Some time ago, my girlfriend came up to me and was super excited! “Baby, baby, look what I found!!” After all the commotion, I wasn’t very excited. It appeared that I was going to have to write out, by hand, my name, IHG number, address, and a slew of other information on an index card–over 100 times. Somehow I married her anyway! And I am so glad i did!
We did it. Well, she did most of it. And oh the rewards we reaped. We were credited with several points on our new IHG cards. Enough to score free nights in maybe the best hotel in all of Amsterdam: The Amstel; and enough to stay at, by far, the best resort on the island of Bali: The Intercontinental Bali.
Let’s start with The Amstel. Wow! After a long trek from Houston to Amsterdam, we arrived at the hotel around 9am–gorgeous on the outside, but even better on the inside. And the staff–wow! The best. We were seated at a private desk with private check in. The receptionist could tell that we were exhausted. She recommended a bakery around the corner while our room was being prepared. We were starved so we went. A nice cup of Dutch coffee with a yummy pastry may have curved our appetite, but not our fatigue. We returned to the hotel, and our room wasn’t yet ready. The receptionist encouraged us to lounge about in the spa/pool area and she would ring us when our room was ready. Action accepted!
After changing into our swim suits, we relaxed in the hot tub for a bit. Afterward, we each 
grabbed a poolside chair (indoors of course as it was the middle of winter). A spa attendant greeted us with some drinks and could tell we were utterly tired. She brought us each a pillow and told us to just sleep and she would wake us when the room was ready. WHAT?!?! Seriously! Thank you IHG, thank you Amstel. Your service is perfect. I have never heard of a hotel doing that, and this is why we try to stay IHG every where we go! Upon departure, the bellman heard that we collected Christmas ornaments from our travels. He gave us a spare from the Christmas tree that the hotel had put up the day before. Where else would do that?!
On to Bali! A month later we visited the other side of the world. Asia! The service at the Intercontinental Bali was on par with that of the Amstel, which was anything but par. Warm and welcoming was the staff at IHG Bali. A cool minty towel, a welcome cocktail escort to our room, private check in, the whole shebang! I have never been all that loyal to a hotel group. Usually, I just look for the best hotel with the best rates, but now, IHG, you have captured my business for years to come!
If you want the best service, with beautiful properties, go IHG! They can’t be beat!
And no, IHG didn’t pay me to write this. Just a bit of free advertising for an exceptional company. But hey, if you want to throw a free night in Brussels my way, we are going next month!