voco: A Wonderful Addition to the IHG Family

This year I’ve had the pleasure of staying at two voco properties: the voco Grand Central Glasgow in April, and the voco Doha West Bay Suites from late October to early November. I thought I’d share my observations about the voco brand since it is fairly new and little known in North America.

The first hotels under voco branding opened in 2018, and the brand has since expanded to over 40 properties globally (over 50 including signed properties), most being located outside of North America. voco’s website promises upscale and unique properties that have the dependability associated with a name-brand. They promise hotels that “stand out from the crowd” and are “reliable enough to depend on, but different enough to be fun.”

It seems that voco is striving to replicate the success of its sister IHG brand, Indigo, which has distinctive properties that feel like boutique hotels collected under the same banner. While Indigo falls under IHG’s “Luxury and Lifestyle” collection (along with the likes of Kimpton and InterContinental), voco falls under its “Premium” collection (along with Crowne Plaza), so it should feel less “luxe,” yet the properties that I stayed at met every standard of luxury at the best IHG hotels. (Conversely, I have stayed at Kimptons that feel less than luxurious, such as the Kimpton St. George in Toronto, which hadn’t fully left behind the legacy of the Holiday Inn that it once was.)

voco Grand Central Glasgow

voco’s Glasgow property is in a beautiful historical building that adjoins Glasgow’s Central Station. Station and hotel are closely intertwined in setting and history. There is direct access to the hotel’s lobby from the concourse, and places inside the hotel, such as the bar and lounge, where you can watch the energy and activity of the station while sipping a drink.

There is much history and nostalgia to partake in the interior decor of the hotel, which draws amply from its long and rich past. Artist portraits of John F. Kennedy, Frank Sinatra, Nat King Cole and Gene Kelly, among others, grace the “wall of fame” that features notable guests the hotel has hosted since it first opened in 1883. Nostalgia for the Golden Age of rail travel is another design theme.

My room was modern and beautifully appointed and I thought the service was excellent. The personal note acknowledging my loyalty and Scottish confections struck a hospitable and welcoming tone. This was my first stay at a voco hotel and it left me quite impressed.

voco Doha West Bay Suites

The vibe at voco’s Doha property, in contrast, was urbane high rise sophistication. The hotel is located in one of the ubiquitous skyscrapers in Doha’s core, which unfortunately is one big, dusty construction zone devoid of much soul or genuine community (this is what happens when a city does not “grow up” with organic economic development but is willed into existence by ambition and money).

In contrast to the less than memorable surroundings, the interior of the hotel makes an immediate impression with its beautiful contemporary design with gold and Middle Eastern accents.

I was upgraded to a nicely appointed suite. The hotel was nearly fully booked as it was FIFA season, so my request for a queen bed could not be honoured and I got a suite with two twin beds instead. I appreciated nice hospitable touches like the tray of fruit and assorted goodies that greeted me in the suite.

I found the service a little patchy at points – the predominantly foreign staff were hit and miss in terms of initiative and helping to problem-solve issues. For example, as an IHG Diamond member, I selected the breakfast benefit only to be told at breakfast the first morning that because my name was not on the list, I had to pay for breakfast. The staffer, a woman from Africa, was just doing her job but seemed a little overwhelmed when she had to deviate from her script to solve the problem. To resolve the matter, I found the hotel manager at the front desk who walked me back to the restaurant and added me to the list. The manager also had dental kits promptly sent to my room because the check-in staffer had forgotten this request.

(Doha, as you may know, runs on foreign workers whose service-orientation will vary based on culture, language skills, and training. Every staff member I encountered was earnest and eager to please. I give them a lot of credit for trying their best, working away from their families in what many consider to be exploitative conditions.)

Food at the Properties

Honourable mention goes to the food at both properties. I don’t know about you but I love offal and “castaway” products of animals, my palate having been trained by Teochew and other regional Chinese cuisines to appreciate delicacies like pigs’ stomachs, intestines and curdled blood. I was therefore delighted to find haggis and black pudding served at the breakfast buffet at Glasgow property. The breakfast buffet at the Doha property was good, but my standout meal was the vegetarian biryani.

Conclusion

I’m intrigued by the voco brand now that I’ve stayed at the properties in Glasgow and Doha. Both hotels were beautiful and distinctive in character, and the service I experienced was stellar, notwithstanding a few rough edges at the Doha property. From its debut in 2018, voco has expanded to now more than 50 signed and opened properties in what is reportedly IHG’s fastest global expansion of one of its brands. Based on my experiences at the two properties, I think IHG is on to something good here.