InterContinental Seattle Bellevue by IHG — Hotel in Bellevue

Twice a year I’ll stay in downtown Bellevue and visit a couple of my favorite restaurants. I stayed here in January 2025. Having stayed at other InterContinentals across the world, here are my thoughts:

Pros: The hotel is new and is located in downtown Bellevue. There are many excellent restaurants within walking distance, as well as numerous places to shop.

The room was very nicely decorated in a modern design. I immediately noticed a pleasant, clean smell in the room. The bed was very comfortable. The bathroom was spacious and had excellent water pressure. The heating/AC worked well. I like the room cool at night, but warm in the morning. No issues with it at all.

The staff were all very kind, helpful and friendly. The person checking us in, Adriana, did so quickly and pointed out places to explore. The concierge, Leanne, was amazing! She had plenty of great restaurant tips, with a few discounts to offer. The manager Ali, who I spoke to on the phone, was very helpful and professional.

The buffet breakfast overall was good. It did offer some options and was quite delicious.

Now, the cons….I booked my stay in the InterContinental website. On the day of checking in, I noticed a special on their website. The special, which was about $120 MORE than I originally had booked, offered parking and breakfast for two. I called the hotel (the number listed on Google for the Bellevue location), but was routed to a call service in Asia. When I asked to make the change to take advantage of the offer on their website, I was told it was impossible. I was told the ONLY way to take advantage of the offer was to pay a cancellation fee on my initial booking and then rebook using the offer. Keep in mind, I was trying to give the hotel MORE money than I initially had booked. I ended the phone call quite frustrated.

I called a second time, hoping to directly contact the hotel. I again reached a call center in Asia. Why they outsource their calls to Asia is beyond me. Other 4 star hotels in Bellevue, including the Hyatt and Westin, can easily be directly contacted. Same thing when I called the second time…they said making a change (ie spending more money) was not possible. I asked to speak to a manager. They put me in touch with someone in Bellevue, but the phone connection was terrible. There was a delay on the phone with an echo. I asked to speak to someone else. I was connected to a manager named Ali. She was very understanding and apologetic and told me the change could be made, without penalty. I asked her if she could book it for me, but she said it needed to be booked online. By this point, I was frustrated and ready to book at the Westin, which I’d stayed at a few times before.

After getting off the phone with Ali, I decided to try and book the special offer online. I did without any complications. Ali did call me back a few minutes later saying she also could book it for me. Altogether, it took me 74 minutes to change this reservation. Had I simply been able to call the Bellevue location directly, it probably could have been done in 5 minutes. Outsourcing calls to Asia? Why?

The hotel has no pool and no spa. The other comparable hotels in downtown offer those. This is the first InterContinental I’ve stayed at that did not have ANY high-end hotel amenities.

The restaurant upstairs was only open for breakfast. Again, for a hotel of this caliber, the restaurant should have been open. They did have a small bar in the lobby (lobby area is very small), but seating is just a few feet away from the check in area, making it awkward to sit there and relax.

When I booked the room, I upgraded to a King Premium View Room. Though the room was very nice, it had no view, except into the QFC parking lot across the street. At the nearby Hyatt and Westin, our rooms had great views of downtown.

While the breakfast was good, for $45/person I expected more. Intercontinental locations I’ve been at in Dubai, Singapore and Beijing have baristas and an egg chef providing fresh omelets, etc, along with a much wider...

Twice a year I’ll stay in downtown Bellevue and visit a couple of my favorite restaurants. I stayed here in January 2025. Having stayed at other InterContinentals across the world, here are my thoughts:||Pros: The hotel is new and is located in downtown Bellevue. There are many excellent restaurants within walking distance, as well as numerous places to shop.||The room was very nicely decorated in a modern design. I immediately noticed a pleasant, clean smell in the room. The bed was very comfortable. The bathroom was spacious and had excellent water pressure. The heating/AC worked well. I like the room cool at night, but warm in the morning. No issues with it at all.||The staff were all very kind, helpful and friendly. The person checking us in, Adriana, did so quickly and pointed out places to explore. The concierge, Leanne, was amazing! She had plenty of great restaurant tips, with a few discounts to offer. The manager Ali, who I spoke to on the phone, was very helpful and professional.||The buffet breakfast overall was good. It did offer some options and was quite delicious.||Now, the cons….I booked my stay in the InterContinental website. On the day of checking in, I noticed a special on their website. The special, which was about $120 MORE than I originally had booked, offered parking and breakfast for two. I called the hotel (the number listed on Google for the Bellevue location), but was routed to a call service in Asia. When I asked to make the change to take advantage of the offer on their website, I was told it was impossible. I was told the ONLY way to take advantage of the offer was to pay a cancellation fee on my initial booking and then rebook using the offer. Keep in mind, I was trying to give the hotel MORE money than I initially had booked. I ended the phone call quite frustrated.||I called a second time, hoping to directly contact the hotel. I again reached a call center in Asia. Why they outsource their calls to Asia is beyond me. Other 4 star hotels in Bellevue, including the Hyatt and Westin, can easily be directly contacted. Same thing when I called the second time…they said making a change (ie spending more money) was not possible. I asked to speak to a manager. They put me in touch with someone in Bellevue, but the phone connection was terrible. There was a delay on the phone with an echo. I asked to speak to someone else. I was connected to a manager named Ali. She was very understanding and apologetic and told me the change could be made, without penalty. I asked her if she could book it for me, but she said it needed to be booked online. By this point, I was frustrated and ready to book at the Westin, which I’d stayed at a few times before.||After getting off the phone with Ali, I decided to try and book the special offer online. I did without any complications. Ali did call me back a few minutes later saying she also could book it for me. Altogether, it took me 74 minutes to change this reservation. Had I simply been able to call the Bellevue location directly, it probably could have been done in 5 minutes. Outsourcing calls to Asia? Why?||The hotel has no pool and no spa. The other comparable hotels in downtown offer those. This is the first InterContinental I’ve stayed at that did not have ANY high-end hotel amenities.||The restaurant upstairs was only open for breakfast. Again, for a hotel of this caliber, the restaurant should have been open. They did have a small bar in the lobby (lobby area is very small), but seating is just a few feet away from the check in area, making it awkward to sit there and relax.||When I booked the room, I upgraded to a King Premium View Room. Though the room was very nice, it had no view, except into the QFC parking lot across the street. At the nearby Hyatt and Westin, our rooms had great views of downtown.||While the breakfast was good, for $45/person I expected more. Intercontinental locations I’ve been at in Dubai, Singapore and Beijing have baristas and an egg chef providing fresh omelets, etc, along with a much wider...

Twice a year I’ll stay in downtown Bellevue and visit a couple of my favorite restaurants. I stayed here in January 2025. Having stayed at other IHG across the world, here are my thoughts:

Pros: The hotel is new and is located in downtown Bellevue. There are many excellent restaurants within walking distance, as well as numerous places to shop.

The room was very nicely decorated in a modern design. I immediately noticed a pleasant, clean smell in the room. The bed was very comfortable. The bathroom was spacious and had excellent water pressure. The heating/AC worked well. I like the room cool at night, but warm in the morning. No issues with it at all.

The staff were all very kind, helpful and friendly. The person checking us in, Adriana, did so quickly and pointed out places to explore. The concierge, Leanne, was amazing! She had plenty of great restaurant tips, with a few discounts to offer. The manager Ali, who I spoke to on the phone, was very helpful and professional.

The buffet breakfast overall was good. It did offer some options and was quite delicious.

Now, the cons….I booked my stay on the IHG website. On the day of checking in, I noticed a special on their website. The special, which was considerably MORE than I originally had booked, offered parking and breakfast for two. I called the hotel (the number listed for the Bellevue location), but was routed to a call service in Asia. When I asked to make the change to take advantage of the offer on their website, I was told it was impossible. I was told the ONLY way to take advantage of the offer was to pay a cancellation fee on my initial booking and then rebook using the offer. Keep in mind, I was trying to give the hotel MORE money than I initially had booked. I ended the phone call quite frustrated.

I called a second time, hoping to directly contact the hotel. I again reached a call center in Asia. Why they outsource their calls to Asia is beyond me. Other 4 star hotels in Bellevue, can easily be directly contacted. Same thing when I called the second time…they said making a change (ie spending more money) was not possible. I asked to speak to a manager. They put me in touch with someone in Bellevue, but the phone connection was terrible. There was a delay on the phone with an echo. I asked to speak to someone else. I was connected to a manager named Ali. She was very understanding and apologetic and told me the change could be made, without penalty. I asked her if she could book it for me, but she said it needed to be booked online. By this point, I was frustrated and ready to book elsewhere, which I’d stayed at a few times before.

After getting off the phone with Ali, I decided to try and book the special offer online. I did without any complications. Ali did call me back a few minutes later saying she also could book it for me. Altogether, it took me 74 minutes to change this reservation. Had I simply been able to call the Bellevue location directly, it probably could have been done in 5 minutes. Outsourcing calls to Asia? Why?

The hotel has no pool and no spa. The other comparable hotels in downtown offer those. This is the first InterContinental I’ve stayed at that did not have ANY high-end hotel amenities.

The restaurant upstairs was only open for breakfast. Again, for a hotel of this caliber, the restaurant should have been open. They did have a small bar in the lobby (lobby area is very small), but seating is just a few feet away from the check in area, making it awkward to sit there and relax.

When I booked the room, I upgraded to a King Premium View Room. Though the room was very nice, it had no view, except into the QFC parking lot across the street. At other nearby accommodations, our rooms had great views of downtown.

While the breakfast was good, for the high cost I expected more. Intercontinental locations I’ve been at in Dubai, Singapore and Beijing have baristas and an egg chef providing fresh omelets, etc, along with a much wider...