InterContinental Bordeaux - Le Grand Hotel, an IHG Hotel

I wish I could give this hotel a higher rating. The location is excellent and most of the staff were wonderful, but our experience was not worthy of 5 stars. We booked a premier room with balcony through our Virtuoso agency, but over our 3-night stay we had to change rooms three times. The first room (419) was a shoebox-sized space with a balcony accessible only by a stair, blocking any view — more of a “classic” room than the premier category we paid for. The second room (307) was a much better size but had an overwhelming sewer smell, apparently from recent rains, that made it impossible to stay in despite staff attempts to spray it away. Our final room on our last night (421) on the top floor was comfortable and odor-free, but by then the constant moving had taken away any sense of relaxation. No gesture beyond an apology was offered for the repeated inconvenience. Breakfast was good overall, but the egg chef was temperamental and unaccommodating - refusing orders when busy the aw one morning and unwilling to prepare scrambled eggs with cheese on request the third - insisting we take previously made eggs from the buffet and just add some cheese on top. This is simply not the level of service one expects from a 5-star property. While the location and most of the staff were excellent, with the repeated room issues, I could not recommend this hotel.

We treated ourselves to five nights here for our mini-moon in Autumn 2024. Of the three luxury hotels I've been lucky enough to stay in (Das Tegernsee near Munich, The Old Course in St Andrews, and here) this is the one to which I am least inclined to return. My most enduring memory will be what my wife and I now refer to as 'Coffee-gate'. Every morning at breakfast my wife ordered a cappuccino which she received as ordered with no fuss. My go to coffee order is an Americano, which I ordered in English on our first morning after the waiter had approached us in English. They brought me a filter coffee. I explained that I wanted 'de l'eau chaud et un espresso dans la meme tasse' (an Americano) which they then brought in its component parts (an espresso and a jug of hot water). On our second morning I ordered a cafe lungo, thinking this would be less ambiguous than an Americano. They brought me a filter coffee. When I explained my order to the waiter he brought me an espresso and a bottle of *cold* water. Once he understood what I wanted, I asked him for the French term for my coffee of choice. He told me 'un espresso allongé'. On our third morning I ordered un espresso allongé. The waiter brought me a filter coffee. Maybe this is my ignorance, but I would have expected breakfast staff at an upmarket hotel to be familiar with more than two types of coffee based drink. My main other criticism of this hotel also relates to the breakfast buffet. The pastries at breakfast tasted like they were from a supermarket multipack and were not of the bakery quality I'd expected from a top line French hotel. I'd also give this place a wide berth in the future due to the large number of loud Americans, but the hotel cannot help this. All staff were professional, friendly, and (with the exception of coffee-gate) helpful.

I was there 8-12 August 2025 with my husband. The room was beautiful and very comfortable but was far from the elevator and I asked at the reception to give me the same but more close to the lobby she tried to give more complicated room,smaller and lower floor,I kept my room, the next day going to get the breakfast and we order coffee and the server comes after 20 minutes, leaving at 10 am from the room and turning around 3:10 to the room to relax and my room wasn’t ready the cleaning lady was there and cleaned the room, was upset and disappointed and called the manager not the general because he wasn’t there but another manager that she apologized in the meantime the cleaning get another 30 minutes to finish the room,another thing was when my husband asked the concierge guy where to find the see food restaurant he sent us in the restaurant was out from the business 2 years and we walked 25 minutes to find out. I am disappointed from the people who worked there, they are not professional or is very poor management. The hotel is beautiful but needs the right people to run it.

Arriving Friday night, outside tables. Lots of vacant tables, but no attention from waiters as we were waiting by the gate. We sat down by one of the vacant tables - and suddenly we got attention afterall. And the waitress told us loud and clear that in France no one just took a table without waiting to be seated. I wanted to say that where I come from I am used to attentive and pleasant staff. But I didn’t. And if the table was vacant - why bother to bully the guests? She even started to clear the table demonstratively, before we had finished our wine. Of course we should have left, instead of letting us be treated like a dog poop under her shoe. Wine and food was ok. The waitress was not.

The Hotel is in a fantastic position breakfast is hopelessly organised 1st morning no table for 20 minutes and staff rude. Room excellent though.