This was a rather odd choice for a Bonvoy loyalist but I had already cleared my Titanium renewal, and there weren’t a lot of Accor choices in the city to utilize my Plat status. So this became an excuse to buy an IHG Ambassador membership as the Free Weekend Night priced out for my dates this trip.

My last IHG Diamond / Ambassador tenure was passable so I was hoping this time might be different.

Address – 815 Hay Street, Perth, Western Australia 6000. Website.

Contact – Tel:  1800 781 066. Email: reservations.perha@ihg.com.

Location – the property enjoys a rather prime spot in the very walkable city, although sheltered access seems to not be a feature here. It’s about 5-minw walk from Perth Station and the route offers plenty of shopping and eating spots which makes it very convenient (but very expensive) to explore the city.

Price – Booked 3nights for a 2 Double Premium City View Club Access via a mix of:

• 1N – Hotelux IHG Destined promo which includes USD100 credits for AUD579
• 2N – IHG Ambassador Complimentary Weekend Night for AUD1208 (before the free night)

Pre-arrival – I reached out to inform of the reservation structure, our red eye arrival, and requested if we could at least have breakfast if our room is not ready (didn’t expect it to be!). The reply received was (the reason for appending the exact email responses will make sense later):

Beyond that, I received a generic email offering upgrades and add-ons 3 days prior:

Then I received another one from the Club Intercontinental team 2 days prior:

I replied to reiterate my requests for early check in and breakfast and the reply was as follow – but note that this staff never got back to me after that with regards to the breakfast request:

Getting There – Despite being on a red-eye, we decided to make our way via the train, which took us slightly more than 30mins from Perth Airport station, and then another 10min walk to get to the property on foot. Not so fun on the cobbly streets of Perth in the wee hours of the morning but I think of it as a workout so I can eat more later.

Check In – we arrived to an empty lobby before 7am and was immediately attended to. We were informed that the room is not ready but we processed the necessary paperwork anyways.

I told the staff that there was an arrangement for us to enjoy breakfast at Ascua on this arrival day and the staff brought us to be seated. While waiting for our food, the same staff came by again to confirm the name of the Club staff I had corresponded with regards to my breakfast arrangement, said he will check with that staff, and left. And we never saw him again after that, so we assumed all good and duly signed the breakfast check when requested to.

Anyways, the lobby was undergoing some works but still looked rather good in my opinion.

After breakfast as Ascua (breakfast review in the later sections), we went back to the counter to collect our keys. I asked about the Ambassador guaranteed upgrade but was told the Twin Bed Premium Room I had booked was already the highest category twin bedded room in the property. I said I don’t mind a King bed configuration if there is any higher category available indeed, and was told none, but they can offer to check for next day, which I declined as I find it a hassle to change rooms for a 3-night stay.

I was then told that I should have let them know in advance if I didn’t mind a different bed configuration in exchange for the upgrade. But I mean…how would I know how they classify their upgrade structure to know to ask for this in the first place?

Room – Our twin bed premium view room, 1408, at 27SqM was a cosy space for 2pax, just enough to get space to open our luggage and lay stuff out as necessary. The space was decently clean and feels well maintained despite its age.

A narrow walkway starts the room, with the wardrobe to the right equipped with the quinessentials.

A cube-layout mini bar comes next, equipped with what you’d expect – nespresso machine, tea bags, and cupwares, and a stocked mini fridge.

Onwards to the main bedroom space where two very comfortable twin beds lay, with its own bedside tables with charging ports and lighting controls.

Located up against the window is a simple sofa with a separate chair + coffee table.

The bathroom is compact but adequate, with a separate toilet area which enabled us to multi-task during the stay which was nice. Toiletries were Byredo, which I believe I last saw in a Conrad somewhere. The only annoyance here is the lack of basic amenities – you have to call housekeeping for even dental kits which I thought was an inconvenience for a 50-star property.

Later that evening, a bar of local chocolates (forgot to take pics!) was placed on the coffee table alongside a welcome note as well as a Club letter with timing and details – though shouldn’t this be offered at check in instead?

Club Intercontinental – Club Intercontinental was located on level 16 and is a surprisingly small space for the property size, with most tables set up for 2pax and some strangely empty spots underused. Window seats are obviously the more popular ones here so come early to snag a spot!

Guests with club access can enjoy the following benefits:

• Access to dedicated Club InterContinental Concierge team 
• Complimentary two pieces of pressing per stay upon arrival
• Complimentary 1-hour usage of the Club InterContinental meeting room per stay.

• À la carte breakfast from 6:30am to 10:30am  
• All day refreshments from 7:00am onwards
• Afternoon tea from 1:00pm to 3:00pm  
• Evening cocktails and canapes from 5:00pm to 7:00pm 

A binded menu on each table lays out the offerings for each session:

I only managed to enjoy breakfast and evening cocktails during my stay but I will say, based off my experience during these 2 busier hours of the lounge, that it feels like the property understaffs this space with only 1 or 2 staff handling everything – from welcoming guests, sitting them, taking orders, explaining the F&B, making drinks, clearing soiled plates and cleaning tables etc. I really don’t want to be them at all!

Anyhows…

À la carte breakfast from 6:30am to 10:30am – this was a much more peaceful but much more moderated spread compared to Ascua. A small ala carte menu is available for order, which offered some dishes not available downstairs, complemented with one of the smallest Club breakfast spread I’ve seen.

My eggs came also arrived looking…….rather sloppy.

Evening cocktails and canapes from 5:00pm to 7:00pm – this was also a very moderated Club evening spread I’ve seen, with hot choices equivalent to a set of hot canapes per pax served to the table and explained tableside by the staff. Across 3 evenings, we saw a thoughtful rotation of the bites, some of which were actually quite nice.

This small plate is thankfully accompanied by a handful of cold apps offering salads, accompaniments, cheeses, and misc stuff. But these small offerings were also woefully under-replenished and sometimes already emptied out at the half way mark, and remained so until right to the end, but suddenly replenished 15mins prior to end of session. Staff will then make last calls not soon after. This workflow is just not logical to me.

Thankfully, the alcohol made up for the lack of food. On offer was a nice sparkling brut, 2 types of white, 2 types of red, 3 cocktails (awesome nespresso martini), and 3 mocktails. Maybe this is why the staff were so busy? Hah.

Breakfast @ Ascua – served from 6:30am-10:30am, the space itself has not much seating, with some spots really dark. Wonder if lighting is expensive here.

Guests can choose between an Express breakfast, Continental, or the full breakfast experience where an ala care menu (menu) is available for your choice of hot mains. I’d recommend if included in the room, just take the whole experience as the egg dishes were pretty tasty.

The Continental spread while not big, has all the quintessential to start the day with: cold cuts, cheeses, fruits, salads, yoghurts, cereals etc.

Other F&B – we used our USD100 at Ascua for dinner on the first night – great choice as all 3 dishes were absolutely delicious and totalled USD125 of our stash.

Facilities – this property has no pool, but at least a Fitness Centre located on the mezzanine level. Quite typically decent sized and would be sufficient for holiday workouts.

Service – Nothing much to complain about up til now.

Check Out – at check out, everything fell apart. I was charged for my arrival day breakfast. I was told very sternly, in no uncertain terms, the following:

1) No one specifically said breakfast was free / complimentary or used the word ‘free’ or ‘complimentary’ in the process (even though my assumption was never disputed in the email correspondences I had).

When the team says we are “welcome to enjoy breakfast” on arrival day and it actually meant it being a chargeable item, why weren’t we informed of the price as well in that same email? And breakfast cost at Ascua is tiered depending on whether it would be just the continental spread or inclusive of a hot main – so when the staff who checked us in brought us to Ascua, why didn’t he explain the tiers then and assume that we were happy to pay for the highest tiered option? 

2) I should have followed up on my end if I didn’t hear from either the Club staff or the staff who checked us in on arrival day.

But why is it not an issue that 2 of their staff failed to follow up on the matter and the responsibility then falls on me to follow up on my own requests? And how were we supposed to understand their silence as confirmation that we would be charged for that breakfast? All I needed was to be informed in a timely manner – and that never happened at all throughout my 4-day stay.

3) Both staff were only associates who did not have the authority to handle such requests / promises.

Then at least tell me so I know to speak to the Duty Manager? It is bewildering that I was expected to understand who has the authority to handle which matters. And why is it that the property does not train their staff to watch how they communicate to guests since surely they themselves know they do not have certain level of authority. And for that matter, I do not understand why the property chooses to assign a staff with limited authority to handle communications to welcome incoming Club level guests.

4) I signed the check at breakfast so it must mean I acknowledge that it was chargeable

Signing a check at breakfast was a normal hotel SOP to me, so I did so as per normal.

5) They had already given me my room ahead of the usual check in time and I should appreciate that.

I certainly did but these are 2 separate matters? Besides, isn’t early check in a benefit of being an IHG Platinum member?

Spent 30mins to resolve this and by then I really needed to get to the airport so I settled on paying a discounted rate (10% initially offered but I asked for 20%) and left, shocked at this type of treatmemt as an IHG Ambassador.

I will not spend another cent at this property ever again. But if anyone is intending to, here are some tips:

1) You have to specifically ask if something is ‘free’ or ‘complimentary’ even for something which you think to be. I was reiterated to a few times about the use of the two words so please be careful.

2) Ask for the Duty Manager for any and every correspondence / request you have as otherwise you may get another staff who is not authorized to handle your matter. Since guests have no clarity over who can say what, it is better to be safe than sorry.

The funny thing is, after all that, I was told that the next time I return to the property, they’d be happy to give me an upgrade. NO THANKS.