IHG Hotels that recognise status

[straitman]

HI Wellington.

Booked a Deluxe Room on a Points Break (5000pts) and were upgraded to King Bed Harbour View.

A great experience.

 

[mbeder]

Candlewood Suites (Chicago - O'Hare Airport):

• Welcome letter (photocopy) plus a somewhat weird bag of items: Pack of tissues, tube of toothpaste, coupon to win 25,000 PC points (comp had expired!), medicinal samples (2 x pepto bismol tabs + 50c off coupon, 1 x Pepcid tab, 4 x Zicam medicated gel swabs + $1.00 off coupon).

HI Express (Chicago - Magnificent Mile):

• An offer of a visit to a local gym or a free in-house movie or 2,500 PC points (I chose the points )

HI LAX:

• 15% off all in-house dining, daily newspaper, high-floor room. Pack of razors, toothpaste, shaving gel, comb, slippers, sewing kit, vanity kit (on my 3rd night there)

(I have Plat status and I'd chosen the cheapest options when booking all rooms).

 

[Evan]

Crowne Plaza Melbourne (Spencer St) - 5000 points break

• Welcome letter, bottle of wine (750ml)
• I thnk all rooms are the same but on the top floor with the best view of the southbank area.

Platinum RA card presented at checking in so no signature or credit card required for mini bar etc. Just here is your room keys

 

[kpc]

CP Terrigal
Booked: Queen, resort view
Got: King, ocean view

...after many, many stays at this place without an upgrade!
...on a 5000 PB stay:mrgreen:

Getting a late checkout is a different matter. Offered 12 noon:shock: (normal checkout is 11am), but after a reminder that I was PC Plat, checked with manager, who agreed to 1pm checkout!

 

[Mal]

SYD Darling Harbour.
PC Plat - 1 night.

Upgraded to an Executive Floor (corner) room.

No other perks noted.

 

[Mal]

Hong Kong (Golden Mile) Holiday Inn

Upgraded to Executive Floor - with lounge access. A nice lounge.

 

[Evan]

Platinum RA...

Holiday-Inn MEL airport - Suite upgrade, complementary shuttle (they usually charge $2, why bother), something else... cant remember now. Good airport hotel really for a cheap price.

Crowne Plaza Times Square NY - Reward night, room upgrade and late checkout

IC Boston - Fruit/Water/Free Internet/Free Movies, great room upgrade with a view.
(This hotel is just lovely !!! great area in Boston and really nice accommodation, only thing i could see being an issue if is the frosted glass from the bathroom if you turn the light on in middle of the night and your partner is trying to sleep)
Check out Sushi-Teq, Sushi and Tequila restaurant in the hotel, hip kind of place, also RumBa bar and some drinks outside by the water Both nice, a little expensive maybe.

IC Miami West - (Just so you know this is not the south beach one this is west miami near the airport and all the businesses, but it was super cheap) Fruit&Cheese platter/Water/Free Internet/Free movies.
(Not that great a hotel, but super cheap, airport shuttle is only once per hour, good for a stop over in MIA thats about it)

IC San Francisco Mark Hopkins - Fruit/Water/Chocolates, Room upgrade to suite with a view, a real hand written welcome letter, Free Internet/Movies. An old world hotel but with great charm ! I think it was turtlemichael mentioned they may be shutting it down one day... i hope not, its a great hotel with very nice staff. I am sure the other IC is newer etc but Mark Hopkins is top of One Nob Hill and on the 19th floor (Top of Mark) is good food and view. As this is cheaper than the other IC in SF i would recommend it, and its on the cable car lines which is nice novelty (and heart saver if your walking) for your first trip to SF.

A few more on my list to go this trip, IC in Muscat and probably also book again IC in JNB which last time i got a room bigger than my 2 bedroom apartment in Singapore and a mini bar will big bottles of quality alcohol !
(but this time on reward nights as the prices are very high)
Depending on where in BCN i decide to stay will also check out the new Holiday-Inn there in the city i think.

 

[gem gem]

Crowne Plaza at Parramatta, received a room upgrade and a free bottle of watter.

 

[MDC]

HI Esplanade Darwin

Booked: Standard room (on cheapest Govt rate)
Received: Executive Suite, welcome letter in room, welcome letter on check-in, 750ml bottle of wine.

 

[Mal]

Holiday Inn - HELSINKI (MESSUAUKIO 1)

There are at least 3 Holiday Inn's in Helsinki, so it's easy to get confused with them all. This one is the one next to the Convention Centre / Pasilla .

Booked: Pointsbreak standard room.
Got: Upgraded to exec floor (no lounge). Complimentary movies, and certain items from the mini bar were free (choc bars and juice I think - didn't partake).

Overall opinion: Hotel is in a quiet part of Helsinki (ie dead!), but about 5 mins by train / 15 mins by tram to the heart of Helsinki (central station etc). Hotel staff friendly and room nice.

 

[NM]

Holiday Inn Sydney Airport:

No recognition at all. Room supplied as booked. No amenities. Not even a welcome letter or a "welcome back" from the staff. Nada.

 

[NM]

Holiday Inn Express Causeway Bay, Hong Kong:

Room supplied as booked (double bed standard).
Breakfast included (I think standard for all HIX).
No welcome letter or amenities.

 

[Mal]

Holiday Inn Brisbane.

Was upgraded to Executive Floor. Welcome note from manager + pack of m&m's. Came back later to my room (DND sign was on the door) and found a pack of cool mints (or something similar) left outside my room with another welcome note. Gave both to my friends I was catching up with.

The bar had Priority Club drinks - free drinks between 6 and 6:30 for PC members (you are supposed to be staying, but key card wasn't checked). Ordered a couple of beers, wine etc for me and my guests.

Overall a nice stay. Had a view over Roma Street Station. Some train noise, but not really noticeable. There were ear plugs in the bathroom available.
Wasn't too impressed with the bill being left outside the room though (with the morning paper) - it should be slid under the door, not placed outside.
Morning breakfast for $20 was pretty reasonable and one of the cheapest hotel brekkies in Brisbane I'd assume.

 

[Fifa]

CP Darling Harbour

Booked city view king and upgraded to Darling Harbour view king bed suite (with separate lounge) using a BOGO PP voucher which I didn't have to surrender due to the August promo.

Also received a welcome letter and a full bottle of red .

The hotel has a weekend breakfast special at the moment - eat before 8.30am on Sat or Sun and continental is $20 (usually $25) and cooked is $25 (usually $35).

I really like the free internet in the business lounge which a lot of Australian Crowne Plazas seem to be offering now.

Great stay

 

[Mal]

Intercontinental Hotel - Warsaw, Poland.

Booked - 5000 points/night Pointsbreak special.
Got - corner room (Quite large), with views over Warsaw.

Nothing special recognition wise, although they did allow me to check in early (circa 11:30am).

Internet costs a ridiculous rate (the standard "better the hotel, the more internet will cost"). Think it's costing me around $A45/day.

 

[Mal]

Intercontinental Hotel - Warsaw, Poland.

Shouldn't have posted so early - or are they watching?

Today 2 bottles of water turned up, a mini fruit platter and 1/2 bottle of chilian wine. Also an invite to have a coughtail in the lounge.

Didn't like the fact they've sent 2 messages to my room (which make a horrible beep noise from the tv - like an alarm clock- until you read them), which can't be read due to going over a page. Looks like some fire training is happening soon, although I can't work out when. Hopefully I'll be out of the hotel then

 

[MDC]

First stay as a Platinum. So far nothing different to Gold.

HI Townsville

Booked: King room
Received: Two double bed room (downgrade!), 30 mins later knock on the door from staff with a 750ml bottle of wine and welcome letter.

 

[markis10]

First stay as a Platinum. So far nothing different to Gold.

HI Townsville

Booked: King room
Received: Two double bed room (downgrade!), 30 mins later knock on the door from staff with a 750ml bottle of wine and welcome letter.

Sometimes it pays to ask on check in about the upgrade, as does a cursory glance at the current rooms available just prior to checking in. As a platinum you wont see too much difference at many hotels, but as this thread attests, the ones that do treat the platinums well get the patronage from those on the board AFAIK. I have returned many times to HI Flinders for that reason, and I wont stay anywhere else in Darwin at than the HI Esplanade.

 

[MDC]

Sometimes it pays to ask on check in about the upgrade, as does a cursory glance at the current rooms available just prior to checking in. As a platinum you wont see too much difference at many hotels, but as this thread attests, the ones that do treat the platinums well get the patronage from those on the board AFAIK. I have returned many times to HI Flinders for that reason, and I wont stay anywhere else in Darwin at than the HI Esplanade.

I was just about to edit my last posts to include this. Went out to grab some takeaway for dinner and bumped into the manager on the way back in. Started chatting so I thought I'd ask what the deal was with the downgrade. Apparently they are refurbishing the entire hotel and currently have 4 floors out of action. At the moment all upgrades for PC Elites are to newly renovated rooms on the water side. Yes I'm a goose, I didn't even notice I have a balcony that looks out to the water!

I partly agree about the HI Esplanade, but I do prefer the CP. I found the HI Esplanade to be a little dated. I haven't failed to receive a suite upgrade at the CP in the last 6 months, even as a gold.

The HI is in a nice location though. I was chatting to the HR director there a few weeks back and they're trying to convice the building owner to demolish, rebuild and rebadge as an IC.

 

[markis10]

I partly agree about the HI Esplanade, but I do prefer the CP. I found the HI Esplanade to be a little dated. I haven't failed to receive a suite upgrade at the CP in the last 6 months, even as a gold.

The HI is in a nice location though. I was chatting to the HR director there a few weeks back and they're trying to convice the building owner to demolish, rebuild and rebadge as an IC.

The HI Esplanade is a little old but they do have a stack of suites, and I have been lucky enough to be upgraded to the top two rooms on two separate occasions, have not had the same luck at CP on two separate stays with any upgrade.

Be interesting to have a fourth IC in OZ, pretty hard to qualify as an RA until we got a third if you stayed close to home.