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Overview

I arrived in Frankfurt with a real sense of anticipation, having heard many great things about the city. One of Europe’s most pleasant urban areas, excellent public transport, a huge variety of fine dining and a colourful nightlife, to name a few.

As it was my first visit, we decided to stay close to Innenstadt (downtown), which made it easier to meet up with friends, dine out and go shopping. Thus, we spent the first two nights at the Intercontinental Frankfurt and the following two nights at the Grand Wyndham Frankfurt (review to follow) across the street.

The location of both hotels is excellent in terms of access to public transport, with the walk to the Frankfurt main station only 8 minutes. The main reason we chose the Intercontinental was to take advantage of an expiring two-for-one weekend certificate, from the Ambassador welcome package. With the certificate, you pay the best available rate for the first weekend night, then nothing for the second night.

While the certificate is supposed to be only used for standard room redemption, there are many properties that allow you to use the certificate for higher category rooms and even suites. In our case, we booked a Club Studio King (room size is 47 sqm) at a rate of €203 per night, which includes access to the club lounge, meaning free breakfast and drinks. I was playing a bit of a game here – I know the Club Studio King is one category lower than Panorama Suite and as an Ambassador member, I am pretty much guaranteed a one category upgrade. Therefore, I was confident that I would be upgraded to the suite, not least because I saw the hotel was quiet at the weekend.

Sure enough, a few days after the initial booking, I noticed the status of my reservation was modified by the hotel, with the updated room type shown as suite. Bingo! The deal seemed the perfect choice for a short weekend stay: a very affordable rate (effectively €101.50 a night) for a luxurious room in a great location.

Check-in

We arrived pretty late in the afternoon, and waited about 5 minutes for check-in. Information on our Ambassador benefits and the club lounge was duly dispensed and, shortly after, we were escorted to our room.

Upgraded?

As I mentioned earlier, I was very happy to find the status of my reservation was modified by the hotel and my room was upgraded to a Panorama Suite (separate living room and bedroom with a total size of 71 sqm). For reference, the final pricing is shown as follows:

The best available rate for Panorama Suite is €314 per night. Two nights would have cost us €628. However, we ended up only paying €203 for two nights with the weekend certificate – a whopping saving of €425!

We also got free breakfast, drinks and even a hot dinner, as well as free cancellation until the arrival date, should we have required it.

The room

I was extremely impressed by the quality of the room: simple but very elegant  It featured a super comfortable king size bed and a flat screen TV.

Next to the bed was a small seating area next to the window, which was a nice touch given the views.

The living room is quite spacious. It has a couch facing towards the flat screen TV, as well as a coffee table with Ambassador welcome amenities on it. The antique-style office desk is by the window with great views.

We also requested a rollaway bed for our guest, which worked very well.

The Panorama Suite main bathroom featured one sink, a tub, a shower, and a toilet/bidet. It has standard Intercontinental amenities and toiletries.

The Panorama Suite guest bathroom has a similar layout (also with fresh roses, nice touch!)
In both bathrooms, the showerheads came with excellent water pressure.

Outside the floor-to-ceiling window, there is a small balcony which gets you some fresh air with stunning views of the Main River.

Facilities

There is a small on-site fitness room. It works if you’re after a quick work-out, but don’t expect much more.

Restaurants/breakfast

We did not get a chance to try the hotel restaurant as Frankfurt has so many good places for dining out. However, we did have breakfast in the lounge – see the photos below.

Lounge

As I mentioned above, we had access to the club lounge as we originally booked the club studio room. The lounge is located at the 21st floor, and open 24/7.

Although the variety is limited compared to the full breakfast, the club lounge does provide free fresh-cooked items such as fried eggs, omelettes and waffles per order.

Not only do you get breakfast, but the evening happy hours in the club lounge provided us with a hot meal in the evening, should we need it. On the occasion we took them up on this, we were presented with a lovely seafood dinner, including salmon steaks, prawns, mussels, rice and fresh salads.

Quality of service

All staff that we encountered were very friendly. Ignoring the slight delay at check-in, the quality of service is excellent and consistent with my previous experience at other Intercontinental properties worldwide.

Room details

Rate Paid: €203 a night, with second night free
Room Number: 1200/1202
Room Type: Panorama Suite

Summary of stay

Overall, we had a fantastic stay at the Intercontinental Frankfurt, and it was beyond my expectations in many respects. As an IC ambassador member you expect some sort of VIP treatment, but our room upgrade from club studio to one-bedroom suite was nevertheless a big bonus.

The club lounge is superb, and it is well worth booking a room that gives you lounge access.

Location wise, the hotel is very close to the main train station. If you have a car, the valet parking is €29 per night, which may not seem particularly cheap but is the same rate as self-parking.

If you are thinking of booking, the room rate varies significantly depending on the date. During major trade fairs etc, the price rises exponentially, e.g. a standard double room can cost €350 (which makes it a great use of IHG points if you need to stay at this time!).

Peak times aside, I see rates of €100 for a standard room and €160 for the club studio room on most weekends. In light of my experience, I’d return in a heartbeat.