Today’s reader review, “The Grumpies in the Virgin Vegas Spirit”, is by reader GrumpyToTheLeft. If you’d like to submit a reader review for consideration, please contact [email protected].
You can read his review of St Regis, New York, here and his somewhat controversial first review of the same hotel here.
One of New York’s original railroad hotels, the Intercontinental Barclay is two years away from its centenary. Thanks to a 2016 refurbishment, it still feels as though the Art Deco era recently began.
Due to cash pricing at the Barclay and elsewhere, IHG One Rewards points seemed like a good option, especially since the booking was long enough to leverage the IHG Mastercard fourth night free promotion.
Sadly, only standard rooms were bookable with points but Mrs. Grumpy’s IHG One status resulted in an upgrade to a very nice one bedroom suite.
A few points of note:
A matter of presidential concern, water pressure on high floors in NYC hotels can be tricky and refurbishments often make this problem worse, extending it across floors. Not so at the Barclay, where water pressure was excellent.
Floor heating in the bathroom and dual zone air condition for the sitting room and bedroom are excellent features. The suite came equipped with a Nespresso machine. Capsules were replenished twice daily and included special editions (Paris and Tokyo) in addition to Clooney staples such as Ristretto and Roma.
Commonly provided to guests with top tier loyalty status or those booking through travel agent programs such as Marriott Stars or Hyatt Prive, the welcome amenity hit the mark in several respects. First, nicely presented, it consisted of a bottle of red wine, three cheeses, a chutney, honey, nuts, and fancy crackers. Second, and more importantly in Grumpy logic, the welcome note was personal and handwritten (not just hand-signed) by the Barclay’s general manager or someone in her name.
The Barclay provides what may well be the fluffiest slippers offered by any hotel, anywhere:
While welcome amenities are common, pre-departure amenities are a much rarer sight. Again, the Barclay shone, providing two, surprisingly low sugar, 70% dark chocolate mousse au chocolate pots by a NYC based Belgian chocolatier along with a number of toppings.
The accompanying note from the GM clarifies how thoughtful an amenity this is. Originally from Belgium, she writes “from my home country to your heart”. Well done, indeed. Nota bene, the GM’s Belgian heritage may also explain why the hotel provides Neuhaus chocolates on turn-down.
In this post:
Conclusion
Three small, possibly low-hanging fruit type areas of improvement: First, the Bal d’Afrique bathroom amenities are uniquely and a bit heavily perfumed. That is not uncommon. The Waldorf Astoria around the corner used to provide Bvlgari products scented so strongly that the specimens housed in the Grumpy collection smell just like they did 10 years ago. Second, admittedly uncommon across hotel brands, coffee snobs might appreciate espresso cups in addition to the mugs provided, and it would be helpful if the regular/ lungo cups were pre-set to these cup sizes. Third, complimentary bottled water or access to filtered water would be helpful.
Booking
If you book through TLFL’s luxury travel agent partners GTC, you get the following benefits at Intercontinental Hotels:
- Guaranteed late check-out
- $100 hotel amenity
- Complimentary breakfast for 2
If you are staying a weekend night somewhere expensive like New York it is also always worth considering joining the Ambassador program with its free weekend night which you can read about here.
You can find out more about the Intercontinental Barclay and check prices here.
If you want to compare it to the other central Manhattan Intercontinental, the Intercontinental Times Square, you can read our review here.
Getting There and Back
Mrs. Grumpy arriving from within the U.S. and Mr. Grumpy from LHR, flights were originally scheduled to arrive less than one hour apart, which would have allowed for a convenient Terminal 8 reunion and shared journey into the city.
Landside at JFK Terminal 8
Unfortunately, Mrs. Grumpy’s flight with AA took a near two-hour delay. It turns out, that much time is not easily bridged at JFK Terminal 8. The combined home of American Airlines and British Airways features neither an arrivals lounge nor any seating options whatsoever in the landside arrivals and departure areas. The rustic looking café adjacent to the Dunkin Donuts in the rather scruffy arrivals area was closed at the time of Mr. Grumpy’s arrival. In what now seems like the golden days of air travel (as recently as 2017/ 2018), American Airlines would issue gate passes to Admirals Club members so they could pass through security and use the lounge. Gold Guest List status notwithstanding, the agents in the Flagship Check-In area at JFK refused to issue one citing security concerns when explaining why that practice had ceased. So the solo journey continued.
Getting into Manhattan
The most convenient way to get into Manhattan might be via Blade helicopter, reviewed by Michele here. In combination with AA’s Five Star service or its equivalent at other airlines, direct tarmac transfer is available speeding things up further by eliminating the need to pass through the main terminal.
The rather restrictive carry-on weight restrictions imposed by Blade may make this a tricky option for some, the Grumpies included. Besides, a day after Mr. Grumpy first tried the service, magnificent Manhattan skyline views included, a Blade helicopter crashed on refuel.
With ever changing fees, it seems Uber pricing form JFK to Manhattan now consistently exceeds the $ 70.00 flat fee of NYC Yellow Cabs. Lyft tends to price similarly to Yellow Cabs and the Grumpy favorite du jour, Revel, comes in lowest thanks to frequent promotions. Perhaps more importantly, Revel owns a fleet of seemingly consistently clean Tesla and Kia EVs and the friendly drivers are employees rather than independent contractors. While wait times within Manhattan may be longer than those for Yellow Cabs or other ride-share options, frequent Revel promotions make fares market-beating. Yellow Cab starting fares have since risen to a whopping $ 7.00. Still, a Yellow Cab ride from the Intercontinental Barclay to Upper West Side legend Barney Greengrass came in below Uber and Lyft and without a wait.
Especially when staying at the Barclay or at other Mid-Midtown hotels, the Long Island Railroad eastside extension provides a convenient alternative. Just as when taking the LIRR into Penn Station or the subway, passengers must first take the JFK Air Train from JFK to Jamaica Station and then connect there. To put it mildly, Jamaica Station feels grubby. Describing it as an indoor version of LA’s skid row might be an exaggeration. Either way, taking the train is the most cost-effective option. During rush-hour, when the ~15 mile car ride from JFK to Manhattan can take 60 to 90 minutes, it is also faster at around 40 minutes.
Getting Out of New York via JFK Terminal 8
The Terminal 8 ground experience since the AA-BA unification and during the construction that preceded it has been lackluster. Yet, there has never been enough premium champagne in the Chelsea lounge to fully open this wound and air out all the first-world problems into a full review.
However, a change of note warrants sober mention: AA’s Flagship Check-In typically involves an escort to the front of the security checkpoint (TSA Pre or Premium regular security). At LHR this service is only offered at extreme peak-times and upon request. At LAX and MIA its consistently offered and at JFK it used to be de rigueur before the AA-BA joint home construction began.
Since the new Flagship Check-In area opened, this results in a somewhat peculiar situation, where passengers find themselves in a TSA Pre-Check security line that runs parallel to the regular TSA Pre line from where they eventually have to merge/ cut into the regular line.
On March 10, 2024 the lane facing the Flagship Check-In area exit was marked “Crew”. Ever the anglophiles and as such respectful of the queue, and that lane being unmanned, as is not uncommon, the Grumpies inquired with agents inside the Flagship Check-In area and were told (1) since that sign was posted passengers have to enter the back of the regular TSA Pre line and (2) due to TSA/ airport restrictions (definitely not AA/ BA policies) escorts were only possible to the front of the Premium security check point and not the TSA Pre checkpoint.
Exiting once more, a non AA/ BA agent who must have appeared in the intervening moment, instructed the Grumpies to join the lane marked “Crew”.
One constant remains, lack of premium champagne induced crocodile tears in the Chelsea lounge.
