Voco brand discussion (Gold Coast, Dubai, Cardiff, etc)
#31
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: Korea, USA
Programs: IC Dia RA / Marriott LT Plat / WOH Globalist / Hilton Diamond / OZ Diamond Plus
Posts: 340
Voco, Indigo, Kimpton, Crowne Plaze, Regent.. and we still don't get free breakfast.
What a useless '75-qualifying-night' Spire tier..
What a useless '75-qualifying-night' Spire tier..
#32
Join Date: Apr 2016
Programs: Bonvoy Titanium, Hilton Diamond, BA Silver, IHG Spire, AMEX Plat
Posts: 566
Parking is free on Manor Road from 7pm to 8.30am (starts earlier further from the hotel).
I don't know how much you can trust IHG website reviews but they are surprisingly negative for this hotel (though there aren't that many in total), even some of the nearby HIXs do better.
Oddly it redeems at 12500 points rather than the usual more rounded numbers... though if I really wanted to save points I'd rather stay at HIX Castle Bromwich
I don't know how much you can trust IHG website reviews but they are surprisingly negative for this hotel (though there aren't that many in total), even some of the nearby HIXs do better.
Oddly it redeems at 12500 points rather than the usual more rounded numbers... though if I really wanted to save points I'd rather stay at HIX Castle Bromwich
#33
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Feb 2002
Location: Montreux CH
Programs: FB Platinum, M&M FTL, BA Blue
Posts: 11,528
Parking is free on Manor Road from 7pm to 8.30am (starts earlier further from the hotel).
I don't know how much you can trust IHG website reviews but they are surprisingly negative for this hotel (though there aren't that many in total), even some of the nearby HIXs do better.
Oddly it redeems at 12500 points rather than the usual more rounded numbers... though if I really wanted to save points I'd rather stay at HIX Castle Bromwich
I don't know how much you can trust IHG website reviews but they are surprisingly negative for this hotel (though there aren't that many in total), even some of the nearby HIXs do better.
Oddly it redeems at 12500 points rather than the usual more rounded numbers... though if I really wanted to save points I'd rather stay at HIX Castle Bromwich
#34
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Somewhere in Europe
Posts: 3,362
#36
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Feb 2002
Location: Montreux CH
Programs: FB Platinum, M&M FTL, BA Blue
Posts: 11,528
I completed my stay at the voco St. John's Solihull and really enjoyed it. All the elite benefits were given out, such as free drinks (the bartender actually gave me two, a craft brew from Cornwall). The public areas of the hotel were pleasant, with the light yellow and grey colour scheme. Parking was free on a single yellow line in a nearby street and I reckon you could have parked in Morrison's supermarket without any issues. Breakfast was not free, however, but I did not try it because I had an early flight.
The room was very pleasant and seemed to be newly refurbished. It was quite a distance from reception, down a series of corridors past function rooms and up on the 4th floor. There was, however, a woman getting very loudly humped for quite a while, which drove me down to the bar for my beers. The yells and shrieks were audible in the bathroom even with the doors closed (so, the place is not exactly sound proofed). In the corridor, heads were popping out, in addition to my own, trying to establish where the noise was coming from (it was three doors down on the other side of the corridor, which shows how thin the walls are).
The room was very pleasant and seemed to be newly refurbished. It was quite a distance from reception, down a series of corridors past function rooms and up on the 4th floor. There was, however, a woman getting very loudly humped for quite a while, which drove me down to the bar for my beers. The yells and shrieks were audible in the bathroom even with the doors closed (so, the place is not exactly sound proofed). In the corridor, heads were popping out, in addition to my own, trying to establish where the noise was coming from (it was three doors down on the other side of the corridor, which shows how thin the walls are).
#39
#40
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Feb 2002
Location: Montreux CH
Programs: FB Platinum, M&M FTL, BA Blue
Posts: 11,528
You're no doubt right, I didn't check it out. Maybe they put their slippers on at night and don't police it too much. But really, just driving around a bit it's easy to find overnight on street parking on a single yellow line. I definitely wouldn't pay the 15 quid voco is asking for.
#42
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: United Arab Emirates & Arizona, USA
Programs: UA MM/1P, EK Au, QR, TK, Marriott Life Ti, Hilton Dia, IC Dia, Hyatt Glob, Accor Pt, Shangri-La
Posts: 4,520
The hotel is fine; rooms and bathrooms are pretty nice, though the room is really small by Dubai standards. There is no dedicated thread for this hotel and it doesn't really warrant one.
#43
Suspended
Join Date: Aug 2013
Location: Southern California, USA
Programs: Marriott Ambassador and LTT, UA Plat/LT Gold, AA Gold
Posts: 8,764
Is it just me or does IHG seem to be lax on creating any sort of global brand excitement and standards for this supposedly luxury brand? This seems a very weak attempt for IHG.
#44
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: United Arab Emirates & Arizona, USA
Programs: UA MM/1P, EK Au, QR, TK, Marriott Life Ti, Hilton Dia, IC Dia, Hyatt Glob, Accor Pt, Shangri-La
Posts: 4,520
I've explored the Dubai Voco a bit more and must say I agree with bhrubin's characterization as weak. The room is pretty elegant, with a comfortable bed and large shower (with a bathtub inside) with horizontal jets and acceptable pressure though not a rain shower overhead. Aveda wall dispensers with a bar of soap. One positive is the coffee service: in-room filter coffee is rare in Dubai; here they have a filter bag of coffee (like a large teabag) and a kettle, along with a Nespresso-type machine and individually wrapped cookies.
I mentioned that the room is tiny. The length of the bed takes up almost the whole width of the room. Although the furnishings are nice, the layout is not optimal. The room has a lot of master buttons for the lights, which work well and the lighting is better than average overall. AC is very finicky. I set it to 24C all the time, but it always was cooler.
The F&B is uninspired, with a pricey contemporary Indian restaurant (not sure I want to pay AED 100-130 for starters at this hotel), semi-buffet (dinner is a narrow selection of standard soup and salad with choice of a main course, very basic offerings like mixed grill, pizza, pasta), and a Lebanese night club, like a million others in Dubai, that opens at midnight. Bar on the top floor is basic too. There is a small infinity pool on top of the parking garage (typical in this neighbhorhood) with decent views but it's surprisingly dumpy.
The front desk service is surly, almost like they're trying for the aloof vibe that is fashionable these days. Bell service is good though. I have experienced several small annoyances that are typical in the region but not like the "luxury" that they promise. The list of restaurant opening hours on the TV is totally wrong, as are the messages in the elevators, as is the list of TV channels. They didn't deliver the advertised happy hour, saying instead that they had a "new promotion." The TV and VOIP phone were inoperable for hours, which they blamed on the dreaded "system upgrade" (this was in the afternoon and evening hours not overnight).
Spire benefits are minimal, though that is an ICHG issue and they seem to comply with the T&C. Not sure why they didn't give me access to the Club Lounge (I mislabled this as Executive Lounge above). I don't recall ever being denied access to this at an ICHG group hotel (other than an InterContinental of course) that had one.
I mentioned that the room is tiny. The length of the bed takes up almost the whole width of the room. Although the furnishings are nice, the layout is not optimal. The room has a lot of master buttons for the lights, which work well and the lighting is better than average overall. AC is very finicky. I set it to 24C all the time, but it always was cooler.
The F&B is uninspired, with a pricey contemporary Indian restaurant (not sure I want to pay AED 100-130 for starters at this hotel), semi-buffet (dinner is a narrow selection of standard soup and salad with choice of a main course, very basic offerings like mixed grill, pizza, pasta), and a Lebanese night club, like a million others in Dubai, that opens at midnight. Bar on the top floor is basic too. There is a small infinity pool on top of the parking garage (typical in this neighbhorhood) with decent views but it's surprisingly dumpy.
The front desk service is surly, almost like they're trying for the aloof vibe that is fashionable these days. Bell service is good though. I have experienced several small annoyances that are typical in the region but not like the "luxury" that they promise. The list of restaurant opening hours on the TV is totally wrong, as are the messages in the elevators, as is the list of TV channels. They didn't deliver the advertised happy hour, saying instead that they had a "new promotion." The TV and VOIP phone were inoperable for hours, which they blamed on the dreaded "system upgrade" (this was in the afternoon and evening hours not overnight).
Spire benefits are minimal, though that is an ICHG issue and they seem to comply with the T&C. Not sure why they didn't give me access to the Club Lounge (I mislabled this as Executive Lounge above). I don't recall ever being denied access to this at an ICHG group hotel (other than an InterContinental of course) that had one.
#45
Join Date: Dec 2015
Posts: 91
I stayed once at the Solihull Voco and thought it a perfectly nice, reasonably priced mid-range property. The word luxury didnt cross my mind though.