IHG Hotels that recognise status

[ols]

Great info thanks. I'll look at a room w' club access.

Post automatically merged: Oct 29, 2023

Is the club lounge worth paying extra for or pretty ordinary?

Haven't been in club lounge at IC Sydney. A room with club access won't be cheap but I'm sure it;s nice.
Best spot is the bar on the top floor with wonderful views, if you can get in there,

 

[get me outta here]

I checked out the price of a room with club access at well over $500 a night. As I'm not travelling at the moment I don't think I will pay to join ambassador, although I should price it out to see if it's actually worth it just for this next trip.

 

[dairyfloss]

I checked out the price of a room with club access at well over $500 a night. As I'm not travelling at the moment I don't think I will pay to join ambassador, although I should price it out to see if it's actually worth it just for this next trip.

Very hard to redeem the AMB free weekend night at IC Sydney, and every harder during peak periods, like when you are looking to stay. The 'guaranteed' upgrade may add some value if you are going to stay a couple of nights or more. The other benefits with AMB are that it gives you back IHG Platinum Elite status through the end of next year, without any stays needed, plus you also get a USD$20 F&B credit at the property, and late checkout to 4PM [in many/most properties - not sure how kind IC Sydney are in this regard).

As for the lounge - I've not been up there since it was renovated, but it is one of the best positions in Sydney, and may be worth it for that wow factor view alone, but it depends on what you're after and what you're willing to pay. The club used to be on the top floor (L32), but it has moved down a level, with the top floor now their flagship Aster Bar (& Dining). Club guests do have their breakfast at Aster, though, so you still get to experience that in the mornings as a Club guest, but then it's L31 for the remainder.

You could also skip the Club room and high cost differential, and just book to have drinks at Aster instead? Aster page, here: Exclusive Rooftop Bar

Cheers,
Matt.

 

[get me outta here]

Thank you very much Matt.

 

[Beano]

I checked out the price of a room with club access at well over $500 a night. As I'm not travelling at the moment I don't think I will pay to join ambassador, although I should price it out to see if it's actually worth it just for this next trip.

I had IC club access once but arrived late and it was closed. Breakfast was in a separate room, which was nice.

 

[get me outta here]

The "Exclusive Rooftop Bar" is actually closed 25-28 Dec. it's looking less likely for me to stay there.

 

[kerfuffle]

Hotel: Hotel X Brisbane Fortitude Valley
When: October 28-29
Status: Diamond Ambassador
Rate: Westpac Partner Rate at $319/night
Booked: 1 King Standard
Received: 1 King Standard Urban View (this was upgraded two months prior to my stay; I think if the hotel was not at capacity, I could have received another upgrade)
Amenity Offered: Breakfast, drink or 600 points. Opted for the breakfast. Also received a block of artisan chocolate that was being sold for $16 from the minibar and a double pass to the Brisbane International Film Festival that was e-mailed to me a few days before my arrival (Hotel X is a festival partner). Breakfast is cooked to order from the Guest Package menu. Surprisingly no water offered; as it was just overnight, I didn't ask about it.

Very stylish hotel; not every day your hotel slippers matches the bathroom interior! A wee bit far from the city for my liking but at least it's just a short bus ride away, and was convenient for the Brisbane Powerhouse which is why I stayed there. There's also a Mercedes SUV that will drive you around the area too. I asked for a 2 p.m. checkout so I could use my pass at New Farm Cinemas and it was given without any issue. The hairdryer was standard hotel issue (pretty decent but wasn't too fond of the telephone-style cord), but the provided hair straightener was GHD (I think better rooms have a GHD or Dyson hairdryer in addition).

Con: They tried to slug a Mars Bar and a KitKat onto my bill. Err, nope; I can just walk to Coles, Woolies or IGA instead for those. Short people problems meant that I kept hitting my head on the hanging light fixture every time I went to grab something from the bedside table

 

[Beano]

Just remember to have your loyalty number in the booking. My travel booker doesn't add loyalty numbers so i have to phone ahead. I forgot this time so ended in a backroom of a full hotel. They kindly told me i would have been upgraded if they had known earlier.

 

[kerfuffle]

Just remember to have your loyalty number in the booking. My travel booker doesn't add loyalty numbers so i have to phone ahead. I forgot this time so ended in a backroom of a full hotel. They kindly told me i would have been upgraded if they had known earlier.

I book via the IHG app which has my membership number, hence why my room was upgraded months in advance.

 

[Beano]

I book via the IHG app which has my membership number, hence why my room was upgraded months in advance.

I'm not allowed to self book

 

[pauly7]

I'm not allowed to self book

Most corporates aren’t sigh, I feel your pain.

 

[dairyfloss]

Most corporates aren’t sigh, I feel your pain.

This said… I’ve had no issues with corporate made bookings (i.e. via company agent (TMC) or OBT) appearing in the IHG app, complete with pre-arrival upgrades, etc.

So long as the corporate has the provision for traveller profiles, which contain FT numbers and the like, this shouldn’t be a big deal.

Cheers,
Matt.

 

[pauly7]

This said… I’ve had no issues with corporate made bookings (i.e. via company agent (TMC) or OBT) appearing in the IHG app, complete with pre-arrival upgrades, etc.

So long as the corporate has the provision for traveller profiles, which contain FT numbers and the like, this shouldn’t be a big deal.

Cheers,
Matt.

It can be a very big deal - as it depends entirely on your corporate travel portal backend provider(s).

For example one I have to use plugs into a normal GDS, our global corporate rates (both fine for points / benefits) but our tight procurement team also have it pull up cheapie.com rates through the usual suspects that negate all points earning / benefits…. It’s pretty annoying (for the avid AFF profile)!

 

[dairyfloss]

It can be a very big deal - as it depends entirely on your corporate travel portal backend provider(s).

For example one I have to use plugs into a normal GDS, our global corporate rates (both fine for points / benefits) but our tight procurement team also have it pull up cheapie.com rates through the usual suspects that negate all points earning / benefits…. It’s pretty annoying (for the avid AFF profile)!

Sorry to hear that - we have blocked basically anything pre-paid or restrictive from available inventories in our OBT, so we won't have this concern. It's true it could be included though, if they were cruel enough.

 

[pauly7]

Sorry to hear that - we have blocked basically anything pre-paid or restrictive from available inventories in our OBT, so we won't have this concern. It's true it could be included though, if they were cruel enough.

Many many corporates are, trust me

For the savvy travellers you can dig into the backend and make sure you aren’t booking the cough rate providers.

 

[dairyfloss]

Many many corporates are, trust me

For the savvy travellers you can dig into the backend and make sure you aren’t booking the cough rate providers.

Yes - we can see and are encouraged to check the terms and inclusions before booking... so any who are 'in the know' would hopefully be safe from such traps if there was OTA or other 3rd party inventory loaded. Thankfully, individuals are able to select from any available options, so long as in accordance with their department budget or leader approvals.

Flights, on the other hand... ugh... don't get me started!

 

[trippin_the_rift]

Each time I'm asked about welcome points or drink/bfast, I opt for the F&B, which I receive.
But on 100% of my stays this year, I've ALSO received the welcome points.

Is this normal?

 

[kerfuffle]

Is this normal?

No. You just got lucky. Only place I've had that applied consistently (2/2 so far) is at IC Adelaide, where I always opt for breakfast

 

[doctorstrangelove]

Each time I'm asked about welcome points or drink/bfast, I opt for the F&B, which I receive.
But on 100% of my stays this year, I've ALSO received the welcome points.

Is this normal?

Albeit from my small sample size of x3 IHG properties in the past year I can confirm this is 100% normal: IC Jordan, IC Dhaka, & Kimpton Fitzroy London (twice) have all credited me with the welcome bonus despite choosing breakfast as an amenity.

 

[larrymull]

Albeit from my small sample size of x3 IHG properties in the past year I can confirm this is 100% normal: IC Jordan, IC Dhaka, & Kimpton Fitzroy London (twice) have all credited me with the welcome bonus despite choosing breakfast as an amenity.

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.