IHG Hotels that recognise status

[Beano]

There is an IHG hotel in Sydney which more often than not gives me at least a one level upgrade and sometimes to a suite of which there are at least two varieties. (I pay for the cheapest room) One suite has two rooms, double basins, and separate toilet. Another is one long room (the TV looks very small from the bed), double basins, spa bath and full height and width window with a spectacular view of the Opera House, Bridge and CBD. Great place to view Vivid. Power points still behind the bed.
I think it is more personal than just being an IHG Platinum Elite. I stay there regularly and get to know the staff, including the managers.

 

[bussyboy]

Good review and value received—in the heart of ADL. I was pleased they invited you to join the club as a PA. Smart move.

I'm staying there in late July, so let's see if it's more than a glitch.

Just checking - club lounge access is an exception to the policy and shouldn't be expected?
I understood you need to book a room/rate that includes access, and can't just upgrade into it.

 

[dairyfloss]

Just checking - club lounge access is an exception to the policy and shouldn't be expected?
I understood you need to book a room/rate that includes access, and can't just upgrade into it.

Yes - usually the case. There are some properties that will offer it when upgraded into a Club Room or Suite, but they are easily the exception, these days.

 

[Beano]

Yes - usually the case. There are some properties that will offer it when upgraded into a Club Room or Suite, but they are easily the exception, these days.

I was upgraded and had access to the club room at the Intercontinental Adelaide. Not every IHG hotel has a club room.

 

[dairyfloss]

I was upgraded and had access to the club room at the Intercontinental Adelaide. Not every IHG hotel has a club room.

The example up-thread was from the IC ADL, as well

 

[Beano]

I am disappointed if I don't get an upgrade at any IHG hotel. The trick is to make sure my loyalty number is in the booking. I always phone ahead to make sure, except at one hotel in Sydney where I am known and stay a lot.

 

[ShrinkWrapped]

Voco Melbourne Central

When: June 2024
Status: Diamond Ambassador
Rate: Whatever the flexible rate rate last month with the triple points bonus
Booked Room: 1 king bed standard
Received Room: 1 king bed premium high floor city view (3 step upgrade?)

Amenity - chose breakfast

I’ve stayed at the Voco more times than I should admit partly because it is close to my workplace in Melbourne where I can roll out and walk to the office. It is a reasonably solid hotel in the grand scheme of things.

Nearly always get the upgrade to the premium high floor city view. Reasonably ok bathroom (no bathtub), decent air con, decent bed. I always come for free sparkling water available at all times of the day (can take 750ml bottles back to the room).

Breakfast is generically hotel like, but does the job. Allowed 1 barista coffee without extra charge.

There is a pool but I’ve never used it so don’t know if it is actually any good.

 

[Lynda2475]

(no bathtub)

A huge plus imo

free sparkling water available at all times of the day (can take 750ml bottles back to the room).

Is this for Diamond only? I was a platinum last stay and wanst told about this, on floor seem to only have bottles to refill from a still water fountain - do you need to go somewhere else for sparkling?

Im staying at Voco again in Oct.

 

[ShrinkWrapped]

A huge plus imo



Is this for Diamond only? I was a platinum last stay and wanst told about this, on floor seem to only have bottles to refill from a still water fountain - do you need to go somewhere else for sparkling?

Im staying at Voco again in Oct.

Sparkling water is on the main level 6 foyer to the side of main reception by the conference rooms
just help yourself to bottles in the fridge which was 750ml each.
bring bottles back down to refill if you need

still water also available

 

[drron]

CP Changi Airport.

When -June 2024
Status -Diamond Ambassador

Booked -classic king Senior rate
Received Premium king, pool view, top floor

Chose points as the lounge was still open when we arrived.

Has separate shower and large bath. Shower only is my deal breaker. Mobility and balance issues make showers dangerous places.
Lounge staff are great. We checked in and out in the lounge. There was a line nearly out the door when we arrived in the lobby.
Much better when the lounge manager says just give me the passports and I will do the paperwork out here whilst you go inside and get something to eat and drink. We had arrived just 15 minutes before evening service was to close.

 

[kerfuffle]

Double hotel post (one of of three coming this season)

Hotel: InterContinental Sydney
When: June 6-7
Status: Diamond Ambassador
Rate: 15% off Rewards Night at 32 300 points/night
Booked: 1 King Classic City View
Received: 1 King Classic East Harbour View (not as great as last time and was upgraded pretty late because Vivid). Tried to ask for an Opera House room since there were still some left and got politely rejected after reception made enquiries with Housekeeping. Could still see the Opera House if I squished my face against the window haha.
Amenity Offered: Breakfast, drink or 600 points. Took the 600 points because breakfast was going to be hectic, being Vivid (and I had a morning flight), and the bar would be hectic at night. Still waiting for those 600 points to land in my account ...

Definitely one of the best hotels to stay at during Vivid! Already booked my Opera House room for next year's Vivid opening night, but will probably end up cancelling as it's kinda hard to justify spending good coin on an IC Sydney stay as a Sydneysider (which is why every stay here has been on points); that money would be better spent on Vivid LIVE tickets ...


Hotel: voco Brisbane City Centre
When: June 7-8
Status: Diamond Ambassador
Rate: The one where it was 20% off at $198.95/night (I missed out on the triple points as I cancelled and rebooked when Cashrewards had boosted cashback for IHG)
Booked: 1 Queen Bed Standard
Received: 1 King Bed Premium River View (same as last time but one floor below). Interestingly, the upgrade never showed up in the app so despite getting the reservation upgraded e-mail, I didn't know what I was given until check-in.
Amenity Offered: Breakfast, drink or 600 points. Took the breakfast. Now includes one cup of barista-made coffee for Diamond members.

Still my favourite Brisbane IHG hotel for the reasonable prices, location and service.

 

[Solid]

Hotel: Margot Kimpton Sydney
When: July 2024
Status: Diamond
Booked: Mackey Suite
Received: Mackey Suite
Amenity Offered: None offered at checkin - see comments below
Kimpton Secret Passphrase: Gave the passphrase "Good for the Sol", received two drink vouchers.

Fairly underwhelming stay and in no rush to go back to this hotel. The room wasn't available at checkin and we were offered two drinks vouchers which we accepted. 40 minute wait for the room. Room wasn't overly tidy with some rubbish left behind and plastic clothes tags on the floor in the bathroom.

There was a complimentary bottle of Tattinger in the room which was a nice touch and appreciated, not sure whether that was for the delay or being Diamond.

Whether it was bad luck or not, all staff we interacted with at checkin, the bar or the restaurant for breakfast didn't seem to have much of an idea and appeared to be on their "first day". Next morning for breakfast no explanation of how the menu worked or costings, when I went to check out they tried to charge for breakfast. When I mentioned it should have been offered as an amenity for being Diamond the staff member agreed and reversed the charge.

There was a backgammon set in the room which we thought we would give a go at one time. Opened the box and the board was missing. Mentioned that at checkout and the response was they will get maintenance to look at it??

 

[itsjackson]

Thought I'd post about a few stays from a while ago that I haven't had the chance to write about. Hopefully my memory serves me right.

Hotel: InterContinental Grand Stanford Hong Kong
When: Dec 2022
Status: Diamond Ambassador
Rate: IHG Advance
Booked: 2 Twin Classic High Floor
Received: 2 Twin Club Skyline Harbour View (3 cat upgrade?)
Amenity Offered: Chose breakfast, was also delivered a fruit plate and some Fiji waters.

Upgraded in app prior. Proactively recognised status, we arrived at 5am and they checked us into a regular room until our upgraded room was ready after we asked. The original room was spacious and pretty standard but viewless. The upgraded room on the club floor was smaller, dated, and more worn, with missing closet doors. It had a better but angled water view. No club access was given as expected. The hairdryer sparked which was concerning. Overall, service was quite good, especially allowing early check-in, but the property feels dated.

Hotel: ANA InterContinental Tokyo
When: March 2023
Status: Diamond Ambassador
Rate: Corporate Rate
Booked: Classic Room
Received: 1 King Classic Club High Floor (Paid upgrade)
Amenity Offered: Chose breakfast, didn't get a chance to try it.

Only offered a twin room initially saying they were fully booked, no upgrade offer from what I recall. Paid around $450 a night to upgrade to a King room, cost was reduced by removing club access. Check-in was disappointing, status barely recognised. However, the room was newly renovated and possibly the nicest IHG room I've had, though I've never stayed in a suite. My itinerary was pretty packed, so I wasn't in the room much and didn't get to check out the amenities.

Hotel: Intercontinental Melbourne
When: July 2023
Status: Diamond Ambassador
Rate: Ambassador weekend
Booked: 1 King Classic Room
Received: 1 King Premium Club Separate Bath
Amenity Offered: Chose breakfast.

Upgraded in app prior to a room with separate bath. Service was good, no complaints. 4pm checkout was offered and other benefits proactively mentioned. Room was spacious, windows faced towards the inner atrium not outside, balcony had a sitting area and was also inside the atrium, so not very private. As with quite a few Intercontinentals I've stayed at, the room feels like it could do with a refresh.

 

[The-Aviator]

Hotel: Crowne Plaza Hobart
When: July 2024
Status: Platinum Ambassador
Rate: $305/night (Book Now, Pay Later rate)
Booked: 2 Double Standard Lounge Access
Received: 2 Double Standard Lounge Access (nothing in a higher category with double beds available, however we were allocated a harbour facing room on the top floor)

A very enjoyable stay and paying the small premium for lounge access is a must!

Arrived at around 8:30pm and check-in was quick and efficient with two drink vouchers provided as my welcome amenity. The drink vouchers could be used at the main bar and redeemed for something from the welcome drinks menu.

Rooms are excellent and have all the modern features you could ask for, including curtains that automatically open as you enter the room and bedside buttons to open and close them! TV only has free-to-air channels but they do have Chromecast. Bathroom was well-stocked with amenities and featured a rainfall shower. There was a full minibar and excellent complimentary tea/coffee facilities including pods, hot chocolate and FOUR different types of T2 tea! A welcome gift of some chocolate-covered almonds and a hand-written card were also in the room on arrival.

I believe the lounge used to be located on another floor but has now moved to the former Aura rooftop bar space on the 12th floor. The lounge is open from 6:30am to 10:30pm daily with breakfast from 6:30am-10am (11am on weekends), evening drinks and canapés from 5:00pm to 7:00pm and all day coffee, tea, soft drinks and light snacks. There is plenty of seating both indoors and outdoors and children are allowed to visit accompanied by an adult at any time.

The all day offering was particularly impressive with fresh fruit, Cadbury Dairy Milk bars and Red Rock Deli chips. We visited at around 9pm on the evening we arrived and were given a lounge tour and offered a non-alcoholic drinks menu. On the Saturday the lounge area was also open to the public for a chargeable High Tea experience, however in-house guests could continue to visit for the complimentary snacks and drinks.

The evening drinks and canapés service was also impressive with 1-2 hot dishes, some cold items, fruit, cheese, cold cuts and something sweet available from the buffet. For drinks they have an extensive list of beers, wines and ciders including a zero alcohol beer and wine. Drinks were served by the lounge staff and although there were spirits behind the bar I think these were chargeable, we stuck with wine and beer anyway. Food was regularly replenished and on the second night I even saw them bring out some special fish and chips for the kids.

Lounge guests can't have breakfast in the hotel restaurant which was a little surprising, however the breakfast in the lounge was good with a selection of hot items, bakery, cold cuts, fruit, yoghurt and cereal, with juices self-serve and barista made hot drinks. They also had an egg chef in the lounge who could make omelettes to order, while other egg dishes such as poached eggs looked to be pre-prepared and brought up from the restaurant. It was a very good brekkie although it would have been nice to have some hash browns! It is also a fair bit of effort and expense for the hotel to provide the separate offering for lounge guests and I wonder if it would be better for them to direct those with lounge access to the main restaurant instead.

The hotel has a well-equipped gym and a great location in central Hobart right above Myer. It is a 10-15 minute walk downhill to the waterfront where you will find the ferry to Mona, the Salamanca Markets and lots of other attractions.

A highlight of the hotel is definitely the staff, everyone we came across was super friendly, welcoming and helpful. The lounge staff in particular were excellent, we were never left with an empty glass and they were keen to share suggestions for things to see and do in Hobart. The hotel is Tasmanian owned and they clearly take pride in this, with lots of Tasmanian produce on their menus.

This was my second stay at this hotel and if anything, this stay was better than the first. Highly recommended and would definitely return!

 

[sqrt()]

Hotel: Crowne Plaza Hobart
When: July 2024
Status: Platinum Ambassador
Rate: $305/night (Book Now, Pay Later rate)
Booked: 2 Double Standard Lounge Access
Received: 2 Double Standard Lounge Access (nothing in a higher category with double beds available, however we were allocated a harbour facing room on the top floor)

A very enjoyable stay and paying the small premium for lounge access is a must!

Arrived at around 8:30pm and check-in was quick and efficient with two drink vouchers provided as my welcome amenity. The drink vouchers could be used at the main bar and redeemed for something from the welcome drinks menu.

Rooms are excellent and have all the modern features you could ask for, including curtains that automatically open as you enter the room and bedside buttons to open and close them! TV only has free-to-air channels but they do have Chromecast. Bathroom was well-stocked with amenities and featured a rainfall shower. There was a full minibar and excellent complimentary tea/coffee facilities including pods, hot chocolate and FOUR different types of T2 tea! A welcome gift of some chocolate-covered almonds and a hand-written card were also in the room on arrival.

I believe the lounge used to be located on another floor but has now moved to the former Aura rooftop bar space on the 12th floor. The lounge is open from 6:30am to 10:30pm daily with breakfast from 6:30am-10am (11am on weekends), evening drinks and canapés from 5:00pm to 7:00pm and all day coffee, tea, soft drinks and light snacks. There is plenty of seating both indoors and outdoors and children are allowed to visit accompanied by an adult at any time.

The all day offering was particularly impressive with fresh fruit, Cadbury Dairy Milk bars and Red Rock Deli chips. We visited at around 9pm on the evening we arrived and were given a lounge tour and offered a non-alcoholic drinks menu. On the Saturday the lounge area was also open to the public for a chargeable High Tea experience, however in-house guests could continue to visit for the complimentary snacks and drinks.

The evening drinks and canapés service was also impressive with 1-2 hot dishes, some cold items, fruit, cheese, cold cuts and something sweet available from the buffet. For drinks they have an extensive list of beers, wines and ciders including a zero alcohol beer and wine. Drinks were served by the lounge staff and although there were spirits behind the bar I think these were chargeable, we stuck with wine and beer anyway. Food was regularly replenished and on the second night I even saw them bring out some special fish and chips for the kids.

Lounge guests can't have breakfast in the hotel restaurant which was a little surprising, however the breakfast in the lounge was good with a selection of hot items, bakery, cold cuts, fruit, yoghurt and cereal, with juices self-serve and barista made hot drinks. They also had an egg chef in the lounge who could make omelettes to order, while other egg dishes such as poached eggs looked to be pre-prepared and brought up from the restaurant. It was a very good brekkie although it would have been nice to have some hash browns! It is also a fair bit of effort and expense for the hotel to provide the separate offering for lounge guests and I wonder if it would be better for them to direct those with lounge access to the main restaurant instead.

The hotel has a well-equipped gym and a great location in central Hobart right above Myer. It is a 10-15 minute walk downhill to the waterfront where you will find the ferry to Mona, the Salamanca Markets and lots of other attractions.

A highlight of the hotel is definitely the staff, everyone we came across was super friendly, welcoming and helpful. The lounge staff in particular were excellent, we were never left with an empty glass and they were keen to share suggestions for things to see and do in Hobart. The hotel is Tasmanian owned and they clearly take pride in this, with lots of Tasmanian produce on their menus.

This was my second stay at this hotel and if anything, this stay was better than the first. Highly recommended and would definitely return!

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The louge is definitely good and staff really friendly. This place has been a steal for points too, last time I stayed it was 25k pn.

 

[The-Aviator]

Hotel: Holiday Inn Express Newcastle
When: July 2024
Status: Platinum Ambassador
Rate: $210/night (Visa partner rate)
Booked: 1 King Bed Standard Extra Floor Space
Received: 1 King Bed Standard Extra Floor Space (no higher room categories offered)

Third visit to this hotel, although the first time staying in one of the larger rooms. I think they only have a couple of these and the price difference was minimal so it was good to give it a try.

Rooms are clean and location is convenient. However some of the disappointments were a poor shower experience with woeful water pressure and inconsistent temperature, poor noise insulation and unusually small pillows and towels.

The free breakfast buffet was well patronised and had a decent variety. On the first day the hot items were beef sausages, herbed tomatoes, scrambled eggs and bacon then on the second day they replaced the sausages with hash browns.

Interaction with staff was pretty minimal outside of breakfast and front desk. Breakfast staff were very quick to clear tables, replenish the buffet and even opened up some conference room space to make more room for guests on the busy Sunday morning. Check out experience was quick and efficient. Check in experience was also quick but the receptionist was pretty new and not across the usual IHG brand standards.

Would be nice if IHG opened another property in Newcastle at the voco/CP/Indigo level, but for the time being the HIX does the job.

 

[#flying]

Hotel: Kimpton Hotel Fontenot New Orleans
When: July 2024
Status: Platinum Ambassador
Rate: AU$261/night (Amex The Hotel Collection rate)
Booked: Essential Room
Received: 1 Bedroom Suite

I would highly recommend this hotel to anyone visiting New Orleans. Fantastic location, clean room, great staff and some wonderful amenities including complimentary wine in the evening and coffee in the morning (quite rare at luxury hotels in the US). There's also a fantastic bar and coffee shop in the lobby, as well as a highly reviewed restaurant (King Brasserie) which I unfortunately didn't have the chance to visit.

Breakfast was a la carte, and probably one of the highest quality hotel breakfasts I've experienced in the US (see pictures below). Booking through the Amex Hotel Collection meant that I could order anything up to the value of $60 each morning (although I struggled to spend even $40 as the prices were very reasonable!).

Overall a wonderful stay.

 

[sqrt()]

Hotel: Kimpton Hotel Fontenot New Orleans
When: July 2024
Status: Platinum Ambassador
Rate: AU$261/night (Amex The Hotel Collection rate)
Booked: Essential Room
Received: 1 Bedroom Suite

I would highly recommend this hotel to anyone visiting New Orleans. Fantastic location, clean room, great staff and some wonderful amenities including complimentary wine in the evening and coffee in the morning (quite rare at luxury hotels in the US). There's also a fantastic bar and coffee shop in the lobby, as well as a highly reviewed restaurant (King Brasserie) which I unfortunately didn't have the chance to visit.

Breakfast was a la carte, and probably one of the highest quality hotel breakfasts I've experienced in the US (see pictures below). Booking through the Amex Hotel Collection meant that I could order anything up to the value of $60 each morning (although I struggled to spend even $40 as the prices were very reasonable!).

Overall a wonderful stay.

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This seems like really good value, property is 3rd night free via Amex THC at the moment. Add free breakfast (seems like a specific property benefit?) and the $100 credit you get with 2+ night bookings!

 

[#flying]

Hotel: Hotel Indigo Omaha Downtown
When: August 2024
Status: Platinum Ambassador
Rate: US$194/night (incl. taxes/fees)
Booked: 1 King Bed Standard
Received: 1 King Bed Suite

Wonderful hotel in a converted historic building in downtown Omaha. Was lucky enough to be upgraded to a suite which was very spacious and well designed.

The hotel features two bars, one of which is a tiny speakeasy style venue behind a hidden door in the lobby named Anna's Place (drinks pictured below). Great vibes and drinks were excellent.

Overall an excellent stay and I would highly recommend this hotel.



Anna's Place bar:



Fans of the 2002 Jack Nicholson film 'About Schmidt' may recognise the building out the window:

 

[docjames]

Holiday Inn Express Karlsruhe
When: July 2022
Status: Diamond Amb
Rate: ~E450 for 4 nights (THursday and SUnday notably more expensive than Friday/Saturday)
Parking: on-site additional cost but the adjacent street has nil restrictions, and we had no issues getting a free park coming and going arch day and night.

We chose this property as we were attending a wedding in Karlsruhe, and it was located easily to get the the wedding couple’s home outside Karlsruhe (10 min drive). It was about a 20min walk to the main downtown shopping area, but closer to the main train station. There are also plentiful tram options if you don’t want to walk (weather / other). There are a couple of restaurants nearby albeit about 5-10 min walk. A DM and Supermarket also 5 min and 10min away. Nice park also to walk along towards city. The whole city is very flat so a bike would also be a good option. Nearby sports facilities also (7 min drive).

A bit underwhelming to arrive to a HIX having just been at a decent HI, but in the end we were hardly at the hotel. THe fold out bed notably smaller (more a small twin size) - our kids managed - just. Luggage storage the main issue although we decided best approach was to repack everything going to Aus and just leave available what was needed for our last few days. Modest amount but just enough hanging space (for wedding clothes etc), additional wall hooks helpful also in this regard. 24hr bar menu - basically food was pizza (choice of ~ 5) or crisps/nuts. THe pizza tasted decent when immediately arriving, but pretty quickly turned to cardboard. Given it was relatively late and we didn’t want to have to drag the kids out for protracted dinner (merely top up the junk they’d already eaten), it was ok. Decent spirit selection although beer choices limited. Breakfast selection looked average but in the end none of us went hungry and getting a table was easy, although i feel they probably needed to refresh it a bit more during the breakfast window - we were much later than usual to breakfast on the Sunday morning and it was clearly busy and some items hadn’t been replaced (eg. croissants). We stil found enough to eat, but there were less options.

Karlsruhe isn’t a typical tourist town and this hotel reflects that - appears their major clientele is travelling business people, hence the higher mid-week rates. So the simple offering probably works and if i was travelling alone would be perfectly adequate. As a holiday hotel for a family, the HIX Nurnberg was significantly better despite the room being almost identical in size but a better fold out and a better overall ambiance in the common areas.

Given the specifics of location requirement for us, this was perfect, but otherwise I’d probably look for another option if staying longer / expecting any more time in the hotel / wanting a more upmarket experience (yes I know it’s a HIX!). They could do a lot to make this place more inviting with a subtle improvement in the breakfast offering, and/or a 24hr (or even to 8pm) coffee/tea machine (its sitting there just not on). It’s run lean like many HIX (mostly only one staff for long periods, with bursts of additional cleaning/breakfast staff only), and despite booking for 2+2 I had to a number of times ask for 4 towels (they kept leaving three incl at initial setup). Always done happily, but something fairly simple - suspect 4 is a rare number in one room for them.

Another Stay in July 2024
This time on points, and I booked 2 rooms as the minidocs are no longer particularly mini…..

Hotel was pretty full (Stay was Thursday to Saturday)
Apart from the two rooms being on two different floors which was mildly annoying, nothing much else has really changed. Room felt a lot more spacious with only two in each, and with two bags instead of four in it! One room had double bed and fold out couch, other one the double and a chair which obviously made it feel more spacious.

During the stay i felt that the breakfast offering was maybe a little bit weaker than previously but re-reading the above, perhaps not.

Karlsruhe is a base for a lot of Rhine valley industry and has clearly grown since 2022 (and 2018). Also notable as the home of DM (large and cheap German cosmetic/pharmac_ type company).