We may receive a commission when you use our links. Monkey Miles is part of an affiliate sales network and receives compensation for sending traffic to partner sites, such as CreditCards.com and CardRatings. This relationship may impact how and where links appear on this site. This site does not include all financial companies or all available financial offers. Monkey Miles is also a Senior Advisor to Bilt Rewards. Terms apply to American Express benefits and offers. Enrollment may be required for select American Express benefits and offers. Visit americanexpress.com to learn more Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities.
The Intercontinental Hong Kong was opened in 1980 as The Regent Hong Kong. Then in 2001, it was acquired and rebranded as an Intercontinental and served as one of the single best uses of the now devalued IHG anniversary night ( which we redeemed on this stay). Late last year, IHG announced that the hotel would be closed in 2020 for renovations and reopened in 2021. It’s a renovation that is definitely needed as Hong Kong’s 5 star hotel market is highly competitive, and as our stay witnessed, the hotel is showing its age. However, in the time between the renovation announcement and this review, IHG purchased Regent Hotels, and announced the iconic Regent Hong Kong would reign once again: come 2021 the Intercontinental Hong Kong will be rebranded back as the Regent Hong Kong.
I’ve wanted to stay at the Intercontinental Hong Kong for quite some time, and I was pretty giddy rolling up in our taxi. The location is amazing, and knowing we were doing it free of charge is something that will never be lost on me.
The Deets:
- When: November 2017
- Where: Hong Kong
- Loyalty: IHG Ambassador
- Rate: IHG Rewards Select Free Night Certificate
- Upgrade: Superior Suite + Free Breakfast
Check In-
Our rooms weren’t quite available when we arrived, and being Ambassador they were apologetic. Ended up being a great situation for us, as we were given free drinks in the Lobby Lounge, and complimentary breakfast the next day. The breakfast was tremendous. And the Lobby Lounge was, where we had drinks, offers an outstanding view of Hong Kong.
Watching the light show in the Lobby Lounge.
One of my favorite aspects of Hong Kong is the light show that occurs nightly between Kowloon and Hong Kong Island. Having been to many different hotels in the area, I think the Intercontinental possesses one of the very best places to watch the light show: The Lobby Lounge. With 2 story windows, and Hong Kong Island having arguably the better display of lights, this is my go to spot to kick back, have a drink/food, and watch the show. Try and get a table near the windows on the far right side of the lounge.
Room:
Our room was on the back of the building, and to our surprise, once we entered we realized we’d been given a very generous upgrade. A small sitting area that wraps around to the twin beds. What was even nice was the patio out the back of the room that lead down a small pathway to the pool. Once we’d checked in I immediately regretted not spending more than a night in Hong Kong. I absolutely love this city, and this hotel feels like a vacay.
The bathroom was quite large with dual vanities, separate shower and tub, amenity kit, and luxurious robes. While I like the style and feel, you can tell that the hotel needs to renovate to keep up with the hotels sprouting up. I really hope that when the hotel reopens in 2021 IHG allows redemptions for Regent hotels.
Gym and Pool
Sadly I didn’t have time to spend much time at either of these facilities. Ok…admittedly I wasn’t too sad to miss the gym, but the pool area looks uber relaxing, especially the area with the infinity view of Hong Kong Harbour.
Breakfast
It’s served in Harbourside from 7am to 11am and it is absolutely a delicious. If you end up booking this hotel through Virtuoso, you won’t be disappointed – the breakfast benefit alone is worth nearly $100. We were lucky to get this comped because our room wasn’t ready when we arrived. #blessed.
There aren’t many breakfast buffets that I think are truly worth $50, but this is one of them. From pastries, made to order eggs, and fruit, to seafood and multiple types of honey – it is tremendous.
Overall:
Sadly, this hotel is no longer available with the IHG credit card annual night certificate. It is truly a world class hotel, in a world class location, and once the renovation is complete, it’s going to be one of the best hotels in Hong Kong, if not the world.
Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities.
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
Welcome Offer
Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
Annual Fee
$95
Points Earned
Transferrable Chase Ultimate Rewards
- 5x on all travel purchased through Chase Travel℠
- 3x on dining, including eligible delivery services for takeout & dining out
- 3x on select streaming services
- 3x on online grocery purchases
- (excluding Target, Walmart and wholesale clubs)
- $50 Annual Chase Travel Hotel Credit via Chase Travel℠
- The begins immediately for new cardmembers and after your account anniversary for existing cardmembers
- 2x on all other travel
- 10% Anniversary Bonus
- Every year you keep the card, your total spend will yield a 10% points bonus. If you spend $10k in a year, you’ll get 1k bonus points
- Chase Sapphire Preferred continues to redeem at 1.25c in the Chase Travel℠ and the slew of other benefits remain in tact including Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver ( primary ), purchase protections, etc.
- Points are transferrable to 14 Ultimate Rewards partners
- Redeem in Chase Travel℠ for 1.25 cents per point
- No foreign transaction fees
- Suite of Travel and Purchase Coverage
- Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver is my favorite
- Get complimentary access to DashPass which unlocks $0 delivery fees and lower service fees for a minimum of one year when you activate by December 31, 2027.
- $95 Annual Fee
We keep an up to date spreadsheet that lists the best ever offers: You can find that spreadsheet here.
Historically 80k is a very, very good offer and hit in both 2022 and 2023. In 2021, we saw the offer hit an all time high of 100k. Who knows if that will ever come back.
Main Cast:
Cards that earn flexible points and should be used on the bulk of your purchases.
Supporting Cast:
Cards that earn fixed points in the currency of the airline/hotel and can not be transferred at attractive rates. These cards yield benefits that make it worth keeping, but not necessarily worth putting a lot of your everyday spend on.
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® is exceptional starter card and offers transferrable Ultimate Rewards, and pairs well with other Chase cards.
If you carry this card alongside Chase’s cashback cards like the Chase Freedom Flex® and Chase Freedom Unlimited® or the business versions: Ink Business Cash® , Ink Business Unlimited® you can combine the points into Preferred account and transfer into hotel and airline partners
Annual fee is quite low at $95 a year + you get a 10% anniversary bonus on points + $50 hotel credit in Chase travel.
The responses below are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser. Responses have not been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser's responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.