InterContinental New York Barclay by IHG — Hotel in New York

Hotel

When booking the hotel through a BA package we were really looking forward to staying at the Barclay given the location, history and images of the lobby however this is, unfortunately where the positivity ends.

On arrival after an 8.5 hr flight and a near 2 hr drive from JFK due to traffic we finally arrived at the Barclay Hotel. Once the 3 large cases with all hand luggage etc were removed out of the vehicle not once did a member of the hotel team come outside and help us with our cases nor did they open the doors to help us enter the building, which was a little disappointing given that the majority of hotels do greet you and assist.

On checking in we where rudely instructed to head to the check in desk by a lady who was clearly not happy to be working in a customer facing role by the constant huffs and puffs and lack of engagement … not even a “welcome to New York guys” or anything remotely friendly or warm.

The next instruction and I say instruction loosely as it was more of a demand was for $1400 dollars for incidentals … I asked what incidentals ?? As we both don’t drink alcohol we have a 12 year old with us and have breakfast included so why do you need 200 dollars per night ?? The answer because it’s policy and that’s final…. So reluctantly we handed a credit card over for this holding deposit. (So please be aware of this charge when you arrive as it was not mentioned by BA or anyone else when booking)

As an IHG gold member due to working overseas and travel there are perks your entitled too with this chain however none where mentioned and none where offered, I wasn’t expecting the world however it would have been nice for the receptionist to acknowledge loyalty and discuss the well earned perks but nonetheless we just wanted to get to our room and get some much needed sleep.

Once the uncomfortable check in process had been completed we asked where the elevators where and the abrupt answer was “That side or that side choose which one you want” Ok thankyou very much Merry Christmas to you too Madame ….

The room we paid for was a premium king size double room with a city view, one bed for me and the boss and one bed for the child … upon entering the room we got a not so welcome surprise …. A matchbox sized room with two single beds …. See the images and please let me know your thoughts as the hotel argued that they are full beds ??? Not single and definitely not double or king !! The wife was grumpy at this point which does not take much and told me to calm down and sort it out in the morning …. Absolutely no chance !!!

Back down to reception, at this point tired and peeved but with no ill will, I just wanted a resolution and to be in the correct room as these things can happen ….. to be fair, the customer service lady on reception (Not Aggro Annie from check in) was more helpful but insisted on telling me that the beds pictured where not single or doubles but full beds …. At this point I’m losing the will to live and ask for the room I paid for, funnily enough the lady realised I was a gold IHG member and asked me if I knew I was entitled to an upgrade ??? Really I exclaimed in shock … your colleague didn’t even mention anything.

A new room was offered but still it only had one king bed and a camp bed was wheeled in for our daughter, fair enough it’s better than what we walked into on the 3rd floor but still no city view - never mind we will see it all tomorrow and settled in for the night.

In the morning we woke up and went for the usual morning showers in a nicely furnished bathroom but when I say no water pressure it was literally dribbling out of the shower and also the taps it really was poor, no one likes a shower where there is no pressure the water and it kind of just felt like this was going to be one of those hotel stays that doesn’t match the expectations of expectation….

We then went down for breakfast wrapped up like eskimos due to the - 10 degree weather only to be told breakfast is full and there is a 45 minute wait by a very polite young man dressed immaculately bearing a strolling resemblance to a young Baron Trump.

I asked why the wait was was so long but it wasn’t difficult to figure out due to the minimal

size of the area which had a full working bar placed in the middle. Why not work out the number of guests who have paid for breakfast and ensure the facility is suitable for the number of guests you have staying during the breakfast period ?? It was the same for a large number of other guests so for the first few days despite paying in advance for the breakfast we ate elsewhere which was not really acceptable.

When we did finally manage to get in for breakfast we had to sit at the bar which I thought was very poor considering we have a 12 year old with us and the same for other families who had children to me that is not really acceptable and I was starting to realise that this hotel is either completely under prepared for the busy periods or just completely unmanaged.

As beautiful as the hotel lobby is and it really is pretty especially with the Christmas decorations it was ruined by the amount of people just camped out with bags and cases everywhere, people were using it as an area to eat take-aways or just lay out on the sofas and nap … to walk from the main entrance to the elevators was a mission in itself and the congestion was not managed by the hotel staff who I feel should have done more to control the reception area it was really poor and not in keeping with the hotels issued status.

One other issue to be careful of is the mini bar … there was no price list, there are soft drinks and two bottles of 350 ml Barclay spring drinking water we had those as well as …. 2 x cans of Coca Cola, 1 x diet Coca Cola and 1 x sparking water … the total for these refreshments $85.00 !!!! The Barclay water was $14.00 each …… which was disgraceful. We have stayed in the Atlantis in Dubai and other five star hotels and never have I been charged $28 dollars for hotel labelled drinking water, it annoyed me more than the other issues as to me it stank of sheer greed and felt like I was being shaken down by this hotel. No other IHG hotels do this and this really did leave a bad taste.

On the 2nd day the room safe also went on the blink meaning we could not get access to

Passports - Watches or extra cash if needed, it was flashing Enter E Code, it took nearly 14 hours for a member of security to come and sort this out.

It was at this point I was expecting Basil Fawlty to make an appearance because it was one thing after another and the things going wrong where basic things, customer service, rudeness, breakfast the safe etc etc it was starting to take the enjoyment out of the Christmas Holiday.

If things were bad they quickly got worse on Tuesday evening …. I started to feel unwell with stomach cramps which then turned into feeling nauseous and eventually I had my head hung over the toilet recreating a scene from the Exorcist, it really was leaving my body at a rapid rate of knots but I sadly for me and the family it was from both ends, this is where my holiday ended for me, but I was keen for the girls to carry on as normal and leave me to feel sorry for oneself in the hotel room.

It was the second night that changed the mood significantly and that was being awoken to the sound of our daughter being violently sick in the bathroom and unfortunately all over the bathroom as she never quite made it, what made it worse was that she was convulsing and her legs went she was sat there dazed and confused but we are both medically trained and we’re capable of handling the situation. This is where the holiday ended for everyone and kept us all bed bound for the last 3 days.

Fortunately my wife never got unwell which was a blessing as she could go to the pharmacy and ensure we kept fluids up. The towels got collected and we did our bit to wipe down the rooms surfaces to keep it as clean as possible but all in all we had probably the worst hotel experience we have ever had.

It was not an enjoyable experience which is shame when you are paying around $10k for the holiday, therefore expectations are that the hotel delivers and has a high level of customer focused service.

One thing I do not like doing is writing a negative review but in all honesty there was nothing positive about this experience and I really do not want to see people getting ripped off and sold something that is so bad and so disappointing that your left angry.

Yes we got unwell which could happen anywhere however the feeling is, is that the hotel is so overcrowded that the control of germs and bacteria is simply nonexistent, nothing is cleaned down properly particularly during breakfast time and there is only one toilet in the reception area which is expected to manage up to X amount of people.

The hotel is a breeding ground for bugs and viruses and unfortunately we paid the price of

that and it tipped the iceberg on what should

have been a lovely holiday over the Christmas period. We had to cancel Christmas Dinner which thankfully was not at the Barclay Hotel

but still for us Christmas was ruined and the hotel had a huge helping hand in this woeful experience.

Usually check out day is a sad day … for us it was the best day of the trip !!!

Please, please be careful about staying here and make sure you have spend your money on a hotel that is welcoming, lives up to expectations and deserves your hard...

I’m a Diamond elite member that came to visit to celebrate a birthday, asked for adjoining rooms which was told they have when reservation was placed, which was two weeks prior. Called 3 more times to request as well leading up to the trip, as traveling with two middle school girls, Did not happen

Also requested, early check in when called, did not happen, so left bags with bell hop, check in is at 3 and hotel would text or call when both rooms were ready.

Did receive a text and came back at 4 again check in was at 3

Well only one of the rooms was ready, I could get rooms on separate floors, again traveling with two minors. Was told the second room next to the one, not adjoining would be ready in 30min and the key would be brought up. This did not happen, had to go retrieve key over an hour later.

Turn the TV on and guess what? Does not work, so I get to talk to the front desk and someone has to come up. Did I mention I have two teens with me.

Theses reservations were booked using my IHG points, cause you know Diamond elite members must stay a TON with IHG to be one

So when checking in I was told I get free $30 credit to use for the bar/restaurant/mini bar in the rooms.

So after dinner figured I would use that, two drink total $58 and some change along with cash $10 tip, less then $60, told the bartender we were using the credit and that I was using it for both room. Signed the check with both room numbers attached as the bartender said yeah no problem. Well as you can guess surprise again it was a problem, will get to that when checking out.

Next day Asked for a late checkout for the day prior and every time I called before arriving, which was told I did have, apparently though both sets of Keys for both rooms did not the next day.

So crazy enough I got the pleasure to go down and talk to the front desk again so we can retrieve our luggage.

So I’ve saved the best for last!

So had to wait in line as other guests were there prior, understandable as this is due to the room keys not working.

Figured I would check out as well, so I say to the front desk, my keys are not working I’d like to get back into the rooms to retrieve our luggage and check out.

I also said I have two rooms, they were booked on points and just wa t to make sure I wasn’t charged along with saying thank you.

He Does the keys, prints out the receipts hands them to me does not look up at all nor says a word.

So I take the receipts, walk 2 step when I look at it, well guess what multiple charges attached! Really! Why wasn’t this told to me when I said there shouldn’t be any charges??

So I stop, as another customer is now there, he was nice enough to say go a head as he knew u was right there.

So that $30 credit I was suppose to have, well guess what! Got charged for the drinks!

And even better the hotel has the nerve to charge an Amenity fee and taxes on each room. Amenity fee?! For what? All the pain and suffering the hotel caused?

When asked the front desk what these charges were and tried to explain about the credits I was told I had he said, and this is classic

If you have any problems with this you’ll get a questionnaire sent out to you that you can fill out. WHAT! Again really!

I proceeded saying that is how you handle things like this

He did come right back and say do you want to speak to the manager which I replied Yes along with a thank you.

So manager comes out I explain everything that happened and that not one thing went well or right with the trip,

Questioned the changes, as he says you didn’t use the credit, I said let’s go get the receipts as I said when I ordered I told the bartender and wrote both rooms on the receipt.

He did remove those charges, now to the Amenity charges for the Magnificent, luxury, extravagant, worry free, excellent service cost that I was received during the stay charges, and I can go on and on, absolutely nothing!

I would of received better service from a roadside non chain motel, rather then here.

Final words

I currently have 8 nights booked already with IHG for travel through May 17th, that is just as of now, as I am sure I will be adding days in between.

Conclusion

They will be cancelled by...

My latest stay at the Intercontinental was the worst experience I’ve had at an IHG hotel. Due to the inconsistencies with the service and quality of IHG hotels, we were already considering switching our hotel of choice. This disastrous experience confirmed that decision. Keep in mind, I have status with IHG, have their credit card, and have paid for ambassador status at Intercontinental hotels. I’ve gone all in on IHG to ensure we have a great experience but have been consistently disappointed.

The issues started during the check-in process. I received an email saying they had upgraded our room per the perks of being an Ambassador. We used points to book the room which only allowed us to book a classic king room on a low floor. The upgrade we received was a “premium” king room on the same floor. I’ve stayed at this hotel several times and there was nothing premium about the room we received. I’m convinced that they faked the upgrade. But We did not mention this to the staff when we checked in. We accepted the room we were assigned. However, our room was not properly cleaned and not stocked with any waters, which are also a perk.

The first night, the room above us was making so much noise. In addition to banging and stomping, we could hear every single word they were saying. Around 3am we called the front desk and asked them to address the issue. Nothing was done.

Later that morning around 10am, we called the front desk to ask for waters to be brought to the room. They said they would bring them but they never came. After an hour, we went to the front desk to get the waters on our way out. Of course, two of the employees were talking to each other and looked annoyed that we interrupted them. We asked for waters and they said they did not have any and that we needed to call. I told them we did call but no one came. They said that we must have had the do not disturb sign on which of course was not true. The staff was so dismissive of our simple request. Luckily, the lady who checked us in recognized us and came over to ask what we needed. What’s the purpose of being an ambassador if I can’t get a simple bottle of water that the hotel forgot to provide in the first place?

The second night, the same issues occurred with the room above us. Around 2am, we called the front desk and asked them to address it and they said they would. After 20 minutes, we called again and the line was disconnected during some transfer. We called again, and they said they would address it. After 30 more minutes, I went down to the front desk and asked if they had sent anyone. They said no. I told them I would take care of it myself and went up to that room. The people were very understanding and immediately settled down.

During check out, we demanded that our stay be refunded since we could not sleep either night, our room was not properly upgraded, our room was not cleaned properly, and the staff were dismissive of every request we made. The hotel manager, while professional, was either misinformed or decided to lie. He said that we did not talk to anyone at the front desk because the calls don’t get routed to the front desk but somehow they were trying to re-room us when we walked away from the desk. What?? He then said that security did address the issue which is a blatant lie.

The hotel manager’s initial offer was twenty dollars plus 5,000 points. Laughable! He said that’s all he could do and anything else would have to be approved by the general manager. He then offered to refund our tab which he claimed was over one-hundred sixty dollars. I told him that was not the correct bill amount which made him very frustrated. After reviewing the itemized bill, I had to point out that they did not properly deduct the free drink perk I received at check-in (a twenty dollar value) and they didn’t apply the twenty dollar ambassador credit. He became more agreeable after that. We finally agreed to the refund of one night’s stay.

From beginning to end, our experience was dismissive, rude, and far below expectation for someone with status at a supposedly...