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Act soon: Holiday Inn Kensington has suites with club access for reward nights

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This is possibly an IT glitch, but the Holiday Inn Kensington Forum in London is offering one bedroom suites for reward redemption.

They seem to be available EVERY NIGHT for the next year where reward nights are still available.  Refurbished Executive Rooms are also available.

Suites and Executive Rooms come with access to the business lounge – take a look here – which offers free breakfast and free evening drinks and canapes.

Holiday Inn Kensington lounge

The hotel is well located, within a few seconds of Gloucester Road tube station.  It is walkable to the South Kensington museums and you can get a direct Piccadilly Line train to Heathrow or the West End.

The hotel is already one of the better IHG Rewards Club redemption deals in London at just 35,000 points per night.

A typical cash rate for a suite here is £350+.

But note before you book …

The Holiday Inn Kensington Forum is one of the ugliest hotels in London.  Once you’re inside, of course, it doesn’t matter. It is also big, with over 900 rooms and therefore well over 1,000 guests milling around on an average night.

Most of the rooms have also not been refurbished for a long time – the exceptions are the Executive Rooms and the business lounge itself.  If this is an issue, of course, you could book a smarter Executive Room instead – they are the same 35,000 points per night and also come with lounge access.

Holiday Inn Kensington suite

The photo above still shows an old-style TV in the suite although I am pretty sure they have got rid of those ….

There is a limit of two people per suite.  They clearly have space for extra mattresses but this may be a fire regulation issue.  You cannot use this as a way of housing your family for a few days.

Despite all that, this is a great deal and potentially worth switching any paid or reward nights you have elsewhere.  The hotel home page is here if you want to find out more.   The business lounge is profiled here.

If you’re interested, book sooner rather than later.  Remember that reward nights can be cancelled without penalty at any time so there is no risk if you can’t make the date.  I would hold back from cancelling any other plans, however, just in case IHG decides to claim this was an error.

You can book at ihg.com here.


IHG One Rewards update – April 2024:

Get bonus points: IHG One Rewards is offering 2,000 bonus points for every two cash nights you stay (not necessarily consecutive) between 1st April and 31st May 2024. You can read our full article here and you can register here.

New to IHG One Rewards?  Read our overview of IHG One Rewards here and our article on points expiry rules here. Our article on ‘What are IHG One Rewards points worth?’ is here.

Buy points: If you need additional IHG One Rewards points, you can buy them here.

Want to earn more hotel points?  Click here to see our complete list of promotions from IHG and the other major hotel chains or use the ‘Hotel Offers’ link in the menu bar at the top of the page.

Comments (37)

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

  • Geoggy says:

    Anyone familiar with the evening lounge offering?

    • Chris says:

      I haven’t been personally but a colleague has.

      Beer, wine and a few of usual snacks such as spring rolls etc is what has just been mumbled across the office at me. It can’t be that bad though as he is frantically booking as I type this!

      He doesn’t know about breakfast though – he is a coffee & B&H man!

      • Geoggy says:

        Can he be more specific on the booze? Not stating for Carlsberg and Blue Nun ;0)

  • Ed E says:

    Well, that is Valentine’s night sorted!

    • Rob says:

      Make sure you book something else as well because the hotel itself is not good for a Valentine meal! The Crowne Plaza directly opposite, on the other hand, does have a very snazzy restaurant and they try to keep it separate from the hotel (has its own entrance etc).

      • Ed E says:

        Thanks for that Rob, I think we will be taking advantage of the lounge until 8pm and then heading out somwhere for some drunken dinner.
        I of course might be cancelling it all as it does not count as romantic when booked purely for the great use of points!

  • Stuart says:

    Great timing! Booked. 🙂

  • Chris says:

    Your email could not have came at a better time Rob. I was just about to book Indigo Paddington for next week .

    Couple of nights here in a suite will do just fine and I’ll take the tube round to Paddington for my meeting.

  • Craig says:

    Brilliant, thank you, not sure I need the booking, but can always cancel it.

  • IMH says:

    Nice one, thanks Rob. And perfect timing: a refundable booking for one night between a family visit and a lunchtime flight out of Heathrow next summer was the very next thing on my to do list for today. Done! 🙂

  • Will says:

    2 seperate nights in December booked. lovely stuff

    cheers

  • xcalx says:

    How easy is it to get to the Shard from this hotel.

    Cheers

    • Rob says:

      Piccadilly Line to Green Park and then Jubilee Line to London Bridge. Less than 2 minutes total walking at street level.

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

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