InterContinental Ljubljana by IHG — Hotel in Upravna Enota Ljubljana

Our four night stay here was really very nice.

On arrival we enquired about our room having a bath, but were told that it had only a shower. As a twin room, and there being a limited number of twin bedrooms, the friendly and accommodating receptionist arranged a king size room with an additional single bed, which more than met our needs.

An hour or so after arrival, our promised extra bed arrived.

The room - 1106 - was exceptional. Being a corner room, it had window after window, allowing plenty of natural light, and all were floor to ceiling. It offered a large bathroom and living space with many of the amenties (and more) that you would expect from such a high-rated hotel e.g. robes, slippers, Nespresso coffee, complimentary water etc.

Breakfast was included in our rate and that too was excellent. The selection was vast and we could choose from the buffet and the a la carte options, as well as an extensive selection of hot drinks. As well as juices and water, it was nice to see a sparkling Slovenian wine also included. The service was consistently good and Monica was a stand-out member of the team, being so warm and friendly, and extremely attentive.

The leisure facilities were also very good and so was the service again. A small pool, a jacuzzi and a variety of saunas and steam rooms were used most nights to recharge after a day of walking.

Housekeeping was of an acceptable standard - with our room being attended to on all except for Prešeren Day. We used the 'do not disturb' and 'make up room' lights to indicate our preferences for the day. But on returning to the hotel on the evening of this Slovenian holiday, our blue light was still illuminated, and I suspected that our room had been overlooked that day.

I was correct. The room had been left untouched.

Whilst we didn't want a late attendance from housekeeping, we did want some fresh towels (they had been reused repeatedly until that time) along with some replacement tea, coffee and water.

This is where the hotel fell short of the expected 5-star standard. We called housekeeping and initially found the response to be dismissive - telling us that we "must" have left the do not disturb light on. We definitely hadn't.

Our request, which was to be responded to right away, still hadn't seen any action 40 minutes later, requiring a further call.

An hour after making our request by telephone, housekeeping did attend, bringing the requested items and even insisting that they be allowed to clean the room, change linen etc. So the handling here, with the exception of being blamed for no housekeeping, was acceptable.

Checking out was straightforward. We were asked if we had used any items from the minibar (we hadn't) and were also asked to settle the city tax bill on the room. Once paid, we left our luggage with reception staff and went to enjoy our last 90 minutes in the city.

We returned, collected our bags and set off to the airport.

Disappointingly, on checking my credit card statement the following day, there was an additional charge alongside the city tax - an amount equivalent to 41 Euros!

I immediately called the hotel to query the charge and was told that it was for the minibar. But we hadn't used any items from it. Asked what I was supposed to have had, the receptionist rattled off items including Coke, water, orange juice etc.

Stating that I had not taken a single item from the minibar, I was asked to send an email in order for action to be taken, which I have since done.

But this has left a really bitter taste in my mouth and it would certainly deter me from using this hotel again. Despite giving an email address on the guest registration card on checking in, nobody thought to contact me about the additional charge to be collected, and nobody thought to mention it when I returned to collect my luggage. This charge was slyly applied to my credit card - even after making it explicitly clear during checkout that I had not used any items.

After a largely positive stay, the checkout process caused me much...

The InterContinental Ljubljana is one of the best places where you can stay when visiting the city when it comes to location.

You only walk about 700-900 meters and you are everywhere you want to go. From the center to the Ljubljanski grad, to the Tivoli park, railroad and bus station and everything you might want to visit nearby.

The hotel is modern and was opened in September 2017. The rooms are great-looking, have enough room for 2 people and great bath design and interior. The staff was always friendly and cleaning of the rooms was to the point.

Still, there are a few things to kind-of complain about.

1. The beds are extremely hard. So if you like that, great. But if you don’t, be prepared to sleep on mattresses with the hardest grade you can get.

2. The costs for the breakfast are now at 27 Euro per person and what you get for the price is not really that good. Many around us were not happy with their omelets and drinks. When I ordered my first hot chocolate they brought a great one from within the kitchen. When I later ordered a second one, the waiter answered with “a second one?!” and brought one from a machine nearby where the hot chocolate is made with water and powder instead of using milk. Ugh!!! So, if you want to save some money and enjoy the great Ljubljana spirit, go downtown for breakfast.

3. The third one refers to something annoying. It seems that there are people outside the hotel who use drones to fly by windows where the curtains are open. So you are in a strange situation. On the one side you have one of the best views in the city (just to mention you can not see the Ljubljanski grad from any room but only from the roof top), but while having this great view you are at risk that Voyears are on the hunt for taking pictures and videos of visitors of the hotel. When I closed the curtain, the drone owner landed the drone about 50 meters from the hotel, so they clearly first spotted the rooms where the curtain is open and directly fly by. Unfortunately, the only thing you can do is to keep the curtains closed to avoid this annoying distraction.

While breakfast is not that great in the hotel, you should definitely try the B-restaurant for dinner. It is tasty and fairly priced for a 5-star hotel. It’s on the Michelin guide (no stars but recommended by Michelin), and the seating on the rooftop is worth every penny. The staff was extremely friendly, but it seemed that no matter how high the tip is, you never get a thank you, but that’s maybe a local phenomenon.

The elevators in the hotel are very fast and you do not have to wait long for one of the three available elevators to take you to the desired floor.

The valet parking took some getting used to. The employee did get the car out of the garage, but he didn't really want to help with the luggage and preferred to leave quickly when asking for help. In a 5-star hotel I expect the staff to ask me if they can help me with the luggage instead of requiring me to beg for help.

All in all, the InterContinental Ljubljana hotel was a...

We had a brilliant stay at InterContinental Ljubljana, first impressions are striking. We were warmly greeted by very well presented staff, the front of house team were so polite, professional and friendly. The check in process was very smooth, received a fantastic room upgrade to a corner King premium club room.

Our room was luxuriously appointed, spacious, great decor with contemporary furnishings. Located on a high floor we admired the picturesque views from our elegant room. Bed was exceptionally comfortable. The bedding and pillows were amazing, the room was quiet, relaxing, and extremely clean. Gorgeous marble bathroom, perfect layout, and excellent lighting. Large walk-in rain shower, deep soaking bath tub, lovely Byredo toiletries, plus the bathroom had large windows which offered spectacular views over Ljubljana and the surrounding Alps.

Had access to Club InterContinental lounge located on the 19th floor, a comfortable private environment, breathtaking views, great refreshments throughout the day, good evening drinks fantastic local wines. Diana in the lounge made us feel very welcome.

We enjoyed a fabulous breakfast next morning which was served in the B Restaurant on the 20th floor, a highlight for us was to eat out on the terrace, best breakfast experience, incredible views, food was delicious and to make our breakfast even more special we indulged in a sparkling wine breakfast. The breakfast at the InterContinental Ljubljana is exceptional, great selection, quality ingredients, liked the open kitchen chance to watch the chefs, I must mention the homemade ice cream at breakfast it was amazing. The service was friendly and attentive.

The location is great, walking distance to attractions, restaurants, bars and shops.

The only thing that was disappointing was that the Serenity SPA, pool, saunas and jacuzzi was temporarily closed due to obligatory maintenance. The pool being unavailable was inconvenient but it was understandable that work is needed to be carried out in order to maintain the highest standards of cleanliness and service. The hotel did provide an alternative choice, after reading underwhelming reviews the swimming pool facilities seemed a complete opposite in comparison to the prestigious Serenity Wellness and Spa centre at InterContinental Ljubljana, we were looking forward to indulging in this exclusive luxurious atmosphere from the swimming pool on the 18th floor. We have a reason to return and fully enjoy the hotels leisure facilities on...