IHG Hotels that recognise status

[markis10]

Even other IHG staff don't rate the Flinders location much (unlike the Little Collins location which they highly recommend)

I liked it as a HI but have not stayed in ages, IHG is not my preferred chain in Mel

 

[ShrinkWrapped]

Guessing they still don't have chilli flakes to go with their eggs either. Even other IHG staff don't rate the Flinders location much (unlike the Little Collins location which they highly recommend)

literally I had a meeting that corner of town and felt lazy.... never again

no chilli flakes still

back up my voco/indigo little collins I think

 

[kerfuffle]

literally I had a meeting that corner of town and felt lazy.... never again

no chilli flakes still

back up my voco/indigo little collins I think

Ugh. I was hoping a restaurant change would mean chilli flakes. I'd rather pay extra and stay at IC/voco/Little Collins. Or even try out CP Southbank before it turns into an IC

 

[The-Aviator]

Hotel: InterContinental Kuala Lumpur
When: June 2026
Status: Platinum Ambassador
Rate: RM875/night (Visa cardholder rate)
Booked: 1 Super King Premium Club Lounge Access
Received: 1 Bedroom Suite (one-category upgrade)

First stop on a multicity, three-country visit to Asia and the IC KL certainly set the bar high!

Arrival
Pre-arrival comms were good with emails advising club benefits and other amenities included in the stay. I emailed the hotel concierge a few weeks out regarding an airport transfer and received a prompt and detailed response outlining the options. Booked the cheapest vehicle available (EV Premier) and was pleasantly surprised on arrival at KLIA when I was escorted to a waiting BMW, one of their more expensive transfer options at no extra charge. Experience on arriving at the hotel was excellent, I was greeted at the driveway and taken straight up to my suite to complete check-in formalities from the comfort of the room. Given I had Club Access they suggested taking points as the welcome amenity which I was fine with.

Room
My suite was located on the 29th floor and was modern, nicely decorated and had all I needed for a three-night stay, from the looks of the floorplan the suite I was allocated was one of the larger ones and would be a bit more than 2x the size of a regular room. The lounge where you entered had comfortable seating, a coffee table with magazines and a TV, the bedroom had two desks, another TV and a chaise by the window. The King beds at this hotel are actually Super Kings and are HUGE although a little firm. The TVs had a variety of local and international channels (including ABC Australia) plus Chromecast, however I sometimes struggled to get the remotes working. Air-conditioning had separate thermostats for the lounge and bedroom and worked fine although some may prefer for it to be a touch cooler. The minibar was stocked but unfortunately only had drinks, no snacks. A shame as I could have used my Ambassador credit on a few snacks to take with me!

There is a walk-in wardrobe which can be accessed via the bedroom or bathroom, the bathroom was huge with separate shower and bath, a double vanity and Japanese washlet. The bathroom even had a window and if you really stretched you could see the world's second-tallest building, Merdeka 118 in the distance!

Housekeeping was good and there was always more than enough bottled water on hand. Some welcome sweets and fruits were also waiting in the room on my arrival. My only criticism would be the door to the suite, it was a double door and didn't seem to lock securely unless you really slammed it.

Club Lounge
The club is located on the 26th floor and is an expansive space with a loft section as well as a small outdoor section (presumably for smokers). The space is open to guests from 7am-11pm daily with breakfast from 7-11am (alternatively you can have the buffet at Serena Brasserie from 6-10.30am), afternoon tea from 2.30-4.30pm and evening coughtails from 5.30-7.30pm. There are a variety of seating options to suit all group sizes and preferences and there are nice views in multiple directions.

I had breakfast in the lounge on my first morning, there is a small buffet of salads, fruits, cold meats, cheeses, yoghurts, a couple of random hot items and a huge pastry/bakery selection, supplemented by an a la carte menu of various items made to order. I ordered the Nasi Lemak which, although plated in a pretty weird way, tasted good.

Afternoon tea is a tiered tray featuring sandwiches, cakes, scones and some Malay sweets in addition to your choice of coffee, tea or other non-alcoholic beverage. An iced teh tarik was a great choice on a hot, humid day and the tiered tray was very substantial, more than enough to justify skipping lunch if you wanted to.

The evening service again included a small buffet of cold items and from the kitchen you could order a plate of three hot canapés which rotated from day to day but typically included a mix of Western and Asian flavours. For drinks they had red, white and sparkling wine, beer (Tiger or Heineken), standard spirits and a list of coughtails and mocktails. Service was friendly and attentive.

F&B
The hotel has an extensive variety of dining options including Tao for Chinese, Tatsu for Japanese, Bentley's English Pub and the all-day Serena Brasserie. During my stay the only restaurant I tried was Serena for the breakfast buffet on two days. The buffet is extensive with Chinese, Japanese, Malay, Indian and Western options. Juices are self-serve and the staff will assist with any other drink orders.

Amenities
The hotel has a large gym and an outdoor pool, not much of a view to speak of from the pool as the hotel is surrounded by other highrises.

Those on a Club rate can access complimentary laundry for 3 pieces per day or you can accumulate and do 9 pieces every 3 days, this worked out better for me and same-day service was provided.

The hotel offers a complimentary shuttle service to KLCC and Pavilion KL however it only operates three times a day and is for drop-off only. I can't imagine it is of a lot of use to most guests, but nice that they offer it.

Location
There are other hotels which might have more nearby, but overall as a leisure guest I was happy with it. The hotel is about 10-15 minutes walk from the Petronas Towers; the path is well-lit, safe and busy with office workers during the day and into the evening.

There is a metro station just outside but Grab was super cheap and I think most will find that a better option than relying on public transport.

Immediately as you step out the front door on the left is a 24-hour convenience store called myNEWS, perfect if you need to grab a snack/drink etc.

KL's rooftop bars are renowned and there is a pretty good one just a few minutes walk down the road, Troika Sky Dining of which I visited Fuego which had views of not just the Petronas Towers but also KL Tower and Merdeka 118.

Some advice if you need to withdraw cash, there is a Euronet ATM in the lobby but it charges an exorbitant fee of RM18 regardless of your withdrawal size. Avoid this by walking into the UOB Citibank office building immediately next door, the ground floor is actually a retail banking branch and they have guarded ATMs available for fee-free withdrawals from early in the morning through to midnight or 1am.

Final Thoughts
At just over AUD $300/night for a suite with club privileges, I was very happy with the stay. KL seems a very nice city too, reminds me of Singapore but with a lot more value for money. Hope to return some day!

 

[markis10]

IC KUL has been on my black list for 10 years. Expensive and very tight on upgrades as a Royal Ambassador. The Element across the road offers much newer rooms at 1/3rd the price, while the Double Tree down the road has an excellent mall/supermarket and food hall similar to the Element in price.

 

[Pushka]

IHG Lisbon Convent Gardens. Booked through LE and never mentioned status but was recognised on arrival.

It is probably the best hotel I've ever stayed in. The Staff are simply incredible.

 

[wenglock.mok]

Hotel: Crowne Plaza Sydney Darling Harbour
When: June 2026
Status: Platinum Elite
Rate: A$303 (Member Flexible with Breakfast)
Booked: 1 King Bed Standard
Received: 1 King Bed Premium
Amenity offered: Drinks or points. Opted for 2x drink vouchers.

Loved the decor in this hotel, I think they did quite a good job with the refurbishment a couple of years back. The upgraded room category was showing in my app about two days before check in.

Check-in was quick, with very minimal wait. IHG status was acknowledged at the front desk and was offered either two drink vouchers or points as the welcome amenity. Late checkout up to 1pm was offered - I asked for later and was told they could only grant up to 1.15pm at the latest. The room was lovely but as was mentioned by someone else above, the power plugs by the working desk are right above the table surface which means if you have a big power brick with the actual plugs on top, it will not work and you will need to ask for an extension cord.

They are very generous with their in-room tea bags and coffee - we had four bags each of English Breakfast, Earl Grey, Peppermint, Green Tea, and Chamomile, alongside T2's Sleep Tight tea bags, which was oddly missing in the drawer in our room although there was a card there advertising their "Sleep Well" program. No trouble - we went downstairs to ask for it at the front desk and they sent six bags up. Bath amenities are from Antipodes, the same as what we would find in Air NZ's lounges.

The one highlight of our stay was the breakfast, which was surprisingly satisfying and of decent quality. We could order from a menu of fairly standard a la carte options (similar to what we would find in a regular cafe), alongside picking from the regular buffet selection. The buffet selection consisted of the usual cereal, toast, breakfast pastries, fruit, salad, and a vat of savoury congee. There was also a fresh fruit juice station, where we could make our own fresh juices and they had a menu card on the side with some suggestions. Coffees or teas on offer were good, and they remembered to come around one final time to get orders before they closed up for the morning.

 

[Aussie_flyer]

Hotel: Crowne Plaza Sydney Darling Harbour
When: June 2026
Status: Platinum Elite
Rate: A$303 (Member Flexible with Breakfast)
Booked: 1 King Bed Standard
Received: 1 King Bed Premium
Amenity offered: Drinks or points. Opted for 2x drink vouchers.

Loved the decor in this hotel, I think they did quite a good job with the refurbishment a couple of years back. The upgraded room category was showing in my app about two days before check in.

Check-in was quick, with very minimal wait. IHG status was acknowledged at the front desk and was offered either two drink vouchers or points as the welcome amenity. Late checkout up to 1pm was offered - I asked for later and was told they could only grant up to 1.15pm at the latest. The room was lovely but as was mentioned by someone else above, the power plugs by the working desk are right above the table surface which means if you have a big power brick with the actual plugs on top, it will not work and you will need to ask for an extension cord.

They are very generous with their in-room tea bags and coffee - we had four bags each of English Breakfast, Earl Grey, Green Tea, and Chamomile, alongside T2's Sleep Tight tea bags, which was oddly missing in the drawer in our room although there was a card there advertising their "Sleep Well" program. No trouble - we went downstairs to ask for it at the front desk and they sent six bags up. Bath amenities are from Antipodes, the same as what we would find in Air NZ's lounges.

The one highlight of our stay was the breakfast, which was surprisingly satisfying and of decent quality. We could order from a menu of fairly standard a la carte options (similar to what we would find in a regular cafe), alongside picking from the regular buffet selection. The buffet selection consisted of the usual cereal, toast, breakfast pastries, fruit, salad, and a vat of savoury congee. There was also a fresh fruit juice station, where we could make our own fresh juices and they had a menu card on the side with some suggestions. Coffees or teas on offer were good, and they remembered to come around one final time to get orders before they closed up for the morning.

That was a brand new build not a refurb though maybe the brick made you think it was? Agree its a lovely property

 

[The-Aviator]

Hotel: voco Orchard Singapore
When: June 2026
Status: Platinum Ambassador
Rate: 37,666pts/night (reward night)
Booked: 1 King Deluxe High Floor
Received: 1 Bedroom Suite Lounge Access (applied Confirmable Suite Upgrade, lounge access granted by way of Milestone Annual Lounge Pass)

This was my first stay at the voco (most previous Singapore visits have been to the old InterContinental) and it's a reasonable option in a city which is rapidly losing IHG properties, but one major bathroom flaw presented a major concern.

Arrival
Pre-arrival comms were good with a message on WhatsApp the day before to request arrival details. Applying my CSU was also efficient, I called IHG 14 days out and had the upgrade confirmed within minutes. Check-in was fine, they weren't able to see my Annual Lounge Pass in the system but provisioned access after showing them the pass in my IHG app. A choice of welcome amenity was offered and I took the drink voucher however didn't get a chance to use it during the stay.

Room
My suite was located on the 21st floor. Suites are located at the very end of the hallway and essentially take up the space of two ordinary rooms, one on either side of the building, plus the connecting space inbetween. At the entrance was a guest bathroom and to the left was the lounge area with minibar, full-size dining table for four, a TV and a couch, with views overlooking Orchard Road. The minibar was fully stocked and the complimentary teas were a premium TWG offering, they had also left a souvenir magnet as a welcome gift by the minibar. To the right is the bedroom which is not too dissimilar to the standard rooms, with a large closet and separate space for luggage with views looking towards the Four Seasons.

I'm not sure what it looked like back when it was a Hilton but they do seem to have done a reasonably comprehensive refresh of the bedroom and lounge area going by how fresh/modern it looked. The King bed was very comfortable, there were ample power points near the bed and the large TVs had a good selection of local and international channels. Air-conditioning worked well.

The bathrooms do not appear to have been renovated and as a result don't fit in well with the decor of the rest of the room. That said, the toilet, sinks and bathtub were fine and functional with toiletries being the brand-standard Apotheke.

The major problem I had was with the walk-in shower, which I only discovered the next morning when not even a few minutes in I realised the water was draining at a snail's pace and I was already standing in a pool of water a few cm deep! I persevered as long as I could but had to switch to the bathtub towards the end as it was unbearable. I notified the staff via WhatsApp and a near-immediate response came back that they would send someone up. Within a few minutes a hotel handyman arrived and saw the problem for himself as the water had still not drained a good 15-20 mins after turning off the shower. I left the room after this but they kept me updated via WhatsApp, with a confirmation a couple of hours later that it had been resolved. It was still not 100% perfect but it was close enough to make do for the rest of the stay.

I appreciated their quick attention to the problem and they made some attempts at service recovery with a bowl of fruit and an apology card left by the minibar, and even on check-out they had it on file and apologised again for the issue. But given how bad it was I would be surprised if I am the first guest to have encountered this issue in this particular room and on that basis I feel a problem like this should have been permanently addressed before the room is allocated to a guest. Had I been on a cash rate instead of a points rate I would have certainly requested some compensation.

Apart from the shower issue the housekeeping standard was pretty good, with the room attendant leaving handwritten notes each day as well as towel animals and even a little stress toy in the shape of their voco owl mascot.

Club Lounge
This is the world's only voco with a club lounge, and it was the highlight of the stay. The club is located on the 22nd floor and is a large and bright space with a variety of seating options. The lounge is open from 7am-9pm daily with breakfast from 7-10.30am (alternatively you can have the buffet at Opus Bar and Grill from 6.30-10.30am), afternoon refreshments from 2.30-4.30pm and evening coughtails from 5.30-7.30pm.

I arrived in time for the last hour of evening coughtails on my first night and also attended the second night - there is a drinks menu consisting of sparkling/red/white wine, Tiger beer, standard spirits, three mocktails and four coughtails in addition to non-alcoholic beverages. coughtails were great with the Italian GNT being my favourite and service was top-notch, staff were asking what you wanted next before the current drink was even finished! The evening food selection was buffet-style and surprisingly substantial with salads, cold cuts, cheese, fruits, cakes and a rotating selection of hot dishes which typically included some rice/noodles, a vegetarian dish and a non-vegetarian dish.

I only attended one afternoon tea, it was a plated offering and a lot lighter than what I've typically found at Club InterContinentals but still tastefully presented and good as a light mid-afternoon snack.

Unfortunately I didn't get around to trying breakfast in the lounge as I opted for the buffet downstairs each time. Highlight of the lounge was definitely the staff, across the board they were very friendly and made a genuine effort to connect with guests.


F&B
The hotel has a surprising number of F&B options including il Cielo for Italian, the all-day Opus Bar & Grill, D9 Cakery in the lobby and then another two venues which have third-party operators but are located in the building, being the Michelin-starred Iggy's and The Backdrop bar.

The only one I tried was Opus for the breakfast buffet, it is extensive with different counters for Western, Chinese, Japanese, Indian etc and live stations where they can prepare noodle dishes and eggs. Coffee/tea are self-service. There was plenty of seating so had no issues getting a table and there was plenty of variety, I would say overall it is much better than the buffet at the old InterContinental.


Amenities
I didn't get to use or visit them, but there is a fitness centre including sauna on Level 23 and an outdoor rooftop pool on Level 24. There is a small shopping arcade within the lobby with a few stores, mostly clothing and arts-based.

Location
The voco is located at the western end of the Orchard shopping strip. There is a 7-Eleven just outside for any convenience store needs. Closest MRT station is Orchard, it's about a 3-minute walk from the hotel to Wheelock Place at which point you can walk underground through Ion to the MRT station. Historically when staying around Orchard I preferred the other end near Somerset MRT but with the new TEL line opening, the connectivity at Orchard MRT has improved substantially.

Grab rides to/from the airport will be around $30-40 and will be not much more than 20 minutes in good traffic, maybe 40 minutes at busier times.

Final Thoughts
With the IC Singapore closed I was in need of an alternative and was hoping the voco would be it, considering the cash rate it was also great value on points, but the shower issue concerned me enough that I'll be testing out a few other properties first. The service recovery was good but it shouldn't have happened in the first place. Maybe I'll try the IC Robertson Quay next time.

If you can get this hotel for the right price I'd recommend it. If you have any alternatives you can suggest I'd be happy to hear about them too!

 

[moa999]

This is the world's only voco with a club lounge,

Actually one of a few. From an FT list.

• voco Riyadh
• voco Dubai
• voco Bonnington Dubai
• voco Orchard Singapore
• voco Seoul Myeongdong

Also voco Shanghai Hongquaoi Hub from my experience last year, and I believe Voco Guangzhou Shifu

FYI also a handful of HIs with lounge offerings, all in Asia.