IHG Hotels that recognise status

[doctorstrangelove]

Did you enjoy the Kimpton Fitzroy? Need somewhere to stay in london end of the year and walked past it last month and beautiful building but a tad out of the way. I do have Diamond Elite status too, so the perks are there.

Absolutely. But part of my reason for picking it was certainly location (I had an exam nearby and wanted to ensure that I would be only walking distance away on the day of).

- The interior of the hotel is stunning.
- The staff are excellent - a lot of the time I feel uncomfortable when I receive excessive attention from staff at high end properties but they struck the fine balance between someone being available when I needed them and being invisible when I didn't.
- Breakfast was very good (selected amenity).
- The rooms were furbished to a high standard, although small in size. I booked the entry level single room on both occasions and was only fortunate enough to be upgraded to a double on one occasion.
- Kimpton secret password provided a voucher for x2 coughtails at their bar (probably total value $30-40)

I would be very happy to stay there again.

 

[larrymull]

Absolutely. But part of my reason for picking it was certainly location (I had an exam nearby and wanted to ensure that I would be only walking distance away on the day of).

- The interior of the hotel is stunning.
- The staff are excellent - a lot of the time I feel uncomfortable when I receive excessive attention from staff at high end properties but they struck the fine balance between someone being available when I needed them and being invisible when I didn't.
- Breakfast was very good (selected amenity).
- The rooms were furbished to a high standard, although small in size. I booked the entry level single room on both occasions and was only fortunate enough to be upgraded to a double on one occasion.
- Kimpton secret password provided a voucher for x2 coughtails at their bar (probably total value $30-40)

I would be very happy to stay there again.

Perfect, I think i'll book it. Not too far from Convent Garden either.

 

[exceladdict]

Three excellent nights at IC Melbourne recently as Diamond Ambassador, both of which look like they'll be expiring at end of 2023.

Had booked them separately as one award night (33,000 points) followed by the complimentary weekend night, Friday night rate was $409 and the Saturday comp'd with the certificate.

Was very surprised when the first night was upgraded first to a club room and then to what reception described as the second best room in the hotel - shown as a 'signature suite' online but I didn't note down the name of the suite itself. Our check-in receptionist advised that due to the hotel being very full, elite members received substantial upgrades. While the hotel is a bit older, it was definitely an amazing room with more space than we knew what to do with.

We also had lounge access on the first night and had breakfast there, the lounge was elegant, having been recently refurbished. Other two mornings had breakfast at the ground floor restaurant courtesy of diamond.






The hotel (understandably) wasn't able to extend this to the booking over the next two nights, but those nights themselves were upgraded from a 1 king classic to a king premium club with separate bath.



Not bad for $409 out of pocket.

 

[VPS]

Hotel: IHG Holiday inn Geelong
When: November
Status: Diamond Ambassador
Rate: $170
Booked: 1 King Standard
Received: 1 BR suite
Amenity Offered: Breakfast, drink or points. Opted for the breakfast. Nothing in room except a note

Recognition as Diamond several times on Check in and in restaurant and breakfast. Everything was spotless

Hotel has only been open a month and I think I was the first person to use this room because there was still masking tape on the hand basin in the bathroom. Staff were friendly. A few teething problems. Kids coming from the pool still wet and the floors of the lift were wet.

The corridors were way too warm. Penny pinching with the tissue box only having a few tissues shoved in the top of an empty box. I found the bed a bit too firm for my liking and I couldn't get the room below 18 which is too warm for me. I also thought the aircon was quite noisy for a new building.

Good thing was the soap was unscented which is great

Parking was $35 a night and very convoluted.

 

[Kerrodt]

Does anyone know the current Kimpton secret code? Is there another thread for it? I did a search and came up with nothing. Staying at Kimpton Sydney over the weekend and need the code for the extra perks.
Thanks.

 

[sudoer]

Does anyone know the current Kimpton secret code? Is there another thread for it? I did a search and came up with nothing. Staying at Kimpton Sydney over the weekend and need the code for the extra perks.
Thanks.

Try 'chalet all day' - YMMV

FlyerTalk Forums - View Single Post - The Kimpton Hotels Secret Password Experience Thread (2019 Onward)

Post 35760777 - FlyerTalk is a living, growing community where frequent travelers around the world come to exchange knowledge and experiences about everything miles and points related.

www.flyertalk.com

 

[bussyboy]

Last one I remember was "The Snuggle is Real"

 

[sudoer]

Last one I remember was "The Snuggle is Real"

"No shade" came after that:

Kimpton Social Password Out For Summer 2023 (May 26 – September 3)

New Kimpton Social Password is out for Summer 2023!

loyaltylobby.com

 

[dairyfloss]

Three excellent nights at IC Melbourne recently as Diamond Ambassador, both of which look like they'll be expiring at end of 2023.

Had booked them separately as one award night (33,000 points) followed by the complimentary weekend night, Friday night rate was $409 and the Saturday comp'd with the certificate.

Was very surprised when the first night was upgraded first to a club room and then to what reception described as the second best room in the hotel - shown as a 'signature suite' online but I didn't note down the name of the suite itself. Our check-in receptionist advised that due to the hotel being very full, elite members received substantial upgrades. While the hotel is a bit older, it was definitely an amazing room with more space than we knew what to do with.

We also had lounge access on the first night and had breakfast there, the lounge was elegant, having been recently refurbished. Other two mornings had breakfast at the ground floor restaurant courtesy of diamond.

View attachment 354027

View attachment 354029

View attachment 354030
The hotel (understandably) wasn't able to extend this to the booking over the next two nights, but those nights themselves were upgraded from a 1 king classic to a king premium club with separate bath.

View attachment 354031

Not bad for $409 out of pocket.

Wow - was the 'beer garden' a part of that suite? Never seen anything like that in an IC!

 

[exceladdict]

Wow - was the 'beer garden' a part of that suite? Never seen anything like that in an IC!

Seemed to be, it was behind a door that needed your room key to access. I think a fire exit from the hallway escaped into the area might go via the outdoor area but am not 100%. There was a separate locked door before the room itself.

 

[kamchatsky]

Last one I remember was "The Snuggle is Real"

Used it for Kimpton SF Fisherman's Wharf and Kimpton Angler Miami, and got great perks from them

 

[pauly7]

Does anyone know the current Kimpton secret code? Is there another thread for it? I did a search and came up with nothing. Staying at Kimpton Sydney over the weekend and need the code for the extra perks.
Thanks.

Does Sydney Kimpton partake in this? I thought I read they didn’t…?

 

[sudoer]

Does Sydney Kimpton partake in this? I thought I read they didn’t…?

Mixed experiences:

FlyerTalk Forums - View Single Post - The Kimpton Hotels Secret Password Experience Thread (2019 Onward)

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Post 35461737 - FlyerTalk is a living, growing community where frequent travelers around the world come to exchange knowledge and experiences about everything miles and points related.

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[kerfuffle]

Mixed experiences:

FlyerTalk Forums - View Single Post - The Kimpton Hotels Secret Password Experience Thread (2019 Onward)

Post 34794970 - FlyerTalk is a living, growing community where frequent travelers around the world come to exchange knowledge and experiences about everything miles and points related.

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FlyerTalk Forums - View Single Post - The Kimpton Hotels Secret Password Experience Thread (2019 Onward)

Post 35461737 - FlyerTalk is a living, growing community where frequent travelers around the world come to exchange knowledge and experiences about everything miles and points related.

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Same experience with the hot chocolate when I tried at the end of June

 

[The-Aviator]

Hotel: InterContinental Melbourne The Rialto
When: November 2023
Status: Diamond Ambassador
Rate: $317/night (Visa partner rate)
Booked: 1 King Classic
Received: Initially upgraded to 1 King Classic Atrium View shortly after booking, upgraded again the day before arrival to 1 King Premium Club Lounge Access Separate Bath (Club access not provided, but otherwise considered a four-category upgrade)

A nice stay overall. Arrived at about 10:15pm and was warmly greeted by the bell desk team and receptionist Tamara. Late check-out and diamond amenity proactively offered, I took the breakfast.

The room was nice and extremely large, more than enough room for my short 3-night stay. Amenities from Byredo, a fully stocked minibar and TV with a range of free and cable channels although no Chromecast (edit: advised there is Chromecast but I just didn't find it!). Rooms are on the older side but still mostly functional. The air conditioning required you to leave your key in the slot and although it claimed to go down to as low as 18 degrees I don't think it was actually 18 degrees. The Wi-Fi was slow to the point of being unusable for anything beyond the most basic tasks. I had to take some work video calls and needed to hotspot from my phone it was that bad. Housekeeping was good with bottled water replenished each day.

The breakfast was good with a lot of variety and everything was high quality. On the first day the cooked-to-order omelettes were very small but they got better on the second and third days (new chef). Barista coffee is included and the service from Angélica and Juan was second to none!

The hotel has a nice location on Collins Street, there's a free tram stop nearby and a lot of attractions are in comfortable walking distance. The hotel itself is quite impressive, especially the atrium, but there is definitely a need for some refurbishment. The floorboards in the hallways on each floor were extremely creaky and in need of fixing.

We stopped by the hotel bar for after-dinner drinks on Saturday night and got the feeling from the get-go that they were keen to close. They came to get our order twice and on the second go went "oh gee!" when an elderly person in our group was still trying to decide. When drinks eventually arrived they brought the bill with it. It was odd because all this happened at around 9-9.15pm and they only came around to say last drinks at close to 10pm so I'm not sure why they were in such a rush.

Last annoyance I have is that the hotel imposes a deposit of $100/night. I think this is excessive in this day and age, a lot of hotels are taking a lot less than that or even nothing. For a short stay it's fine but there was a guy checking in when we were checking out who was having a $500 deposit taken for a 5-night stay! They should reduce this to something more reasonable, it's an unnecessary annoyance for guests. Thankfully was returned pretty quickly after check-out.

All that said, still an enjoyable experience and would be happy to return.

 

[kerfuffle]

Hotel: InterContinental Melbourne The Rialto
When: November 2023
Status: Diamond Ambassador
Rate: $317/night (Visa partner rate)
Booked: 1 King Classic
Received: Initially upgraded to 1 King Classic Atrium View shortly after booking, upgraded again the day before arrival to 1 King Premium Club Lounge Access Separate Bath (Club access not provided, but otherwise considered a four-category upgrade)

The room was nice and extremely large, more than enough room for my short 3-night stay. Amenities from Byredo, a fully stocked minibar and TV with a range of free and cable channels although no Chromecast. Rooms are on the older side but still mostly functional. The air conditioning required you to leave your key in the slot and although it claimed to go down to as low as 18 degrees I don't think it was actually 18 degrees. The Wi-Fi was slow to the point of being unusable for anything beyond the most basic tasks. I had to take some work video calls and needed to hotspot from my phone it was that bad. Housekeeping was good with bottled water replenished each day.

There's Chromecast. You have to change to HDMI. It's not like other IHGs with their merry music (if you've stayed at voco Melbourne Central or Kimpton Margot, you know what I'm talking about) where your name is on the screen and everything.

Source: stayed there twice this year

 

[kerfuffle]

Hotel: InterContinental Perth City Centre
When: November 27-29
Status: Diamond Ambassador
Rate: Best Flexible Rate (room was about $337/night)
Booked: 1 King Classic
Received: 1 King Classic City View 1 King Junior Suite City View Club Lounge Access
I said this was for my birthday as the purpose for my stay, so they upgraded me to a suite as a birthday present. They were able to verify it was indeed my birthday as I put it in my IHG membership details. Considering the hotel was at capacity, I was stoked!
Amenity Offered: Breakfast, drinks or 600 points. Opted for the breakfast. Also received a block of chocolate from the Margaret River region along with a typed welcome card.

Great way to end my final holiday for the year! Space for days, ample towel hooks (looking at you IC Sydney), and the remote control was concealed in its own box, which I was very much amused by. Very swanky and now that I've stayed in all the ICs in capital cities (Double Bay doesn't count), probably my favourite one I've stayed at. The bar on Level 1 has a decent wine list (I used my Ambassador credit here, which reception reminded me of when I checked in, as well as asking if I needed a late check-out; two thumbs up for that) and the lady who was looking after my tables at breakfast is so lovely and enthusiastic! Turndown service/water replenishment service doesn't seem to be an automatic thing like IC Adelaide and Melbourne. Would happily stay here again.

(Is IC Double Bay worh doing a staycation at?)

Edit: Forgot to add that this is the only IC I've stayed at in Australia where little bottles of Colgate mouthwash are part of the bathroom amenities!

 

[drron]

The IC Double Bay is the hotel we stay at in Sydney as closest to our family. service always good, decent breakfast and upgrade to Bay view room. 2-3 times upgraded to a suite and once got lounge access. But that is in ~ 25 stays.

 

[larrymull]

The IC Double Bay is the hotel we stay at in Sydney as closest to our family. service always good, decent breakfast and upgrade to Bay view room. 2-3 times upgraded to a suite and once got lounge access. But that is in ~ 25 stays.

I stay there every few weeks. They are good, however the staff turnover has been crazy. Everytime I'm staying there, there are always new staff, especially at Breakfast. It is almost like they use agency staff. It is a popular hotel and as a result the rates seem more expensive than the other IC, Kimpton hotel in the city.

 

[larrymull]

Hotel: Kimpton Margot, Sydney
When: December 2023
Status: Diamond Elite
Rate: $330 a night
Booked: 1 King Bed Essential
Received: Upgraded to a bigger King and for being in Sydney CBD this was a big room and very comfortable. Opted for the breakfast at check in but if you order a 2nd coffee they charge you for it. Used the 'Chalet all day' password and was going to receive some drink vouchers but they never came. Instead at check out they apologised and gave me extra points.

All in all this is a very nice hotel in a comfortable part of Sydney CBD. I usually stay down in Double Bay as car parking is cheaper. If I can find a cheap rate for car parking I might have to make more use of this hotel, and it is cheaper than IHC DBay.