that they could speak loudly and making phone calls with their speaker on: a silence policy would be welcome to prevent such dificulties).


What was good and what was bad?

GOOD
- Very good check-in experience
- Excellent club lounge
- Pleasant room
- Very central location

BAD
-Nothing

Value for $ or IHG Rewards Club Points? Would you return?
Yes


Pictures of the hotel

Pictures of the city

quitecontrary

I just stayed there - just over a week ago and didn't get such a nice upgrade!
Didn't notice the inclusion of food items in the minibar - maybe I should pay more attention to the welcome letter!

nicolas75

I was informed about these changes at reception

stimpy

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?
Reserved Deluxe, given superior junior suite with Club.

How are the rooms?
The room I was in was a bit tired, but they said renovations start Q2/2018. Perhaps I will stay elsewhere until they finish renovating. Also it might be good to wait til the hotel next door is open and the construction is finished.

How is the exec. lounge?
One of the best in terms of service and F&B.

Did you receive a welcome gift?
Fruit and a box of specialty tea.

How was the minibar?
Same as always, which is pretty good.

What was good and what was bad?

-Good
Good consistent service and RA treatment

-Bad
The hotel is ready for renovation, but it won't begin for another year or so.

Value for $ or Priority Club Points?
Yes

nicolas75

Even if I find the rooms very well maintained at IC HKG, I am not a big fan of the interiordesign (not very creative).

Far from the Upper House (and many others), in a city where creative and luxury interior design is more than common.

Mystery7

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 a Standard Room on points, received Junior Suite Opera View

How are the rooms?
Extremely dark and rather a bigger room than a Junior Suite. Nevertheless very elegant and well maintained.

How is the exec. lounge?
No lounge available.

Did you receive a welcome gift?
Fruit and some cookies.

How was the minibar?
Very good, plenty of water, Veuve Cliquot Brut & Rose, red & white wine, usual spirits - was replenished the next morning even though we were checking out that day.

What was good and what was bad?

-Good
Great service
All RA benefits while staying on points, including a generous upgrade
Lovely SPA

-Bad
Internet was almost not usable - was confirmed while checking out that they are aware of the problem and want to change providers soon

Breakfast not adequate for a 'Grand Hotel'. Certainly alright, comparing it to the Amstel or the Le Grand it was quality and quantity wise just not enough.

Value for $ or Priority Club Points?
Great value

Mystery7

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

Which room did you book and which upgrade did you receive?
Booked a Deluxe Room, received a Junior Suite with Lake View

How are the rooms?
Huge entrance area (waste of space), rather small bathroom and a very well designed living-/bedroom.

How is the exec. lounge?
No lounge available.

Did you receive a welcome gift?
Fruit and swiss chocolate.

How was the minibar?
Roederer champagne and a local white wine + usual spirits and soft drinks

What was good and what was bad?

-Good
Upgrade


-Bad
Weird room design
Extremely cheap toilet paper


Value for $ or Priority Club Points?
Generally not at all (paid 490CHF) - in Geneva probably a regular price

stimpy

Well if it is design you are after, I'm sure that the hotel being built next door will be number one in Hong Kong when it opens. So the IC renovation will have to try to keep up with that.

cazane

IC Lisbon
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 Deluxe room for three nights, got upgrade to Club Intercontinental room on 18th floor.

How are the rooms?
Good view over the city down to Tejo River. Room looked very fresh and modern, different to the junior suite I stayed last year. Working desk, one confi-chair, bed is rather queen size. Bathroom has bath tub with shower. Perfect room, if traveling alone, as I do.

How is the exec. lounge?

Excellent breakfast with different kinds of butter (goat, sheep, cow), a good selection of cheese, eggs to order, fresh fruits including grapes, dragon fruit and strawberries.

At afternoon some little cakes and nuts.

At happy hour between 5 and 7 pm some small hot and cold dishes, bread and nuts. For most people probably not sufficient to replace dinner, but if you do not eat much at the evening it's perfect.

One of my favourite IC lounges,
Drinks get served by the staff, which calms down the lounge a lot compared to self service lounges. The atmosphere is quiet and great. Perfect for me. Also really good and strong coffee if you do not take the nespresso but a pot of coffee.
For people who like it noisy, need a window to look outside and judge the "quality" of food by its quantity it may not be the right place to enjoy a club.

Did you receive a welcome gift?
Three bottles of water, including sparkling water and fruits.
No little model of a streetcar like last time.

How was the mini-bar.
A lot of booze, Taittinger and the usual stuff.

What was good and what was bad?

Good

• Sufficient upgrade, with a nice view.
• Even on a Sunday morning, the shower was repaired in a short time, after I have complained to the lounge stuff.
• Lounge staff is very attentive and friendly.
• Room was ready at 12:30 when I did the check-in.

Bad

• Shower hat was not connected to the tube and just felt off. Not possible to screw it again to the tube, because it was really broken. Room cleaning must have known that.

Value for $ or Priority Club Points?
For sure a good value. I probably will spent more money on the room in this hotel if RA expires.
Would you return?
Yes I hope so.

stimpy

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 Superior, given Exec Suite. Told that under new rules IHG rules I'd have to book a Studio Suite to get a Premier Suite

How are the rooms?
Decent design, nowhere near the space of a Premier Suite though.

How is the exec. lounge?
No lounge


Did you receive a welcome gift?
Voss water, fruit and a stylus/pen.

How was the mini-bar.
Boddingtons! The rest is pretty average.

What was good and what was bad?

Good
At least RA's still get a suite
Good health club and steam room

Bad
IHG has dumbed down RA upgrades in the US, thanks to people complaining about not enough uniformity amongst the different properties.
For some reason they deleted my credit card info after I had checked in. So I got a voice mail from the manager to have me come down and swipe my card again. That's pretty sad to not trust an RA who stays at your property often and has a reservation to stay again soon. Of course I ignored the request.

Value for $ or Priority Club Points?
Still a good value

stimpy

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 Superior, given Studio Suite. At check in I was told that under new IHG rules RA no longer get suites at this property. The new RA upgrade is to a Skyview King. But they made an exception for me this time as it was a recent rule change.

How are the rooms?
Not a suite of course with just a short divider from the bed. But still plenty of space which is nice. And a good modern bathroom and shower and great views.

How is the exec. lounge?
No lounge

Did you receive a welcome gift?
Some fruit.

How was the mini-bar.
Tiny split of Moet and average drinks.

What was good and what was bad?

Good
I got a rather cheap price compared to every other similar mid-town hotel.

Bad
A dumbing down of RA upgrades in the US it seems.

Value for $ or Priority Club Points?
Still a good value if the price is right. I would have chosen Starwood in NYC but they were all double the price.

turner32

IC Century city and IC Times Square are 2 examples of how RA loses under the new policy. Neither has a Club lounge, so now we need to pay more to achieve same upgrade. It's a lose/lose

Land-of-Miles

At the IC PL now.

Whilst food items in the minibar have always been free for RA's at the PL in the past they told me when checking in last night that they are now specifically excluded as they moved to the standard rules. Room was a strict 2 cat upgrade (first non suite in years), minbar contents slightly degraded from last stay, given a room with 2 connecting doors and oddly a fully made up collapsible bed which I refused to accept and was moved to a similar room on a lower floor.

Also told no club access for reward stays (this is a paid stay so not a concern) and breakfast can only be taken in the club but they would let me do breakfast in Theo Randall on one day as a special concession.

I haven't stayed here for a few months and am kicking myself for not opting for the IC O2 which was the same rate.

Edited to add gave up in Theo Randall at breakfast this morning trying to get served and returned to a ram packed lounge with not a single table to sit at, waited 10 minutes to be seated and observed several tables for 4 occupied by 1 or 2 and the lower level tables whilst unoccupied were covered in the leftovers of previous guests.

Seriously unimpressed.

nicolas75

+1

My last stay at IC LA in December came with free breakfast coupon for RA still.