[Anonymous]

[Binman62]

I am a platinum card holder with ICHG and for some time they have been my hotel of choice. With the family it is generally Holiday Inn Express or Holiday Inn whilst on Business Crowne Plaza / Intercontinental, though on occasions with the family have stayed at the latter. I joined the Ambassador programme due the benefits on offer when staying at Intercontinental.

My issue is that I have rarely seen any recognition of the Platinum Card at any Hotel other than the Holiday Inn Express where there are no benefits. That said it has been always been nice to welcome and feel valued. My last stay at an Intercontinental was a disaster and the Ambassador benefits simply ignored.

Since then I have stayed 5 or 6 times at Holiday Inns in the UK and without exception have never seen any form of recognition. This weekend was a prime example with nothing said at check in and a call on Sunday at 11.45 to make sure we were vacating at noon thus ignoring the late check out benefit

Has anyone else had similar experience or have I just been unlucky? Is the ICHG programme a good one or is there a better option. I have Gold membership of Hilton and Accor but do not use Hilton much. The family holiday this year is with Accor.

[VintageKrug]

I think the usual benefit at Holiday Inn Express is to not be put on the noisy/road side of the hotel and generally away from the lifts.

On my only stay in one last year, I thought it was ideal for a quick eight hour stay.

I find my Platinum Royal Ambassador benefits are usally better acknowledged and delivered if I email the property in advance, though of course this isn’t always possible. It helps to give them a hint what “does it” for you eg Lounge access/view/suite upgrade and they can usually accommodate most reasonable requests.

I will not continue with my Ambassador status beyond next year’s comped downgrade to the standard Ambassador level as I really don’t see the value in the fee now the eligible rates for the weekend night certificate have been restricted, and because of various other perk reductions in the programme.

[BABenji]

I too am a platinum card holder with Priority Club and this has generally been acknowledged through room upgrades.

Holiday Inn Darling Harbour were nice enough to plaster my name over a flat screen in the lobby, along with all other arriving platinum card holders that day. They also upgraded me.

Holiday Inn Zurich Messe I have been upgraded every time I’ve stayed there, which is at least once per month.

I can’t remember anyone making a specific point of mentioning/acknowledging my platinum status at check in, other than to say that’s why I had been upgraded, but then I have to admit that such a touch is not important to me, although I appreciate it is for many travellers.

As above, the lack of personal acknowledgement wouldn’t concern me, but to have an experience whereby you are called to ask to leave your room would frustrate and annoy mightily.

[PatJordan]

I am a lont time Priority Club member, currently Gold having been Platinum for several years.

My experience of recognition is varied.

On many occasions when staying at the Crowne Plaza Dublin Airport I have been upgraded to club floor. On one stay I had booked Club floor and was given an upgrade to a suite!

To be honest I found the membership most beneficial when I had to complain about a particular hotel: there appeared to be a greater willingness to resolve issues for a regular guest of the group, regardless of how often I had stayrd at that particular property.

Priority Club is more user friendly than Hilton Hhonors, and their most recent promotion offered complimentary Regus membership for 12 months. This alone is a very useful benefit.

Overall, my experience of Priority Club has been good.

[NTarrant]

I am an Ambassador Gold Priority Club member and my stays go in patches and at nowhere particularly regular. I have stays booked for later in the year but my last stays were towards the end of last year.

I find the recognition very patchy, I found Intercontinenatl to be better, but having stayed at Singapore where the treatment was like royalty, the Wellington site was “ok”. Never had any recognition or upgrade from Crowne Plaza or Holiday Inn. But Holiday Inn Express is usually quite good, although I’ll reserve judgement until my stay in one on Sunday!

[NTarrant]

I am pleased to say that my stay at Exeter last Sunday and currently at Derby Holiday Inn Express experiences have been really good.

At Exeter the list was on the desk, I was greeted and handed by key card with a smile. At Derby yesterday as soon as I said my name the girl said “oh yes, your a Priority Club member” and handed me the clip board to sign.

I don’t know what happens for non-Priority Club guests but at HIE it must be the fastest check-in, no messing around with swiping credit cards or filling in silly cards.

[GlobalTravellerTom]

I find it strange to see such a mixed response to a brand I use 12-15 nights every month. Where most of the IHG hotels treat me so well. I have been a Ambassador Platinum card holder for 3 years now.

Given the amount of time I spend in hotels I always try to stick to the one brand. I would favour a Holiday Inn Express and a 20min drive over a Hilton with a 10 min drive to the office.

Sadly, IC hotels are not that common in the UK although I do use them where possible in the EU (still only 2-3 stays PA).

@NTarrant It is good to hear from someone else who has stayed at the IC Singapore. The service there was second to none, the staff did genuinely care about every guest.

@BABenji I have not used the HI Darling Harbour but did use the CP which also offered me a great service. If your ever staying in the area again, may I suggest the CP Cogee Beach. Best CP, always upgraded with some of the best views any CP has to offer.

If any of you are in Glasgow I would suggest you try the HI Theatre Land rather than the CP. They give you vouchers for everything in the hotel and always upgrade you. 3 weeks back they gave me a penthouse suite because I was staying 5 nights instead of my usual 4. I only booked and paid for a standard double!!

All in all yes I am a IHG “fanboy” if you will, but why the hell not. From HIE up to IC I get huge points rewards and a great service to match.

Just avoid HI Cardiff, the one stain on an otherwise great offering.

[NTarrant]

Thanks Tom, I too have stayed at CP Darling Harbour. The staff were very good, but the room was a little tired but a good view. CP at Alice Springs is also very good, nice rooms and a good breakfast scheme which caters for all needs and at reasonable prices for what you need.

I would also avoid the HI Leeds/Bradford, not that good. But I found the Bolton HI very good and a fantastic breakfast.

[GlobalTravellerTom]

@NTarrant Could you ever compare a breakfast scheme with that of the IC Singapore though?

HI Bolton was nice, stayed there in November for 2 days, shame about the area. Very run down town centre.

[SimonRowberry]

Tom – I found your comments about the HI Bolton interesting. One of my associated offices is almost directly opposite the hotel and the area actually isn’t as run down as it used to be (!). There’s a great tapas bar in the town centre – the best I’ve had in the UK.

Having said that, the HI is pretty bad and I avoid staying there like the plague. The restaurant in the converted church used to be great but then became very ordinary over the last few years.

The hotel itself used to be a Moat House. It became notorious in 2001, when a disgruntled employee lit a fire in a bedroom corridor which killed two guests. At least the customer care orientation of the staff has improved since then…..

On the thread itself. I used to be a Six Continents Club member from the early 1980s onwards, which was probably the best hotel loyalty card ever – free, no qualifying nights and a suite upgrade wherever possible.

For obvious reasons, this was eventually subsumed by Priority Club after the Bass acquisition. Six Continents Club members were given Ambassador Platinum membership for the first year, but I found the level of guest recognition to be so poor that I pretty quickly shifted to Hilton Honors (where I am platinum) and SPG (where I am gold) and, bluntly, I’ve never looked back.

I found that the quality of Holiday Inns in the UK became so variable that they became a bit of a gamble. This was particularly the case when they started rebranding Post Houses and HI Garden Courts as core brand properties. Hilton did the same, of course, with ex-Stakis properties, but this never led to quite the same degree of variable standard. This still goes on – the former De Montfort Hotel in Kenilworth, for example, has recently become a core-brand HI which, in my opinion, is a hotel which is never up to general HI standards by a country mile.

I used to love the American-standard early Holiday Inns, which were purpose built to the US specification and were usually wholly-owned – Leicester, Birmingham (now the CP), Dover (as was), Plymouth, Newcastle etc, plus loads in Europe (such as Eindhoven and Cologne Airport).

The CHIC (Commonwealth Holiday Inns of Canada) properties were also excellent (Bristol, Glasgow, Swindon, Portsmouth, Slough-Windsor, Marble Arch etc), but they of course became Marriotts.

I guess times change. However, apart from the occasional HI Express stay (which are far superior to other budget offerings, although they’re now getting relatively pricey), you are highly unlikely to bump into me in an IHC hotel.

Regards, Simon

[NTarrant]

Tom – I think should have explained. I would agree that the IC Singapore breakfast is a feast. But the CP Alice Springs has three scales depending on what you want. There is the bakery selection which gives you toast and pastries at the lowest price. Then there is the continental which gives access to fruit, yoghurt, cerials as well as toast etc at the next level price and then there is the full blown cooked version.

My wife and I were there a year ago and two nights of the three were on a tour. Our tour like most others that were there, breakfast was not included, so we were free to buy what we felt we wanted to eat. The last night which we stay breakfast was included.

This is not the sort of scheme you find in many hotels, but I thought it was a good way of serving the customer in giving them what they want. The hotel also scores in that it would tempt those that would have perhaps skipped breakfast on the cost basis against need.

Simon – You have to agree that it is not the best of areas for HI but in the cold winter months it does give a run down appearance. Parking is a problem here. I checked in late afternoon then had to go out in the evening, returning at 2300 had to park in a street a block or so away which is not very good.

I have found that there is a variance not only in HI but also Hilton. Hilton Cardiff good, Nottingham poor. Euston poor, Wardorf Aldwych good (it had better be again as Mrs T and I are there tonight!).

HIE are consistant in delivery and standard, but as Simon says they are a bit pricey. The free breakfast is good although I don’t think they should have bothered with scrambled eggs and sausages.

[MarkCymru]

I have had a platinum Royal Ambassador card since Six Continents days (whatever they called it then). It’s very patchy.

Some Interconti’s always recognise the status and upgrade to a suite (Delhi Nehru Place and Frankfurt, for example and New York in recent years) Others recognise it but give mediocre rooms (Paris, the Willard in DC and the Mark Hopkins in SF, for example). The US properties are bad about delayed billing for minibar items relying on busy guests not to call and argue (drinks from the minibar are free — a really useful benefit even if you’re not an alcoholic given that Hilton often charges 5 Euros for a Coke)

Crowne Plaza’s are very hit and miss on recognition (and usually miss) and Indigo’s are consistently miss (the room I had in Dallas was like the servant’s room in the Rio apartment that I rented a few weeks later).

I’ve avoided Holiday Inns after a few truly gruesome experiences (JFK and Paris) but they’re winning me back over. The one in Cambridge upgraded me to a lovely executive room. I booked an executive room in Oxford this week and it was very good. Even Milton Keynes was quite impressive. However, Cambridge aside, they never recognise the platinum status – much less give anything for it.

Hilton do a much better job of recognition but they seem incapable of acting on simple preferences (e.g. no connecting door, away from lift) so I’ve dropped to silver status.

Marriott always recognise my gold status and are good about preferences but rarely give the things I want (mostly upgrades)

Shangri La have a good idea – they offer suite upgrades to Golden Circle members for $40. It’s a pity they won’t confirm them in advance

[alwaysinclub]

I was a long time PC Platinum member, staying frequently at mainly Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Express or Crowne Plaza. With the exception of a HI near East Midlands Airport (where they handed me an upgraded room and offered a half bottle of red wine!), I always had to prompt the receptionist to check for upgrades or get a late check out. I was staying in these hotels 80-90 nights a year and over the 3 years of holding the level, that was the only excepttion. Despite needing to prompt, they were always OK about honouring the request.

Marriott, even though I am only a silver holder have never failed to acknowledge and even go above and beyond, such as in Riyadh and Heathrow, getting much better rooms.

All that said, I thought PC was very good for offers and rewards.
The worst I have ever experienced is HHonours!

[DavidHTW]

My experience is that the recognition depends on each hotel, never feel the common standard among IHG group at all. It’s similar to Radisson Gold Point reward. The outstanding benefit of these two program is the way to pump up points, and the critieria of reward nights is far lower than their competitors. If recognition is concerned, try Hilton Honors & SPG, they’ll remind your status every time when you check in and upgrade always, and the access of lounge which InterContinental couldn’t guarantee….. Recently I use my HHonors Diamond card to trade with SPG, they offer my one & half year Platinum status as matching. I do enjoy the recognition so far. The guaranteed 4PM late check out is the best among all loyal program. They never call my room, even I try to inform them in advance. They just assume all Platinum member will use this benefit.

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