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IHG’s new voco brand to open in Dubai, rebranding the Nassima Royal Hotel

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voco is IHG’s latest hotel brandWe discussed it in this article when it launched.

Voco is to be an ‘upscale conversion’ brand, allowing existing luxury hotels to switch to IHG without needing to undertake expensive changes to meet the brand standards demanded by Holiday Inn, Crowne Plaza etc.  It only seems to require the hotel to put in a lot of yellow furnishings 🙂

You can learn more about the brand here.

One of the first voco hotels is the St David’s Hotel in Cardiff, which IHG acquired when it bought Principal Hotels recently.  Here is the voco St David’s website.

voci has just added a new property in Dubai.  It isn’t one I’d ever heard of, although keeping track of Dubai’s ever-changing hotel scene is beyond the ability of mere mortals.  The Nassima Royal Hotel on Sheikh Zayed Road will soon be voco Dubai.

Looking at the Nassima website, the hotel looks very smart and very funky.  Don’t get too excited by the mention of beach views – that is mainly due to the fact that it is 51 stories high and not because it is near the beach.

voco Dubai is not yet bookable, and IHG is saying that rooms will be available from 1st April.  The voco Dubai website is here but, with little information, you should use the Nassima site instead for now.


IHG One Rewards news

IHG One Rewards update – November 2024:

Get bonus points:

Nights to do not need to be consecutive. Read more in our article here and click here to register.

IHG is running a second promotion for stays at five of its smaller brands. You will receive triple base points between 1st October and 31st December 2024 on stays at voco, avid hotels, EVEN Hotels, Atwell Suites and Garner Hotels. Read more in our article here and click here to register.

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 (100)

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

  • joe green says:

    OT: I need 5,644 IHG points to reach Spire Elite I am guessing this needs to happen by 31st of December. Can put £3k through my IHG premium card but how can I be sure the points will post in time. If they post on the 31st would it still trigger Spire Elite for the next year or not?

    Any other ways to get the last few points I checked Virgin and only have 9,888 points and minimum transfer is 10k and takes up to 30 days so may have missed that also.

    Sitting on plenty of Avios and MR if there is a way to get those over?

    Thanks!

    • Genghis says:

      I’d say spend asap to ensure the points are included in your Dec statement (dated last as 28 Dec).
      Virgin transfers no longer elite qualifying.

    • Peter K says:

      Virgin transfers no longer count for status. The Creation statement always is created after 25th in December. Not sure if points would arrive on time but assume they would. No way for avios to get status in IHG.
      Try staying at hotel that allows 5k bonus point packages. They are elite point counting and the cost of the stay should make up the other few hundred.

      • joe green says:

        Thanks Peter and Genghis – Interesting was wondering why my statements are dated 21/22/23
        of the month except for last December being 26th but points credit anything from 21st – 30th of the month.

        Just noticed I have an 80% buy points bonus so for $67.50 I get 5,000 + bonus 4,000 points will these be elite qualifying?

        • Genghis says:

          No

        • EwanG says:

          Make sure your transaction is made well ahead of your statement date so it goes through on your December statement, i.e. is not still pending and falls onto the January statement.
          I pointed out in a similar query a few days ago that recent months have seen a bigger lag between the statement date and points crediting to my account. Hopefully the IHG points go through in December but if they don’t I think you have a valid reason to complain and for IHG to rectify.

    • Nick Burch says:

      Some hotels offer a “bonus points” package for slightly more than the normal rate. These bonus points are elite qualifying!

      So, booking an IHG hotel for one night, and adding a 3k bonus points package (varies between hotels if they offer 1k, 2k, 3k, 5k or some combination) is the safest way to go.

  • Tilly says:

    O/T – would like to book to go to Japan and South Korea in same trip. Is it possible to book outbound to Tokyo then return from Seoul using BA 241 voucher? If yes how can I book this? Do I have to phone BA as can’t see how can book online. Then book separate travel between the two cities/countries.

    TIA

    • Genghis says:

      Yes. Need to call BA to use 241.
      IMO though, Kansai (the area around Osaka / Kyoto) is much more interesting than Kantou (the area around Tokyo) so you could look for flights from there. There are a couple of JL flights KIX-ICN/GMP.

      • Tilly says:

        Thanks Genghis, knew I’d get a fast response from you.

        • Mark says:

          I did this trip recently but did Seoul first, I echo Genghis’s view, to factor in a flight from ICN-KIX then you aren’t doubling back on yourself. We did LHR-ICN, ICN-KIX, NRT-LHR, we did Narita as we got to experience the 787 F cabin and a better flight time. Plus with BA now launching a direct flight to KIX you might get good availability there. Feel free to ask anymore questions, happy to help.

      • AlexT says:

        Kansai, yes. Osaka itself no. Don’t plan more than a day for the city… Kyoto is a different matter entirely. Quite a few interesting places to visit around Tokyo too – Hakone, for one. Can stop by Nagoya on the way between Tokyo and Osaka too.

        • Genghis says:

          I like Osaka. Nothing much to see but great food and nice people.
          A stay in Koya-san, however, at a temple will be truly memorable.

        • Genghis says:

          Depending on timing, I’d recommend taking the long route from Tokyo to Osaka via Nagano and Matsumoto (Jigokudani Yaen Koen, good onsen for yourself and Matsumoto castle).

        • Genghis says:

          Even better, get yourself to Kyushu, the best part of Japan. The best food and the friendliest of people. I lived there for a couple of years.

        • Tilly says:

          The food is very important. Big foodie here.

      • Brighton Belle says:

        +1 just back from Kyoto autumn colours. If you like gardens, temples and Japanese culture it is 10/10. I lived in Tokyo for 2 years and Kyoto, Nara is stupendously better.

    • Tilly says:

      Wow thanks everyone! Definitely lots to think about.

      • Mark says:

        Osaka is amazing for food, if your a foodie i’d have a couple of days there. Now i want Okonomiyaki

        • Cat says:

          In the meantime, if you’re London-based, I highly recommend a visit to Jidori – by far my favourite Japanese restaurant since Bincho shut down. The food is sooooooooo good.

    • Tilly says:

      As you’re all so amazingly knowledgeable and helpful, a couple more questions:

      1. The 241 voucher is husband’s, does he need to call BA or can I do it?
      2. Best time to visit? September or November? I hate the cold but don’t want it to be too rainy. Earlier in the year isn’t possible for us in 2019 unfortunately.

      • Genghis says:

        1. Set yourself up as a third party on his account then you can call.
        2. Depends where you’re going exactly. We were in Seoul in Oct and weather was nice but a little chilly. I was in Tokyo in early Sep this year and weather was nice.

        • Tilly says:

          Fab thanks. I am set up as a third party on his account, I set his account up for him and TBH he doesn’t even have his own log in details, I manage it all.

          Planning on Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto and maybe Hiroshima. Not takr planned it TBH. Only have 2 weeks so will probably have say 10-12 days in Japan then a couple of days in Seoul.

  • Anna says:

    Sorry if someone’s already mentioned it, I’ve just noticed a “spend £500 get £100 back at Marriott” on one BA Amex.

  • Nico G says:

    OT Not sure if targeted but received an email from eBookers offering £10 bonus+ credit for filling in a very short survey.

  • Sapiens says:

    I have a xmas party ticket I can’t use tonight unfortunately. Happy to forward it to someone for free, as long as you can attend!

  • Alex says:

    What are the options of ‘transferring’ my wife’s Amex points to my hotel scheme account? Usually I transfer them as Avios to her BA account, which is part of our family BA account, but this time I am thinking if there are other options. Is something like Amex>Her Hilton>My Hilton possible? Or via SPG?

    • Lee says:

      200K per year for Hilton, 100K a year for SPG/Marriott

      • AndyW says:

        The Hilton transfers are very efficient in my experience as well

      • Rich says:

        Are there any downsides to doing this? And are transfers in from Membership Rewards eligible to be transferred out to another member like this? Could be very useful if so

        • Mark2 says:

          Transfers from MR points are irrevocable.
          Once transferred they are the same as any other points.

        • meta says:

          Yes, but if the names don’t match it might trigger an audit from the said programme. I am going through similar with Krisflyer at the moment. Nothing worrying, they just said that the points will be transferred back to the original collector (had to provide the MR number to them). It does take a bit of time though for it to be completed. It’s now been 5 days and they are still not back. At least I have plan B and have left plenty of buffer time before I need to make my desired redemption.

        • Mark2 says:

          Hilton and Marriott allow transfers to any other account.

  • Neil says:

    Any spare ticket for tonight please email me – neildonoghue@hotmail.com

  • Paul says:

    OT:

    Just a heads up that there may be some dodgy adverts being displayed on your site (or other issue)

    I just go put through a forwarding frenzy that ended up on a fake “Please update your flash player” website…

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