A Review of InterContinental, Bordeaux
- Ava Lyn
- 1 day ago
- 4 min read
InterContinental Grand Hotel de Bordeaux
2 Pl. de la Comedie,
33000 Bordeaux,
France
Location
You will not miss the InterContinental in Bordeaux. Located in the heart of Bordeaux's historic center, is the 5* InterContinental Bordeaux - Le Grand Hotel that is housed in an iconic 18th century building facing the Boredaux Opera. Bordeaux city is very walkable and it was a fantastic location for us to explore the city and the nearest tram stop is Grand Theatre, which is only a 1 minute walk form the hotel. There are several other tram stops along the way at Tourny, Quinconces and Gambetta if you are looking to go further like La Cite du Vin.
Our Stay
We are InterContinental Ambassadors and in this stay, we used AMEX FHR for the booking and had the following benefits:
Early Check In (12 pm)
Late Check out (4 pm guaranteed)
Upgrade (Guaranteed)
100 USD Credit
For our stay, we booked a classic room for 476 Euro and were upgraded to a King Premium which can be booked at 541 Euro, making it an upgrade value of 65 Euro. We also had a huge space upgrade from a 20 sqm queen classic to one that is above 30 sqm.
The lady at the counter was very welcoming and even escorted us up to our room and explained the room features. This is rare these days, but very welcomed. After all, InterContinental Bordeaux is well known for its concierge service and we saw multiple Clefs d'Or concierges around during our stay. We always keep a lookout for the trusty golden cross pins as a vote of confidence to the hotel's commitment to service.
The room is really charming with very classic architecture - think marble accents and period furnishings. The King Premium room was very spacious, with a long entry way, separate bath and toilet and plenty of wardrobe space.
One thing about the InterContinental Bordeaux to take note of is the fact that the hotel is made up of 5 interconnecting buildings. This means the corridors in the hotels are like mazes and the interior hallways often consist of multiple levels connected by small staircases. We did not mind it too much, but would certainly take this into consideration if travelling with family or with someone who has mobility issues. The positive of this is that this unique layout pretty much means that you can keep staying at InterContinental Bordeaux and almost be guaranteed a different lay out each time you are staying there.
Unfortunately, the beautiful leather pocket that came with our room key was not complimentary and we sadly had to return it at the end of our stay. It would have been such a beautiful souvenir from Bordeaux.
We made our way around the hotel, navigating through plenty of stairs and hidden access ways (till this date, we are not sure we should have been going through these routes, but oh well!). We made our way to the gym and it was very compact, as we have come to expect in European cities. It serves its purpose but the space was very cramped and we were not very motivated to visit again. Whilst we did not utilise the amenities on check out day, we were still able to stay in our rooms and go in and out before departing Bordeaux, which was very pleasant. For this, we continue to use 10 % of the hotel rate for this, which works out to be 54 Euroes.
We know the spa and pool has been mentioned multiple times in other forums. Unfortunately we did not get a chance to visit this as we had other appointments, but I thought it was disappointing that despite being on the FHR program as well as being an InterContinental Ambassador, we would still have to pay access to the relaxation pool and sauna. I get that this is all about crowd control and privacy. But IHG, you can do better for those in your brand loyalty program right?
For those who are interested, there is a nice bar on the top of the hotel that serves champagne. The staff there was also very kind. When we mentioned we were after some food, they immediately called the restaurant to check if they could send food up to the bar. We ended up declining to eat in the main restaurant instead, but on a beautiful summer night, it would be gorgeous to sit up at the bar for a drink and watch the sunset.
The 2 Michelin Starred restaurant, Le Pressoir d'Argent Gordon Ramsay is located in InterContinental. Unfortunately during our stay, the restaurant was closed and therefore we did not try it. However, we did have dinner at Le Bordeaux, where we utilised our 100 USD credit.
Le Bordeaux is refined, elegant and showcases South-western French cuisine. It is a beautiful restaurant. Slightly bourgeois but when you are in Bordeaux, it is completely acceptable. After spending most of our afternoon our drinking at the nearby wine bars, we were happy to settle for a Segla 2011, Margaux to accompany our meal, which we enjoyed very much.
Breakfast
Our breakfast at InterContinental Bordeaux was great and located on the second floor of the Le Bordeaux restaurant. The food selection was good including fresh pastries, baked goods, eggs, hot dishes, cold cuts, cheeses and yoghurts. We were also given a table right next to the window where we had a beautiful view of the Opera and Place de la Comedie. We value this at the local rate of a breakfast, which would be around 28 Euro x 2 pax.
In total, the combination of InterContinental Ambassador and Amex FHR gave us a total benefit of approximately 265 Euroes or 385 SGD, which is fantastic value.
Would We Recommend?
Yes! InterContinental Bordeaux fulfils the trifecta - fantastic location, great staff and comfortable rooms. We enjoyed our stay and it ended up being the perfect place for us before heading onwards to Paris after.
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