albertherrera

This hotel just opened last Dec 15. Would anyone know if it's any good? I have Ambassador status with IC and think that it ought to be a good alternative to the lackluster offerings the city has (Crown and Park Hyatt). What are your thoughts?

obscure2k

Welcome to Flyertalk, albertherrera
I am moving your thread to the Intercontinental Forum for discussion.
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Obscure2k
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Luxury Hotels

Kiwi Flyer

Welcome to Flyer Talk albertherrera

I have a stay there next month. If no one has reported back by then I'll post some comments.

jbrook06

Stayed there earlier this month.

There was a few teathing problems which i put down to having just opened. The main problems being phones and TV didn't work between 10PM-5AM which made it extrememly irratating ordering room service late at night!

Club lounge wasn't open yet when i was there and the main bar didn't have a liquor liscence yet but I imagine this would be sorted by now.

In terms of an upgrade I booked the King Deluxe room and recieved a Club Room without Club Access (they said even if it were open I wouldn't have recieved access). Fairly dissapointing upgrade as an RA.

The minibar is well stocked with Tattinger Champange and lots of beer and spirits which was taken full advantage of.

Overall it wasn't that bad and am going to stay there New Years Eve so hopefully some improvements have been made by then.

boar

I am staying there next month for 10 days on a Priority
Privilege deal which gives PP members unlimited BOGO's
until the end of January. This equates to A$147.5 a night
which is an absolute bargain.

I have booked the cheapest room & will be upgraded to
a Club Room. The bad news is that the club will not open
until mid January. It appears the licensing issues haven't
been resolved.

Yet more red tape from the World Champions of red tape
& regulations!

piotrzdebik

can you tell me how to access that privileged deal?

CHC Kiwi

I've just been told by an IC that Ambassador upgrades aren't able to be combined with Priority Privilege. Has the IC Melbourne indicated otherwise?

Great PP BOGO deal, eh? Been using it in NZ.

boar

Yes I believe so - will only know for sure when I get there.

markis10

Dont expect a bath in the standard rooms - some press here:

http://www.smh.com.au/travel/hotel-t...0109-7dh4.html

boar

Not a good start.

I arrived last night expecting a Club room with access to their Club benefits.
(The lounge will not open until the license is obtained. Surely this could have been obtained before the hotel's opening. This could only happen in Australia!)
I originally rang the hotel's reservation dept to ask what room I needed to book in order to be upgraded to a Club Room with Club access or benefits.
Not only was I told I could book the cheapest room, the Rialto, but I was also booked into a Club Room for a 10 night stay taking advantage of their opening special through Priority Privilege.
Several days later I checked my PC acct and noticed the stay was only for 2 nights. I rang several times to have this rectified and finally the reservation was changed to a different room rate at a much higher price but for 10 nights.
During my next call the reservations manager tried to renege on the original offer but did eventually agree to honour the offer.
Of course when I arrived she had only honoured the part which included the club room with no club benefits. Clearly she felt reneging on a deal with one of the hotel's first RA's was the right way to proceed.

The duty manager (US Oscar winning documentary maker) was completely useless. Hard to fathom how he had been appointed to such a post.
Didnt appear to have any understanding of the RA system and made no concialiatory gestures/offers.

The gentleman who took over the matter has been far more professional.
He did outline the upgrade benefits for RA's (Ambassadors may receive identical upgrades) :

'Should you book a Rialto room or a Deluxe room, you would get an upgrade to a Premium room, which are our largest and coziest rooms

Should you book a Premium room, you would then get an upgrade to a Club room with Club benefits

Should you book a Club Room, you would then get a Premium Club room with Club benefits'

He also offered me the Club benefits ( a few drinks/canopes in the bar plus breakfast) for 5 of my 10 nights & has since offered me free internet.


I do hope the ICHG includes Club access for all RA's when they make changes to the program in February. This will at least put RA's on the same playing field as their elite counterparts at the other major upmarket hotel chains.


I will keep you updated on any developments.

LATEST UPDATE I have been offered Full Club benefits for the entire stay which is a satisfactory conclusion to the episode.

davidhii

Got a one-night no show penalty even though I explained many times to them its a mix up when I tried to book for a colleague. They are either very strict or just plain hard to work with.

Aisle Seat H

Unbelievable.

Other info. on this place most disappointing too. What a let down.

Won't be staying here then. Seeing as HI on Flinders always upgrade me to a suite, and it has a bath and is only just round the corner from the new IC, I'll be staying there instead.

turtlemichael

Quite surprising. I guess they are not planning on capturing the bath loving Japanese business market either.

Kiwi Flyer

Club is still not open and tv in my room was on the fritz. For what they charge I do not think it was worth it.

I should have stayed somewhere else

Yakitori

Could someone tell me where the best website to book IC Melbourne would be that would still give me the Ambassador benefits?

I wouldn't mind trying this hotel but not at their rack rate, based on people's reviews, so I'm trying to do this as cheaply as possible.