IHG Hotels that recognise status

[NM]

Hotel: InterContinental Adelaide
When: March 6-8
Status: Platinum Ambassador
Rate: Ambassador Complimentary Weekend Night @ $454 for the first night and $514 for the second
Booked: 1 King Junior Suite City View
Received: 1 King Junior Suite City View. Their one bedroom suites aren't part of the guaranteed Ambassador room upgrade (unlike InterContinental Sydney).

Did you get extra points due to not receiving the room upgrade due to their exclusion policy?

 

[kerfuffle]

Did you get extra points due to not receiving the room upgrade due to their exclusion policy?

Nope. Didn't ask about it either.

 

[NM]

Nope. Didn't ask about it either.

When Brisbane IC was unable to provide the guaranteed upgrade, when they informed me at check-in they also informed me that I would be receiving 10K points as compensation for no upgrade. Might be worth asking at times when upgrade is not provided.

 

[kerfuffle]

When Brisbane IC was unable to provide the guaranteed upgrade, when they informed me at check-in they also informed me that I would be receiving 10K points as compensation for no upgrade. Might be worth asking at times when upgrade is not provided.

It was the long weekend, so I wasn't going to kick up a fuzz when they were already under the pump and they did specify on the website it'd be excluded. Maybe next year; it was my first time staying in a junior suite (and it's a proper suite, unlike IC Melbourne) and I quite enjoyed the extra space despite being solo

 

[oz_mark]

When Brisbane IC was unable to provide the guaranteed upgrade, when they informed me at check-in they also informed me that I would be receiving 10K points as compensation for no upgrade. Might be worth asking at times when upgrade is not provided.

Some upgrades are formally excluded from the upgrade guarantee. These exclusions include the one bedroom suites in Adelaide.

 

[Mr_Tee]

When Brisbane IC was unable to provide the guaranteed upgrade, when they informed me at check-in they also informed me that I would be receiving 10K points as compensation for no upgrade. Might be worth asking at times when upgrade is not provided.

Interesting......I've never heard of that offer before. Nor have I ever thought that they would compensate in lieu if asked.

 

[JessicaTam]

Interesting......I've never heard of that offer before. Nor have I ever thought that they would compensate in lieu if asked.

Yep, it is a guaranteed Ambassador benefit. 10k if no upgrade, and I think also 10k if late checkout not possible.

 

[oz_mark]

Yep, it is a guaranteed Ambassador benefit. 10k if no upgrade, and I think also 10k if late checkout not possible.

It is actually "Either a Restaurant & Bar or Spa credit of USD50, or 10,000 IHG One Rewards points (provided only once per stay)."

But there is a big list of exclusions (see https://www.ihg.com/intercontinenta...sador/terms-conditions/suites-exclusions.html)

 

[NM]

It is actually "Either a Restaurant & Bar or Spa credit of USD50, or 10,000 IHG One Rewards points (provided only once per stay)."

But there is a big list of exclusions (see https://www.ihg.com/intercontinenta...sador/terms-conditions/suites-exclusions.html)

Yes, indeed it is either F&B credit or points. In my case, I had paid for a room type that included lounge access, so chose the 10K points compensation.

 

[NM]

Some upgrades are formally excluded from the upgrade guarantee. These exclusions include the one bedroom suites in Adelaide.

Seems like there is no point in booking a room type that is one level below the exclusion list, unless of course you really don't want to be stuck with the booked room type if no upgrade is available.

 

[trippin_the_rift]

Seems like there is no point in booking a room type that is one level below the exclusion list, unless of course you really don't want to be stuck with the booked room type if no upgrade is available.

This is a serious dilemma I've faced the past year, where I'm booking the room I want that is at the upper end of the scale, and "no upgrades beyond that". Royal Ambassador is supposed to guarantee me a double room category upgrade. I've had this a few times (basic rooms -> mid-level suite), but this means IHG is incentivising me to buy a lower room category.

This becomes a problem when trying to hit a spend threshold to retain status!

This week was good.

IC Singapore

Booked: Standard King
Received: Jr Suite King
10am check in, 4pm check out

I'm slowly warming to this property, but it's miles away from the old Bugis IC.

First time seeing IC amenity kits... which have standard bathroom amenities inside but inside a kit is brilliant.

 

[kerfuffle]

IC Singapore

Booked: Standard King
Received: Jr Suite King
10am check in, 4pm check out

I'm slowly warming to this property, but it's miles away from the old Bugis IC.

First time seeing IC amenity kits... which have standard bathroom amenities inside but inside a kit is brilliant.

View attachment 501957

Staying here for my birthday at the end of the year; wonder if the standard rooms also have the kit (I'm not expecting any spectacular upgrades though as I booked as Reward Nights)

 

[Beer_budget]

Staying here for my birthday at the end of the year; wonder if the standard rooms also have the kit (I'm not expecting any spectacular upgrades though as I booked as Reward Nights)

We've stayed at Robbo Quay three times in standard rooms and not had one, so either they're only for suites, or they're new. Will be there again in August though, so will report back!

 

[trippin_the_rift]

Staying here for my birthday at the end of the year; wonder if the standard rooms also have the kit (I'm not expecting any spectacular upgrades though as I booked as Reward Nights)

They gave me a temp room on my early check in and didn't see an amenity kit. Rooms are cosy.

 

[The-Aviator]

Hotel: InterContinental Melbourne
When: April 2026
Status: Platinum Ambassador
Rate: $292/night (Visa cardholder rate)
Booked: Classic Room
Received: 2 Double Classic (only room type available with twin beds, received Ambassador upgrade compensation of 10,000pts or $70 F&B credit as a result)

Enjoyable trip to Melbourne over the Easter long weekend.

Arrival
Pre-arrival comms were good - when booking online they didn't show any twin rooms available so I booked the "Classic Room" without a bedding allocation and after emailing the hotel they were able to confirm a 2 Double Classic room for us, which was also visible in the app. We arrived just after 2pm and the room wasn't ready yet however the wonderful receptionist went through all the formalities with us, provided welcome drink vouchers and let us into the lounge for afternoon tea. We got a text not long after confirming the room was ready and they had keys waiting for us at the front desk.

Room
This was my first time staying in the Winfield Wing, having been in the Rialto Wing on previous stays. It's been a while since the last renovation but everything is still modern enough, clean and in working order. Our room on the 2nd floor was sufficiently large with two comfortable double beds, fully stocked minibar, sufficient closet space, great air conditioning and a TV with free-to-air channels as well as Chromecast. Whilst the rooms I've stayed in on the other side of the hotel have true balconies with a chair, the ones on the Winfield side are more 'balconette' with no space for a chair and the doors to the balcony were in fact locked for safety anyway.

The bathroom is well laid out with a walk-in shower with regular and rainfall heads and a heated mirror. Standard Byredo toiletries and towels were large and plentiful, would be nice if they had a scale as well.

Housekeeping was great and surprisingly there was also evening turndown. Complimentary bottled water was provided and replenished both in the morning and evening by housekeeping.

Club InterContinental
The Club is located next to reception overlooking the central atrium, with a variety of different seating options. The lounge is open daily from 6.30am-10.30pm with breakfast from 6.30-10.30am (7-11am on weekends), afternoon tea from 2-4pm and evening drinks and canapés from 5.30-7.30pm, with light refreshments and non-alcoholic drinks available all day. The receptionist confirmed that guests with Club access could also choose to have breakfast at the main buffet if they prefer.

Lounge breakfast includes a small hot and cold buffet as well as a list of à la carte items - drinks including coffee and juice are brought to you by the staff. There's plenty of variety althouh the salmon eggs benedict was my favourite.

Afternoon tea includes a tiered stand with two finger sandwiches, a scone and a cake, with sandwiches and cakes changing daily. It was more than enough to be a lunch substitute for us.

The evening service includes a cold buffet of cheese, cold cuts, salads etc as well as a plate of hot canapés served to the table. The drinks menu is extensive with a list of local beers and wines plus spirits, coughtails and mocktails. I was impressed with the variety of non-alcoholic options they had with a non-alc gin, a non-alc beer and two mocktails available. The hot canapés changed daily and were quite good, they were happy to bring a couple of extras on request. On the first night they also brought around some samples from one of the in-house restaurants, Ronnie's.

The Club was well staffed and everyone working there was a delight, they got to know our preferences over the three nights and were very attentive. One thing I noticed which was different to other ICs was that the last call for drinks was done around 20-25 minutes before the end of service, at other ICs they typically do this just before the end of the service and are happy for you to sit around and fininsh your drink after while they pack up. Here the bar had already been packed away by about 7:20pm!

F&B
There are a few options including the all-day Alluvial, Ronnie's for Italian and the Bluestone Lounge Bar. We visited Alluvial for breakfast on one of the three mornings and the selection was as good as it was on previous visits with an egg station for omelettes and other egg dishes made to order. Interestingly there was no salmon or avocado at the buffet, however there were dishes with these items available in the Club.

We also viisted Alluvial on our last day to use our drink vouchers and Ambassador F&B credit - the club sandwich at $31 was big enough to share and for a total spend of $6 for sandwich and drinks after the vouchers, it was very good value!

Amenities
There is a well-equipped gym an indoor pool on the top floor. The heritage building is beautiful, especially the central atrium.

Location
The location is great with lots of tram stops nearby if you need to go further.

Final Thoughts
Another enjoyable stay - I'm looking forward to seeing what renovations take place in the coming years as the property transitions into a Regent.

 

[kerfuffle]

April Stays

Hotel: Hotel Indigo Melbourne Little Collins
When: April 4-6
Status: Diamond Ambassador
Rate: Destination Deals at ~$197/night plus 8% cashback via TopCashback
Booked: 1 King Standard
Received: 1 King Standard City View
Amenity Offered: Drinks, 600 points or breakfast. Opted for breakfast; like Hotel Indigo Adelaide Markets, it's one hot offering with additional sides, plus a continental buffet. Also got 600 points.

I loved staying at this hotel for Melbourne International Comedy Festival! Way better than the other Indigo on Flinders, and what a great price too for a new (and new-build) hotel smack bang in the middle of Bourke St Mall - bargain stay of the year! Great location for all my shows (and MECCA to collect Beauty Loop tins for friends), so was able to pop by in between shows to refresh. Some of the voco staff now work here; got recognised by a former voco staff member while checking in.

Had room service on the Sunday; technical difficulties meant that I wasn't able to apply some of my $30 Food & Beverage vouchers via the IHG app, but reception and the front desk supervisor were able to sort it out for me before checking out after raising it with them the night before.

Not every day you see congee made to order at a hotel breakfast in Australia! So of course had to try it out. Looked like you could add an alcoholic drink on top for breakfast too - next time! And unlike the old restaurant at the Indigo on Flinders one, they did have chilli flakes to go with my fried eggs. They also have digital checkout if you wanted to bypass reception.








Hotel: InterContinental Sydney
When: April 24-25
Status: Diamond Ambassador
Rate: Preferred Partner Rate at 20% off at ~$320/night
Booked: Classic Room
Received: 2 Queen Classic City View 2 Queen Classic Heritage View 1 King Classic East Harbour View High Floor 1 King Classic East Harbour View
Amenity Offered: Drinks or 600 points. Asked for points since canapes and drinks in the Club Lounge wasn't too far away.

Checked-in about 15 minutes after check-in time, and I've never seen so many people waiting there before! But they had a priority line for Ambassadors, so that saved some queuing time and thus, was able to pop by the Club Lounge for afternoon tea before it ended at 4.

Some things have changed since I last stayed here in January:

No more complimentary bottled water in rooms. They now have reusable carafes and cups, custom-made for them by Robert Gordon. Guess they finished installing the filtered water dispensers on every floor.


You can ask for additional furnishings like an office desk and an ergonomic office chair.


Another selection of beers was waiting for me later at night, but this time there was a Peroni (unlike last time which was all Australian); probably to go with the accompanying welcome note that acknowledged that my profile said I enjoy arts and culture. Did a staycation to watch Parasite with the composer for the film and an orchestra at the Opera House, before returning early the next morning to do a Backstage Tour; very cool being able to stand on the Concert Hall stage where you saw the previous night's show!

Club Lounge was relatively quiet during afternoon tea time, but very busy during breakfast and canapes.

 

[Aeryn]

Hotel: Holiday Inn Express & Suites Sunshine Coast
When: 23-26 April 2026
Status: Platinum Ambassador
Rate: $260/night
Booked: 1 Queen Standard With Free Breakfast
Received: 1 King Suite With Free Breakfast
Early Check-in / Late Check-out: Requested 11am checkout instead of usual 10am and was granted.
Welcome amenity: 2 Timtams and a welcome note. Also offered welcome Drink or 600 Points. Took the points as pool bar was closed all weekend and lobby bar only had outdoor seating and it was unseasonably cold over the stay (i.e. colder than Sydney for same dates) and also raining.

The Bad:

• Air conditioning was set to artic, no matter what temperature or mode you selected on the thermostat, only freezing cold air blasted out. If you didn't turn it off you were shivering within 5 minutes, i never need to wear gloves even mid winter but i was wishing I had some. So the choice was aircon off with no air flow as windows don't open or request additional bedding. I went with the former given front desk were unable to get aircon to operate at the standard 23C (felt like 12C).
• No bottled water in room and no where to fill a bottle with filtered water or sparkling water (this is where Voco brand shines). This was a nuisance as we arrived late night and there is no nearby convenience store.
• There is no desk in a suite just a small peninsula with a backless poof/ottoman not a desk chair not ideal if on needed to do work. I note the images on the web site show office chairs in rooms but there wasnt one in our suite, I think perhaps a standard king room is better if you want to work.
• Free breakfast is very hit and miss. Scrambled eggs were very runny aka very undercooked not fluffy so inedible everyday. No bacon on Friday only on Saturday and Sunday. Hashbrowns only on Saturday. No forks on Sunday - just knives and spoons. Juice is cordial not even juice concentrate. Fruit was melons only. No where in house to get barista coffee, only bad machine coffee.
• Small towels and no make-up/magnifying mirror in bathroom.
• No USB-C outlets. Android Phones and Tablets have exclusively used USB-C since 2016, even coughple now use USB-C; I dont think I own any device that uses a USB cable. Wonder when we will start to see USB-C being the default.

The Good:

• Good pillow choice
• Proper duvet cover, none of that duvet between two sheet nonsense
• Spacious Walk in shower, no evil shubs.
• Quiet - I didnt hear any of the neighbours
• Good black-out blinds and a variety of lighting.
• I opted for green stay so picked up some more bonus points. With only a 3 night stay and having dinned out we didnt feel the need for someone to make the bed, change towels or empty bins (they were already empty).

The Area:

• Coffee - there is a good coffee shop directly across the road for proper coffee, however this doesn't open on Public Holidays or Sundays, so more useful for weekday stays. On a Sunday /Public Holiday the nearest real coffee is at Cotton Tree at Sunshine Social which is a good 10 min walk (next burb).
• Dinner - Katsu Co 2 blocks away did a decent dinner. Giddy Geisha and Market Bistro around the corner were both packed with people every night so I assume must be decent.
• Its a10-15min walk to Sunshine plaza or the main street for restaurants, supermarket etc.