Hotel Intercontinental Cali — Hotel in Cali

First I am a very frequent international traveler and an IHG Platinum and Intercontinental Ambassador and so this is a well informed review. The good is that the rooms are clean, comfortable and spacious as per the expectations of an Intercontinental Property. The not so good is that the breakfast is far below par and is very limited when considering the other options in Cali and other Intercontinental properties where I have stayed. Also the service in the restaurant while being very nice is almost nonexistent and so I had to get my own coffee, go ask for my bill, etc.

The bad is that the service in this hotel is not good. In all my time traveling I have never been treated so poorly by the front desk staff. They were rude on multiple occasions and it made me even uncomfortable to even walk by the front desk. I even tried to contact the manager since this is the first time this ever happened to me and of course you could not even get anyone to answer or even leave a message. So for this alone, I would not recommend this property.

Other inconveniences included very loud a room shaking parties until 11:30 pm on a weeknight when I had to get up at 5:00 am the next day for work. The Internet is also not that good and you have to constantly resign in for access every five minutes and the connection is not that strong. The gym is not that clean and they do not provide towels so you have to use paper towels to wipe down equipment and sweat, etc. Again this is something that is normal with other Intercontinental properties.

Finally there is a lot of construction and the pool will not reopen for another few months. I understand that hotels make improvements from time to time but I was looking forward to spending a rare weekday off at the pool. I was informed that the pool has been under construction for the past 5 months or so but it would have been good to have been informed of this on the website. I felt a little deceived about this as it is such an important amenity for an elite Cali hotel.

Even though I am a loyal IHG and Intercontinental user, I feel like this property is way below par in terms of service and overall value. I have also stayed at other hotels in Cali and feel like there are several that offer superior and friendlier service, a better breakfast, better wifi Internet coverage and are in better locations. This is by far the worst score I have ever given a IHG hotel, which are...

I recently stayed at this so-called 5-star property for four days. While the first two days were quite enjoyable and lived up to expectations, the experience took a sharp and unsettling turn during the latter half of my stay.

On the third day, I politely asked the front desk if there was an area where I could warm up my leftover food. The manager informed me there wasn’t, and advised me to check with the restaurants on the property. I followed his advice and approached one of the restaurants where I had dined the day before. Despite offering to order again, I was told no.

Hoping for a simple solution, I walked to a nearby pizzeria where the staff kindly agreed to help. However, things took a bizarre and frustrating turn when a woman in a red vest—who had followed me from the previous restaurant—spoke with the pizzeria chef. Moments later, he came to my table and informed me that my food had been thrown away, without my permission. I was stunned. When I asked why, he gave no response. I immediately canceled my pizza order and returned to my room, shaken and confused.

I called the hotel manager from my room to report the situation. At first, he claimed he had no idea what had happened but would look into it. Later, he called back saying the chef did not throw my food away, and he had housekeeping return it to me. What I received looked as though it had been pulled out of the trash. This was both disturbing and disrespectful, and the manager did absolutely nothing to make the situation right or to offer any gesture of care or accountability.

To make matters worse, upon checking out, the front desk presented me with a printed invoice showing charges for personal phone calls allegedly made from the room. I never used the phone for any such calls. When I asked if I needed to pay these charges, the staff said no—but the damage was done. It was an awkward and frankly insulting way to end an already sour experience.

This property may boast five stars, but based on how guests are treated when issues arise, it fails to uphold even basic standards of hospitality and professionalism. I expected more—much more—and left feeling disrespected and...

A Disappointing Stay at Hotel Intercontinental Cali — Luxury Without Hospitality

Hotel Intercontinental Cali may market itself as one of the city’s most luxurious and exclusive accommodations, but my brief experience revealed a troubling disconnect between prestige and basic hospitality. I stayed for only a few hours, and that was more than enough to know I won’t be returning.

From the moment I arrived, the service faltered. At 10:00 PM, after a long workday, I was met with a malfunctioning payment system. I spent nearly an hour on the phone with my bank—only to confirm the issue was on the hotel’s end. Not a single apology or acknowledgment from staff. Just blank stares and indifference.

Later that night, I ordered a simple salad at 11:15 PM. I understood the delay given the hour, but what followed was unacceptable: the staff member delivering the food refused to let me close my door, insisting I pay immediately via a card machine—despite the hotel’s usual checkout billing policy. It felt intrusive and unsettling.

The next morning at 11:00 AM, I sat with a coworker in the restaurant for half an hour. The space was nearly empty, yet we were completely ignored. No greeting, no service, no explanation. We eventually left and found a coffee shop outside the hotel—where, ironically, we were treated with far more warmth and professionalism.

And to top it all off: after the cleaning service had supposedly prepared the room, I found a dead cockroach. In a hotel of this caliber, that’s not just unacceptable—it’s alarming.

For a place that prides itself on luxury, the lack of care, accountability, and basic cleanliness was glaring. Expensive doesn’t mean exceptional, and this experience was a stark...