Intercontinental The Barclay

When you're paying over $600, you expect a good level of customer service. And the Intercontinental brand has a solid reputation here from my previous experiences over the years. My experience at the Intercontinental Barclay did not match up to that. I had some issues on my first night there, having arrived late evening after being on the go for nearly 24 hours as a result of delayed flights. The front desk was aware of this (I told them). First off, the room keys hadn't been coded properly, so having gone all the way up to the 12th floor with luggage, I had to come all the way back down (with luggage - I was travelling alone) to get them to recode them. A nuisance, but these things happen. Secondly, having arrived late I needed to send some urgent emails to reorganise my diary for Monday. But the wifi didn't work. I tried on two phones and two laptops - nothing. I called the front desk who put me through to a 'technical support' team, which was actually an offshore call centre who had never even heard of the Intercontinental! I called the front desk again, who put me through to a different technical team - again offshore - who started asking for various reference details of my devices, which I didn't feel comfortable giving out. I then thought, maybe it's the room. I took a phone and laptop down in to the corridor and then to the lobby, and bingo, the wifi worked. I then asked the front desk to change my room. There was some reluctance here and they went to speak to the duty manager. Five minutes later he came back. But the duty manager didn't think to come out and actually speak to me him or herself. They assigned me a new room, I went back upstairs, and repacked and re-unpacked. And all my devices worked in the new room. These sorts of things happen - wifi boosters fail, room keys don't get coded properly - but what made this bad was the lackadaisical attitude of the front desk. There was some passive-aggressive eye-rolling (yes, I saw it) and it was all just too much trouble. I was at the hotel for five nights after that. But no one followed up to ask if everything was OK. In fact, there was zero engagement until the moment I checked out. For $650 a night. Read less

My stay was great, but first I would like to say the check in experience with Karim and Kevin was exceptional. They were extremely attentive to my needs and did everything they could to accommodate me and make sure I was taken care of to my satisfaction. I had a slight hiccup and Brian in guest services was so kind and responsive. The hotel atmosphere and service aligned itself with the luxury accommodations this hotel prides itself on providing. Thank you Read less

I felt safe coming and going out of the hotel. All the workers were very courteous and attentive to all of my needs. I was in room 1563 which was perfect for a view outside in front of the hotel. The mini fridge had a great selection of beverages awesome shower. Perfect location to Grand Central station and Starbucks and this delicious Danish bakery on the corner. Read less

Stayed 3 nights on a weekend, bell staff helpful and friendly on arrival. Room was a double on 6th floor, was fairly quiet with some city noise in the distance, thought it much quieter than I expected. Room was clean and well appointed in a traditional style. Bar restaurant was expensive but high quality. Very close to Grand Central subway. Ole and Steen was next to the hotel entrance and good for breakfast. Read less