Review: InterContinental Ljubljana, Slovenia

After an exciting week exploring Bosnia and Herzegovina, we headed north to Slovenia. While both were once part of the former Yugoslavia, Slovenia feels distinctly Central European, rather than Balkan.

InterContinental Ljubljana – Location and Booking

The InterContinental Ljubljana sits just outside the Old Town, about a 12 minute walk. You’ll find a grocery store next to the hotel, a nearby pharmacy and several coffee shops and restaurants. We enjoyed lunch at Al-Yasmin, a Syrian restaurant that had delicious shawarma just across the street.

Al-Yasmin Restaurant, Ljubljana

This hotel is conveniently located near the main train and bus station, under a 10 minute walk.  This location makes it an ideal base for day trips to Lake Bled, Postojna Caves and Predjama Castle. Additionally, you can also catch a bus from there to head to the airport if you packed lightly, around a 40 minute bus ride.

InterContinental Ljubljana – Exterior

I planned our itinerary to spend our first night here before heading to Lake Bled, then return for an additional four nights. I redeemed 48,000 IHG One Rewards points for a King Classic High Floor room for the first night. For the second stay, I redeemed 185,000 points for four nights, taking advantage of IHG’s fourth night free benefit, averaging 46,250 points per night.

Top three things I like about IHG One Rewards:

• Fourth night free on award stays (better than Hilton and Marriott’s 5^th night free)
• Free night applies even if it’s the most expensive award night
• Ability to top up 40K Anniversary Free Night Flex Certificate with unlimited points

InterContinental Ljubljana – Arrival and Check-in

Unfortunately, our trip to Slovenia started on a stressful note. To begin with, both flights were delayed, our luggage didn’t arrive and to make matters worse, airport staff didn’t provide a Property Irregularity Report. They told me they’d e-mail it to me and I took them at their word.

We rushed through the airport since I had booked a shuttle service and the driver grew impatient because we were late. Thankfully, the silver lining was that we had the shuttle to ourselves and reached the hotel in about 40 minutes.

The Intercontinental Ljubljana stands out as one of the tallest buildings in Ljubljana. Inside, the lobby was surprisingly narrow. I felt like I was just walking into a hallway. However, it did open up to Bloom Lounge, a pleasant space serving coffee, French pastries and cakes.

InterContinental Ljubljana – Lobby

Check-in was smooth and the associate recognized my Platinum elite status and handed me a sheet outlining the elite benefits:

• Complimentary upgrade (when available)
• Welcome amenity at check-in
• Early check-in (when available)
• Late check-out to 2 p.m. (when available)
• 25% discount on food and beverages at Bloom lounge

For both stays, no room upgrade was offered. Staff did honour the late check-out (2 p.m.) when we requested it. The hotel offers complimentary breakfast only to Diamond members. Otherwise, the cost is 27 € per person if you opt-in during check-in or 31 € per person if you decide late. I found this to be unreasonable.

InterContinental Ljubljana – King Classic High Room & Twin Corner Room

Our first night was spent in a King Classic room on the 14^th floor. At 431 square feet, it was spacious, modern and comfortable, with a box of chocolates as a welcome amenity.

InterContinental Ljubljana – King Bedroom

Welcome Amenity – Chocolate Hearts

On our return stay, we were assigned a smaller Twin Classic room. We experienced issues with the shower drain, so they moved up us to room 305. While it was on a lower floor, it was actually an upgrade because it was corner room and was much more spacious.

Twin Corner Room

It also offered better city views. In the previous two rooms we were assigned, our room faced another hotel. We could see into their rooms, just as I’m sure they could see into ours, compromising privacy unless the blinds were kept closed.

The other plus was this corner room’s bathroom and walk-in closet were separated from the bedroom with a sliding door.

Sliding Door

The closet itself was also much larger, which included drawers, shelves and ample space to hang our clothes.

Closet

The bathroom featured Byredo bath products, a rain shower and a soaker tub. There were no shower hooks or towel hangers by the shower, making it impractical. I found the toilet paper was oddly low quality for an upscale hotel. The toilet was enclosed, a setup which I prefer.

Bathroom

The room amenities included a coffee machine and pods, a kettle with an assortment of tea bags, a glass bottle of water, bathrobes, slippers, a safe, an iron and ironing board. I usually don’t comment on hotel irons, but I found the one provided was surprisingly great quality and the ironing board attached to a hanger made it easy to hang back in the closet.

Amenities

As for the beds, while I normally like a firm mattress, I found this one to be too firm. Conversely, the pillows were too soft. In between the beds were various electrical outlets to keep all electronics charged.

Plug ‘n charge

The hotel provided turndown service each evening and left local chocolates in the room.

Turndown Service – Chocolate Treats

While comfortable, the room’s layout could have been more functional. A bulky built-in desk attached to a mini bar wasted significant space that could have been transformed into a junior suite with a seating area.

Desk space

InterContinental Ljubljana – Room Service

The hotel offered room service ordering via a QR code on the TV. The menus included breakfast, à la carte dining and a full beverage selection. A 5 € service charge applied for orders exceeding 10 €.

QR Code – Room Service

During our first stay, after a long travel day, we wanted some comfort food and ordered burgers. I requested that they’re cooked well-done. When the burgers finally arrived, they were disappointingly medium cooked.

On our second stay, we tried the Intercontinental Breakfast, which included:

• 2 main dishes (eggs, avocado toast, pancakes or French toast)
• 4 small side plates (cold cut meats, cheese plate, fresh fruits plate, salad or basket of breads/pastries)
• 1 plain yogurt or berry yogurt
• 1 hot beverage (coffee or tea)
• 1 orange or grape juice

Room Service Menu

This breakfast came at a cost of 31 €. The portion was enough for two. The odd thing is they limited it to one hot and one cold drink. We added a pot of coffee for 8.50 €. You also can’t select the same main dish twice. Our breakfast arrived 20 minutes later than the estimated scheduled time, but on the whole it was decent value despite a couple of drawbacks.

InterContinental Ljubljana – Breakfast

We tried the breakfast at B-Restaurant, its name a nod to the Slovene Carniolan honey bee. The restaurant is led by Chef Komnen, awarded the Michelin plate. We took the elevator to the 20^th floor and a hostess welcomed us and assigned us a table by the window.

B-Restaurant

B-Restaurant has panoramic views of Ljubljana’s Alps and Old Town. Western dishes are featured in the buffet alongside an à la carte menu. I predictably went with the avocado toast, without eggs this time. It was missing the cherry tomatoes and didn’t taste quite good as when I ordered it for room service. The service wasn’t very friendly, just adequate.

B-Restaurant – Avocado Toast

B-Restaurant – Breakfast Buffet

The setting of the restaurant was lovely with a generous amount of natural light flowing in thanks to the all-glass building. Was the breakfast worth the price? I didn’t think so. It’s actually better value to go for the room service breakfast offering. Yet, if you do enjoy a nice, ambient setting or prefer having a lot of variety that the buffet offers, then it may be worth the splurge for you.

InterContinental Ljubljana – Facilities

On the 18^th floor, the InterContinental Ljubljana gym was well-equipped. The best part is that you can enjoy panoramic views of the capital while you workout. If on the other hand you’re looking to unwind, you can indulge in spa treatments at Serenity Spa. This wellness spa also includes a sauna room and an indoor swimming pool.

InterContinental Ljubljana – Fitness Centre

Guests can book a room with Club Lounge Access for an exclusive experience. Located on the 19^th floor, Club InterContinental offers snacks throughout the day and evening drinks and canapés between 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.

I found the dining options limited. The hotel’s signature B-Restaurant serves Mediterranean cuisine, with the nearby B-Bar for cocktails and drinks. On the ground floor, Bloom Lounge serves light bites. Even better, you can take advantage of a 25% discount at this lounge if you hold Platinum or Diamond elite status.

InterContinental Ljubljana – Bloom Lounge

Takeaway

The InterContinental Ljubljana delivers the modern comforts that you’d expect from a 5-star chain. The drawback? I found that elite status recognition fell short. Staff didn’t proactively offer room upgrades, and service was a mixed bag. Front desk associates came across as less warm and friendly than those I interacted with at the Courtyard Sarajevo.

On the other hand, I found the hotel’s biggest strength was its central location. For instance, I loved the convenience of having a grocery store next door. Its proximity to the Old Town made exploring Ljubljana easy. Additionally, its short distance to transit hubs made it ideal for day trips. Given the limited hotel chain options available during our stay, the InterContinental Ljubljana was the best choice for our visit.