Name: InterContinental Seattle Bellevue, an Ihg Hotel
Rating: 4

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InterContinental Seattle Bellevue, an Ihg Hotel

The InterContinental Bellevue is a beautifully designed hotel with high-end finishes, plush bedding, and premium amenities like Byredo bath products. The first-floor staff, including front desk, valet, and bell desk, were outstanding—kind, attentive, and professional. Unfortunately, despite the aesthetic appeal and strong service from the front-line team, operational issues, a lack of responsiveness from management, and excessive fees make this hotel a frustrating and disappointing experience.

The Good:
	•	Outstanding front desk, valet, and bell staff—the first-floor team provided warm, professional, and attentive service.
	•	Beautifully designed rooms with high-end finishes and extremely comfortable bedding.
	•	Nice in-room amenities, including a coffee maker, tea kettle, and Byredo toiletries.

The Not-So-Good:
	•	Lukewarm water in the shower—both at night and in the morning. This is completely unacceptable for a luxury hotel.
	•	After experiencing lukewarm water in the evening, we emailed the front desk hoping for a resolution by morning. The response? “We are terribly sorry for the water temperature in the evening. Please let us know if you are still experiencing the same issues this morning.”
	•	No mention of engineering addressing the issue, no proactive steps taken, and no explanation.
	•	The morning shower was just as lukewarm, showing that nothing was done to resolve it.
	•	This isn’t just bad service—it signals that management is aware of the issue but either unwilling or unable to fix it.
	•	Only four adult entrée items on the room service menu. A luxury hotel should offer a more robust selection. At the very least, it should match the lobby bar menu, which is also quite limited.
	•	Bathroom lighting is too dim, making it impractical for applying makeup or detailed grooming.
	•	Loud, sporadic clicking noises from the HVAC system made for a terrible night’s sleep. The system clearly needs calibration.
	•	Valet-only parking at $65 per night, with no self-parking option—an expensive and inconvenient limitation.
	•	The $25 per night “amenity fee” is not a perk—it’s an unavoidable surcharge, with only $15 of it returned in hotel credit. It feels like an added cost rather than a benefit.
	•	Expect to pay about $100 per night over the published rate once you factor in parking, the amenity fee, and taxes.
	•	Dining options are both limited and overpriced, making it an easy decision to eat elsewhere. With so many excellent restaurants nearby, the hotel’s offerings are unappealing.
	•	In-room essentials (cotton balls, Q-tips, etc.) were missing from the designated amenities box.
	•	This has been mentioned in multiple reviews, yet management has done nothing to address it.
	•	Odd design miss where the desk lamp partially blocks the TV view. A small but frustrating flaw in an otherwise well-designed room.

Final Thoughts:
The InterContinental Bellevue looks the part of a five-star hotel, but the service and operational execution make it feel more like a two- or three-star experience. The first-floor staff are doing their best, but it’s clear that management is either disengaged or indifferent to guest concerns. The lukewarm showers, HVAC noise, excessive fees, and lack of responsiveness from management make it difficult to justify the high price.

With better oversight and attention to guest feedback, this hotel has potential—but for now, it’s simply not worth it. It’s no surprise that other reviews have called this one of the worst InterContinental properties in the country (Google Reviews).

InterContinental Bellevue – Luxury in Appearance, But Service and Operations Fall Short

Twice a year I’ll stay in downtown Bellevue and visit a couple of my favorite restaurants. I stayed here  in January 2025. Having stayed at other InterContinentals across the world, here are my thoughts:

Pros: The hotel is new and is located in downtown Bellevue. There are many excellent restaurants within walking distance, as well as numerous places to shop.

The room was very nicely decorated in a modern design. I immediately noticed a pleasant, clean smell in the room. The bed was very comfortable. The bathroom was spacious and had excellent water pressure. The heating/AC worked well. I like the room cool at night, but warm in the morning. No issues with it at all.

The staff were all very kind, helpful and friendly. The person checking us in, Adriana, did so quickly and pointed out places to explore. The concierge, Leanne, was amazing! She had plenty of great restaurant tips, with a few discounts to offer. The manager Ali, who I spoke to on the phone, was very helpful and professional.

The buffet breakfast overall was good. It did offer some options and was quite delicious.

Now, the cons….I booked my stay in the InterContinental website. On the day of checking in, I noticed a special on their website. The special, which was about $120 MORE than I originally had booked, offered parking and breakfast for two. I called the hotel (the number listed on Google for the Bellevue location), but was routed to a call service in Asia. When I asked to make the change to take advantage of the offer on their website, I was told it was impossible. I was told the ONLY way to take advantage of the offer was to pay a cancellation fee on my initial booking and then rebook using the offer. Keep in mind, I was trying to give the hotel MORE money than I initially had booked. I ended the phone call quite frustrated.

I called a second time, hoping to directly contact the hotel. I  again reached a call center in Asia. Why they outsource their calls to Asia is beyond me. Other 4 star hotels in Bellevue, including the Hyatt and Westin, can easily be directly contacted. Same thing when I called the second time…they said making a change (ie spending more money) was not possible. I asked to speak to a manager. They put me in touch with someone in Bellevue, but the phone connection was terrible. There was a delay on the phone with an echo. I asked to speak to someone else. I was connected to a manager named Ali. She was very understanding and apologetic and told me the change could be made, without penalty. I asked her if she could book it for me, but she said it needed to be booked online. By this point, I was frustrated and ready to book at the Westin, which I’d stayed at a few times before.

After getting off the phone with Ali, I decided to try and book the special offer online. I did without any complications. Ali did call me back a few minutes later saying she also could book it for me. Altogether, it took me 74 minutes to change this reservation. Had I simply been able to call the Bellevue location directly, it probably could have been done in 5 minutes. Outsourcing calls to Asia? Why?

The hotel has no pool and no spa. The other comparable hotels in downtown offer those. This is the first InterContinental I’ve stayed at that did not have ANY high-end hotel amenities.

The restaurant upstairs was only open for breakfast. Again, for a hotel of this caliber, the restaurant should have been open. They did have a small bar in the lobby (lobby area is very small), but seating is just a few feet away from the check in area, making it awkward to sit there and relax.

When I booked the room, I upgraded to a King Premium View Room. Though the room was very nice, it had no view, except into the QFC parking lot across the street. At the nearby Hyatt and Westin, our rooms had great views of downtown.

While the breakfast was good, for $45/person I expected more. Intercontinental locations I’ve been at in Dubai, Singapore and Beijing have baristas and an egg chef providing fresh omelets, etc, along with a much wider range of options.

Poor Value

We recently stayed at the InterContinental Bellevue for a one-night impromptu staycation. While the experience had its highlights, there were also some letdowns that left us feeling a bit underwhelmed.  

We originally booked a corner room with a downtown view but were informed upon check-in that we’d been "upgraded" to a Premium King. While the front desk staff was very kind and mentioned that my status may have a special setup in the room, we arrived at room 802—facing an apartment complex—to find nothing set up. The view, unfortunately, included a direct line into our neighbors’ TV across the way, which was far from the "upgraded" experience we were expecting. 

That said, the room itself was very well-designed, with a modern aesthetic that felt sleek and inviting. The bed and pillows were incredibly comfortable, which made for a great night’s sleep—a big plus for any staycation.  

Being pregnant, I was especially looking forward to a relaxing bath. The "upgrade" didn’t include a tub, so we called the front desk, and they were kind enough to move us to room 716, which did have a tub. They even brought up bath salts, which was a thoughtful touch. However, we soon discovered that the water temperature control for the shower/tub was broken—it was either scalding hot or freezing cold. While this worked for a bath with some effort, my husband wasn’t able to shower and had to wait until we got home.  

On the positive side, the hotel is very new, and it shows—the space was spotless, and everything felt fresh and clean, which is exactly what you’d expect from a hotel of this caliber, but it’s still worth highlighting. Additionally, the location is fantastic. The hotel is part of The Avenue, a newer development, and right across from Bellevue Square, offering easy access to shopping and lots of dining options. For the holidays, we learned that rooms facing downtown provide a great view of the Snowflake Lane parade—a nice tip for future stays.  

The hotel also offers a $15 food and beverage credit as part of the $25 resort fee, which was appreciated, though the parking fee of $65 felt steep. Luckily, we found a nearby garage next door for half the price. Other noteworthy features include a freestanding Jo Malone boutique and a luxury flower shop in The Avenue, perfect for picking up special gifts.  

Overall, the staff’s friendliness, the hotel’s spotless condition, the comfortable bed, and its central location stand out, but the inconsistent amenities and room issues detracted from what could have been a truly relaxing experience.

Not the stay we were hoping for...

This was such a great stay. The location is perfect, staff were wonderful, and the room was fab. I loved the Byredo products in the bathroom and all the thoughtful touches throughout the room:

- Lighting under beds if you get up in the middle of the night
- USB A & C ports by the bed and desk
- Shower knobs were placed on the opposite wall of the showerhead
- Small ledge in the shower if you need to shave your legs
- toilet is in its own water closet within the bathroom

Nick at the front desk was very welcoming and incredibly helpful. When I had takeout delivered, he noticed utensils weren't included and proactively grabbed some for me. 

I ordered in-room dining one night and it was fantastic as well. It did take a little longer than expected to get my order but the crab pasta was delish!! 

Recommendations:

- Extra hook in the bathroom
- Master switch for all the lighting
- More room in the fridge for "guest space" 
- Mandatory "amenity fee" seemed unnecessary ($25/per room/per night). That fee covers very standard things such as coffee/tea, water, and fitness center access but does come with a $15 daily F&B credit.

InterContinental Seattle Bellevue, an Ihg Hotel

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