Which InterContinental hotels give FREE club lounge access via a ‘preferred partner’ agent?

You may not know that you can get free access to club lounges at some InterContinental hotels if you book via a travel agent who is affiliated to the exclusive Virtuoso network.

This is a benefit which is well worth knowing about, because IHG / InterContinental does not offer lounge access to top-tier members of its IHG One Rewards programme unless you take it as a 40 night ‘milestone bonus’.

IHG does offer InterContinental lounge access to Royal Ambassador cardholders.  This requires a high level – into US$ five figures it seems – of annual spend across InterContinental, Kimpton and Regent to qualify, so don’t pin your hopes on that.

Luckily, there is a way around this.  A handful of top InterContinental hotels are part of the Virtuoso luxury hotels network.  These can only be booked by a closed network of hand-picked travel agents, of which our hotel booking partner Emyr Thomas is one of the few in the UK.

The following InterContinental hotels will give you guaranteed lounge access if you book them via Emyr (details here).

The price will usually be Best Flexible Rate.  If you were booking a flexible rate anyway then this is a genuinely free extra bonus.  If you would otherwise book Advanced Purchase (non-refundable) rates then you will pay a little more but you are getting a substantial list of extra benefits which should easily offset the cost.

For clarity, you WILL earn IHG One Rewards points on these rates.  If you are also InterContinental Ambassador, my experience is that the hotels will often upgrade you an additional level, as Virtuoso bookings also come with an upgrade.

These InterContinental hotels offer free lounge access on Virtuoso agent bookings:

InterContinental London Park Lane (above)

The hotel website is here.

Benefits booking via a Virtuoso agent: one level upgrade at the time of booking, daily breakfast for two people, complimentary Club InterContinental access, early check-in and late check-out subject to availability.

Bookings into one-bedroom suites or higher will also receive a free bottle of wine and a seasonal food amenity.

We reviewed InterContinental London Park Lane here.

InterContinental Madrid

The hotel website is here.

Benefits booking via a Virtuoso agent: upgrade on arrival subject to availability, daily breakfast for two people, complimentary Club InterContinental access, $100 hotel credit for room service / minibar / laundry only, early check-in and late check-out subject to availability

InterContinental New York Barclay (above)

The hotel website is here.

Benefits booking via a Virtuoso agent: upgrade at time of arrival subject to availability, breakfast served in the Club InterContinental lounge, complimentary Club InterContinental access, personalized VIP arrival with welcome note & seasonal welcome amenity, early check-In / late check-out subject to availability, complimentary Wi-Fi, daily $39.50 plus tax New York Amenity Fee waived upon guest check out, daily housekeeping / evening turn down upon guest request

We reviewed InterContinental New York Barclay here.

InterContinental Paris Le Grand (above)

The hotel website is here.

Benefits booking via a Virtuoso agent: upgrade at time of booking from Cosy to Classic room (upgrade on arrival, subject to availability, for other categories), daily buffet breakfast in the Club InterContinental lounge, complimentary Club InterContinental access, VIP welcome amenities and letter, 25% discount on rack rate suite from Ambassador Suite upwards, early check-in / late check-out subject to availability, complimentary Wi-Fi

We reviewed InterContinental Paris Le Grand here and I have probably stayed 15 times over the years.

Details of how to contact Emyr with booking enquiries can be found here.

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IHG One Rewards update – April 2025:

Get bonus points: IHG is not currently running a global promotion.

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.

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