Tag: InterContinental Hotels View All Tags
Escape the Economy Hotels
InterContinental Offers Shipping For Your Holiday Gifts, If You're Buying 'Em
Where: United StatesDecember 3, 2008 at 9:00 AM | 2 Comments
The Intercontinental New York has an American Girl check-in. Now you can ship all your new American Girl dolls home. That is, if you are a creepy doll collector.
Intercontinental’s latest promotion might be kind of cool--if people we’re actually out spending gobs of money this holiday season, that is.
Through January 2, 2009, guests at select Intercontinental hotels won’t have to worry about shoving any gifts they bought into a suitcase, risking any fees imposed by airlines for overweight luggage (or heck, any luggage). Stay at one of seven InterContinental hotels at a room rate of $199 or more to get free shipping on one box per room, up to 30 pounds, sent anywhere in the U.S. via standard shipping service.
(You’ve got to spend money to get things for free, people.)
Killer View
You Don't Need a TV at the InterContinental Bora Bora
November 13, 2008 at 1:55 PM | 3 Comments
We are suckers for a room with a killer view. We find that we are even more likely to forgive some minor hotel inconveniences if we can stare out the window at something pretty--yeah we are that shallow. Let's help out our fellow hotel mavens by uploading rooms with killer views to the HotelChatter/Flickr photo pool, or by sending the photo along to us. We will feature our favorites in this space from time to time. Remember to tell us the name of the hotel and the room number of the hot view.
Now really, people. If you were lying in bed here in your villa at the InterContinental Bora Bora, would you really be looking at that flat-screen television on the wall? Or would you be sitting up with your mouth open, drooling all over yourself while you gazed out at that gorgeous blue ocean view?
Surely it is nice that the TV is in the room, but we just find it so funny that the television is next to such a breathtaking view. We can't believe we're saying this, but we'd actually rather leave the TV off while Prison Break was on so we could stare at a view of Mount Otemanu rather than at Wentworth Miller. We know — bold statement.
Celebrity Scoop
Kim Kardashian Hits Up InterContinental's "Make-A-Wish Nightclub"
November 10, 2008 at 2:06 PM | 0 Comments
On Saturday night in Miami, famous-for-no-reason starlet Kim Kardashian hit up a "nightclub" for reasons that may have actually been noble -- and it appears she wore a tasteful outfit, too.
The Make-A-Wish Foundation threw its 14th Annual InterContinental Make-A-Wish Ball at the InterContinental Miami, a nightclub-themed evening hosted by Miami nightlife kings Michael Capponi and Shareef Malnik.
According to the invitation we got, Adrian Grenier was supposed to be there too, but we haven't caught any photos of him yet -- but then again, he probably doesn't take time out of his evening to strut around to different areas of the hotel to ham it up for the cameras like some people. Kim, unsurprisingly, got herself a nice little hand massage in the hotels MySpa and then headed up to the Royal Suite for another photo shoot before she made her grand arrival at the ball.
According to Gossip Girls, Kimmy K played "emcee for a live auction, which came amidst a mystical-themed dinner [and] a musical performance by The Honey Brothers."
We're happy to see her doing something for a good cause, but we seriously hope she didn't ask to be paid for this appearance. And, more importantly, was dreamboat Adrian Grenier there?
[Photo: Gossip Girls]
Hotel Technology
InterContinental Barclay Hotel Gets a Microsoft Surface to Play With
November 5, 2008 at 9:45 AM | 0 Comments
The Barclay, the InterContinental property in midtown Manhattan that has earned its fair share of flack from us due to its notably atrocious color schemes and seriously-aged decor, has officially made our heads explode by jumping way, way ahead of the times and scoring a Microsoft Surface computer.
We thought these babies were only being tested out in Sheraton Hotels, but apparently The Barclay got its hands (heh) on a sparkling new surface and has already put it to good use.
Hotel Spas
Willard InterContinental Washington Knows a Thing or Two About Relieving Stress
October 28, 2008 at 11:42 AM | 0 Comments
One of D.C.’s most quintessential hotels--the stately Willard InterContinental--gets new spa digs this week. Starting Friday, the Elizabeth Arden Red Door Spa opens for business just two blocks from the White House, replacing the hotel’s former I Spa Center with a fancy new one. We hardly think the timing is coincidence.
Yes siree, come next Wednesday, we can think of a few high-profile individuals who would be wise to give the spa’s offerings a whirl. And some not-so-high-profile individuals too. Heck, we could all go for a little pampering after this election cycle.
Political Hotels
Sarah Palin Does Not Attempt to Lay Low While Hitting Up NYC Hotels
September 24, 2008 at 12:08 PM | 3 Comments
Memo to Sarah Palin: if laying low is what you're looking to do, may we gently chime in to let you know that staying at the Millenium Broadway smack in the middle of midtown during your NYC visit is not the way to go about it? It's tourist central over there and, frankly, you and the fam are not going to go unnoticed.
And while we're chit-chatting: can you use your authority to kindly ask the folks at the InterContinental Midtown to do something about those dreadful drapes?
Hotel Openings
InterContinental O'Hare :: "More Kinks Than A Chiropractic Convention" or Smooth Sailing?
September 19, 2008 at 12:52 PM | 0 Comments
Look, we're not ones to take the word of TripAdvisor reviewers as gospel -- especially since we understand that sometimes folks won't really take the time to write about a hotel on the Internet unless their experiences at said hotel are exceptionally miserable or fantastic.
Nonetheless, we like to consult TA when hotels are in their first days of operation because we like to get a 'lil peek at what folks are saying about it (especially if we haven't had a chance to check the place out ourselves). So we did our usual TA-spying on the brand new InterContinental Chicago O'Hare and it looks like the hotel got off to a bit of a rocky start during the soft opening at the beginning of the month, but everything seems to be going a bit more smoothly now.
Hotel Openings
Swanky InterContinental Chicago O'Hare Now Open
September 8, 2008 at 5:10 PM | 0 Comments
Swanky airport hotels tend to win our hearts. Like, we love a great hotel and all, but when the airport hotel manages to be a "great hotel" without prompting that little "...for an airport hotel" clause to be tacked onto the end, we feel as though we've struck the hotel-geek version of gold -- for reference, see the lovefest we bestowed upon the Grand Hyatt DFW Airport.
That said, we have super-high hopes for the brand new InterContinental Chicago O'Hare, a 556-room hotel and conference center that opened up around Chicago's O'Hare airport today.
Beijing Hotels
Where to Try the Michael Phelps 12,000 Calorie Diet in Beijing
August 15, 2008 at 2:01 PM | 1 Comment
We know you've read this in 400 different places but: Michael Phelps eats 12,000 calories a day. This has been mystifying people all over the world this week, giving folks a nice little piece of commentary to add to watercooler recaps of the Olympics.
UK journalist Will Pavia decided to try out the Michael Phelps face-stuff-fest while over in Beijing covering the Olympics.
He took on the challenge at the InterContinental Beijing, and while we're certain there are more than a few places to score yourself 12,000 calories worth of food in the city, we now know for sure that the staff won't gawk at you or act like your multiple sandwiches and pounds of pasta are a big deal at all because they've already seen it.
Beijing Hotels
InterContinental Beijing Is the Official Hangout of Olympic Journalists
August 14, 2008 at 3:46 PM | 0 Comments
Ever wonder what all those journalists are doing over in Beijing while they're covering the Olympics? No? Well, we did. And it turns out: they're all chillin' at the InterContinental Hotel, which is attached to the Olympic Main Press Center.
An IndyStar.com correspondent described the scene:
Our hub is the Main Press Center, which is effectively its own city. It has a bank, post office, general store, merchandise store, barber shop, cafeteria, transportation desk, exercise room, lockers, showers and library.
It is attached to the Intercontinental Hotel, and an easy path to the venues is through the pristine lobby.
So, like, every journalist covering the Olympics is just walking through the lobby of the hotel? Surely with those long hours covering even the boring stuff like trap shooting or badminton, all those reporters are in sunshine-y moods. Party time at the Intercontinental.
Paula Abdul Hotels
Snapshot :: The Barclay Intercontinental is Totally a Paula Abdul Hotel
August 11, 2008 at 2:37 PM | 1 Comment
Here's a Paula Abdul Hotel for the books: the Barclay Intercontinental in Manhattan. You know what kind of hotels we're talking about -- we officially define them as "old luxury hotels still coasting by on favorable press from the 1980s and early 1990s; old-looking from the inside and out. A few of them may have had some minor up-keeping done but not necessarily for the better."
Check out this shot of a room at the Barclay from our recent stay in Manhattan: those curtains! The yellow bedskirt! And, one thing you can't get from the pic: the overwhelming musty smell in the room, which smelled sort of like our college bathroom's shower stall that we never cleaned.
Budapest Hotels
NewYorkology Hearts the View from the Budapest Intercontinental Hotel
July 29, 2008 at 5:02 PM | 1 Comment
A while back we let you know that Amy Langfield from NewYorkology was taking a European vacation and she was concerned about her lodgings in Prague. Well, we know how that all worked out and now she's giving up the lowdown on her trip. Here she details her stay at the Intercontinental Hotel in Budapest. Consider this Part 1.
We were on the club floor and got a pretty good deal since we booked a package that got us a city tour package.
And yes, the cruise was cheesy, but it was worth it for the VIP entry to Parliament with our excellent guide Andrea, who was super smart and had a very dry sense of humor. She works for the Eurama Travel Agency in the InterContinental.
The hotel was perfectly fine, and I was exceptionally happy with the extra bed situation for my stepson. But really, the best thing about this place was the view. All pictures here are taken from inside our room -- at arrival, sunset, and the morning.
And above is the YouTube video I shot at dinner at the hotel's patio. It's not of the hotel, but rather the fireworks show we could see from the hotel. Killer view indeed.
Room rates at the Intercontinental start at $215 a night for a standard room. Rooms with a view are slightly more.
