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InterContinental Edinburgh The George hotel is now open

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InterContinental Edinburgh is now ‘open’, although for this hotel the concept of ‘open’ is a complex one:

you can argue that it has re-opened, since it was originally an InterContinental until a few years ago when IHG sold it

you can argue that it never actually closed, since the rebranding from Principal The George – who bought the hotel off IHG and rebranded it, before IHG bought Principal and rebranded it again – has been done without the hotel closing its doors (the building has been a hotel since 1881)

InterContinental Edinburgh The George open

However you look at it, InterContinental is now back in the Scottish capital.  This is particularly good news for InterContinental Ambassador members who can now use their ‘free weekend night’ voucher at another UK venue. 

We reviewed the benefits of InterContinental Ambassador here.  Principal spent a substantial amount of money renovating the hotel, and IHG has just done some additional work to reach ‘brand standards’, so it should look good.

As an IHG Rewards Club redemption, it costs 55,000 points per night.  This is a decent deal based on my 0.4p per point valuation for an IHG point.

You can find out more on the InterContinental Edinburgh website 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 (118)

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

  • Chris says:

    Re The George, Edinburgh does anyone know if it will have a Club lounge facility al la Intercontinentals or as I notice in room descriptions just a ‘tuck box’ al la Principals. ?

    • Chris M says:

      Checked in here yesterday on points. I’m platinum ambassador. Busy, so no room upgrade, but £50 credit instead plus £15 normal credit plus 600 points bonus. Receptionist told us tuck boxes have been removed as that was a Principal benefit (still have them in Kimpton Edinburgh, which is also ex Principal), but still fresh milk in fridge so that’s a bonus. No sign of wecome amenity such as fruit plate. No lounge as far as we can see. Also managing to use a new offer which appeared by email yesterday of 15% off F&B.

  • Jack Taylor says:

    ‘25% bonus on HSBC credit card points conversions to Avios’ – This doesn’t show on my HSBC Premier account, I just get offered the standard 2 Points = 1 Avios. Whilst I do rate HSBC Premier the points scheme has a lot to be desired…

    • Asaf says:

      Check under your “account dashboard”

      • Ant says:

        That link doesnt work for me – i also do not see this offer and the website says 2 points = 1 avios.

        Where is this “account dashboard” you mention?

        • Polly says:

          On the loading page. It appears on bottom right of page in a BA box. It might not appear every time..weird that.

    • Axel says:

      Didn’t show on my HSBC account either. Transferred Thursday, got the Avois today inclusing the 25% bonus!

      • Johnny5a says:

        Didn’t show on my wife’s account either. We transferred on Friday and posted today with the 25% bonus. looks like it’s for everyone

        • Ollie says:

          Yep worked for me too despite not being able to see it in my Account Dashboard … no matter how often I refreshed the page … the live chat couldn’t tell me either … but 25% extra turned up in my account 2 days later.

    • Polly says:

      Just bad cs. Haven’t a clue.

  • Harry T says:

    Perhaps ring them? In my experience the points usually track well, even on instore purchases with saved cards.

    • Shoestring says:

      how do you mean: ‘the card was registered correctly etc’?

      did you make the purchase by logging into Shopsy Away & going through to JL to make your purchase? no need to register cards

  • Andrew MS says:

    They don’t have a phone number

    Oliver.byers at fly.virgin.com is head of loyalty at Virgin

    • Andrew MS says:

      I am always doing battle with Shps Awy especially with insurance and broadband / mobile purchases . They award the points then strip me of the points and when i query it the response is always the same “ you moved away from the site on the final step “ Impossible when the last page is the payment page and i can prove i made the purchase

      • Andrew says:

        It’s not “impossible”.

        Does your browser or Internet Security offer heightened security at the point of payment? That could break the chain.

        I keep getting money that doesn’t belong to me. The joys of flakey tracking and 10,000 employees all sharing a single IP address.

  • Atsushi says:

    I posses world elite, no luck there either…..

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