The Flying Critic

Diplomatic Suite at InterContinental Bangkok Photo and Video Review

This is part 4 of a 4 part series on the InterContinental Bangkok.  Part 1 covered the executive Club InterContinental Bangkok.  Part 2 covered the Corner Suite.  Part 3 covered the Ambassador Suite.

The Diplomatic Suite is located on the 33rd floor of the InterContinental Bangkok.  I stayed in this room last year.  I booked a corner suite.  Before arrival my Royal Ambassador upgrade was cleared for a club corner suite.  When I arrived the Club InterContinental agents informed me that they further upgraded me to one of the Ambassador Suites.  I then asked if it was possible to buy-up to the Diplomatic Suite.  "No problem," they said.  They wanted an extra 2000 THB/night (~$60).  "No problem," I replied.  By using a BOGO, I ended up paying $160/night for this amazingly large suite.

Here is the entrance:

Here is the living room:

Here is the small office/desk:

Here is the dining room:

Here is the bedroom:

Here is the bathroom:

Here is a video of the Diplomatic Suite:

As you can see the Diplomatic Suite is huge.  It is more than one person needs. The refurbishment program at the IC Bangkok should fix up the carpet, old TVs and furniture.  But even though it is a bit tired it is a comfortable suite and certainly worth trying to get. 

Ambassador Suite at InterContinental Bangkok Video and Photo Review

This is part 3 of a 4 part series on the InterContinental Bangkok.  Part 1 covered the executive Club InterContinental Bangkok.  Part 2 covered the Corner Suite.

There are two Ambassador Suites at the InterContinental Bangkok.  As you may recall from my Corner Suite review I didn't stay in the Corner Suite long because as a Royal Ambassador I was further upgraded to one of the Ambassador Suites once it became available.  From what I hear, Royal Ambassadors typically only get upgraded to Corner Suites or club access rooms.  So this was special.

Here is the living room:

Here is the wet bar:

Here is the bedroom:

The bathroom:

Here is a video of the Ambassador Suite:

The Ambassador Suite is a large suite.  But it is dated.  It needs new carpet and furniture.  The small old TVs also need to go. My understanding is that the Ambassador and other named suites are going to be refurbished soon. 

I enjoyed my stay in the suite.  I prefer it over the Corner Suite because of all the extra space.  Although I thought that the living room was too open.  It needed another couch or perhaps a table and chairs for 4.

I used a buy one night get one night free certificate (BOGO) and ended up paying 10,445 THB for two nights after taxes (~$320).  There are certainly cheaper options in Bangkok.  But this was quite a room for $160/night.

Next Tuesday you will see the Diplomatic Suite that I stayed in last year  It is even larger than the Ambassador Suite.

Corner Suite at InterContinental Bangkok Photo Review

This is part 2 of a 4 part series on the InterContinental Bangkok.  Part 1 covered the executive Club InterContinental Bangkok.

The InterContinental Bangkok recently remodeled their corner suites.  This is what they look like:

The living room:

The living room also has a work table with computer connections to put your computer on the flat screen tv.

The mini bar:

The bathroom:

Bedroom:

Because of my status with InterContinental I actually didn't spend the night in this room as I was further upgraded to the Ambassador Suite after a couple hours.  So there isn't much I can say about this room.  I like the refurbished style and the technology on the desk in the living room.  The living room and suite are a little small.  But I would stay in this room again. 

My understanding is this is the type of room that most Royal Ambassadors are now getting upgraded to.

Next Tuesday you will see the Ambassador Suite that I ended up staying in during my stay earlier this year.

Daily Travel Tip: Consider joining the InterContinental Hotel's Ambassador program

If you will be staying in a city with an InterContinental hotel, consider joining their Ambassador program. It's $150 for a year, but if you play it right the benefits far exceed the cost.

Here are the main benefits:

• Automatic upgrade to one category higher room at check-in
• One free pay per view movie per stay
• Free fruit and mineral water welcome amenity in your room
• Welcome gift
• 4pm check-out
• One buy one get one free weekend certificate (pay for a Friday or Saturday night and get Saturday or Sunday night free)

If you are doing a weekend stay and can use the buy one get one free certificate, the program can pay for itself during that first stay.

I've been an InterContinental Ambassador for about a year and have had some amazing experiences at their hotels.  While I am now a Royal Ambassador – an invitation-only higher level of status with the InterContinental hotel chain that provides additional benefits including free upgrades to suites, free minibar beverages, and 8am check-in – I started out as an Ambassador to get the buy one get one free certificate and saved some money on my first visit. 

You can find out more about the InterContinental Ambassador program on their website.

Daily Travel Tip: Priority Club PointBreaks - hotels for only 5000 points per night

Today's Daily Travel Tip is a link to Priority Club Reward's web page for their PointBreaks program.  The PointBreaks program allows you to get hotel rooms for only 5,000 Priority Club Rewards points per night.

Normal points requirements for one night range from 10,000 points to 40,000 points per night.  So you can see how amazing of a deal this is.

And if you don't have any Priority Club points or you don't have enough, you can flat out buy 5,000 points for as low as $50 - which is probably less than the best rate any the PointBreaks hotels.

For those of you not familiar with the Priority Club program, their hotels include: InterContinental, Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Express, Crowne Plaza, Candlewood Suites, Staybridge Suites, and Hotel Indigo.

The way the PointBreaks program works is that they periodically select a new group of hotels that the PointBreaks redemption level is available for.  Often the hotels listed are the less popular hotels in their program, but sometimes there are gems. 

Earlier this year I did 3 nights at the Crowne Plaza Geneva and 2 nights at the InterContinental Berlin for only 25,000 points.  I would have had to spend over 1,200 Euros ($1,900) to pay for those 5 nights at the best available rate.  Talk about a great use of points.