Best Resorts in New York City: Intercontinental Times Square

Full disclosure, one of my preferred hotel and resort brands is the Intercontinental Hotels Group (IHG). I love the brand, their people, the elegance and charm of the properties, its consistency, the loyalty program, and lots of other things. I don’t know where I would be as a business traveler without my IHG loyalty program. I love it.

So as a reviewer, I’ll be the first to admit that I’m a little biased about my feelings toward IHG. But that doesn’t mean I can’t rave about an IHG property or experience when the situation warrants it, and that’s exactly what happened on a recent business trip to NY City.

I had not visited the Intercontinental Times Square, so I was extremely excited! When I think I’m going to review a property, I usually reach out to the property and ask for some stock images. After reviewing many properties, one of the toughest tasks to accomplish (which doesn’t seem like it would be so hard) is taking good pictures of a hotel or resort. But it’s really difficult, and as you’ll see, my pictures are generally pretty lame.  So I like to ask the property for some stock images so I do them a solid in showing their property off in the most flattering way.

I also like asking for images because I often get images from parts of the property that I may not have access to (like Penthouse, Suites, Private Rooms, etc), and it’s great to show those images so people can see what the property has to offer. And that was true in this case in a very cool way.

So, I received some great access and images, which I’ll show below, but the coolest images are of the rooftop apiary (place where bees are kept and honey is produced). The hotel creates the honey and serves it to its guests! How cool is that!? If I hadn’t asked for pictures, I never would have known!

The hotel also sent some very lovely stock images so you can see the hotel from a professional picture standpoint:

Please note that these photos are property of the hotel, and I have received specific permission to post these.

I checked in late, about midnight, and I really just wanted to check in, have a late dinner and get to sleep.  The check-in process was excellent, which was a concern of mine because of the time of night.  At times in some properties, the staff is tired or not overly motivated, but that was not the case. The staff was extremely attentive (both doormen and the check-in staff).

I have IHG Ambassador standing and if you travel even somewhat often, I highly recommend that you join – Auto room upgrades, higher floor rooms, one free movie rental per stay, two Evian waters per day, amenity like a fruit plate upon check-in, and other benefits. I think it’s the best hotel loyalty program. Click here for more information on how to become an IHG Ambassador.

I received a spectacular high floor (35th floor out of 36 floors) Corner Room with breathtaking Times Square and city views. Here are some pictures after I first checked in:

I had a great dinner and collapsed into my incredibly comfortable bed. So great!  The next day I snapped some shots of the hotel.

In terms of the location, I like that the property is close to Times Square, the Theatre District, the Javits Convention Center, and many excellent restaurants.  In terms of traveling to the hotel, I’ve traveled to NYC many times, and I recommend flying into Newark International Airport. It can be a little bit of a pain to pass through Lincoln Tunnel, but otherwise it’s a pretty smooth trip.

For the property, not surprisingly, my stay was superlative.  I’d like to point out a couple of room details that show how the Intercontinental Times Square enhanced my stay.

Both my check-in amenity and the turndown service offered Tumbador Chocolate, a high-end private label chocolate company headquartered in Brooklyn, NY.  The chocolate was delectable, and I really enjoyed that the chocolate was made locally.  I love that hotels are partnering with local vendors to provide amenities. It really enhances the stay.

Also, I know it may seem like a small thing, but I also loved that the hotel included my name at the bottom left hand corner of the television. It really made me feel valued as a hotel guest.

Last, the property really interacted with me on social media.  This is important to me and my readers, and it also signals to me how the property treats is guests.  Sadly, this is not always the case.  I’ve stayed at very expensive properties that have completely ignored me on social media, and lost the opportunity to engage with me more fully; which makes it less likely that I will return to those properties.  Huge props to the IC Times Square social media peeps!

In all, the Intercontinental Times Square far exceeded my lofty expectations.  I highly recommend that you visit this property if you are in the area.  I am extremely excited to revisit the IC Times Square this August when we celebrate my father’s birthday with a weekend in the city to enjoy a Broadway show!! Thanks very much to the staff of the IC Times Square – from social media, communications, check-in, dining, and bellmen, I really felt the love, and reinforced by overall love of the IHG properties.

Intercontinental Times Square – 300 West 44th Street, New York, NY 10036

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/InterContinentalNewYorkTimesSquareHotel

Twitter: @ICTimesSquare

Instagram: @ictimessquare

 

Here’s the information on those delicious Tumbador Chocolates:

Website: http://www.tumbadorchocolate.com/index.php?lang=en

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/tumbador-Chocolate/143858700299

Twitter: @TumbadorTweets

Instagram: @tumbadorchocolate