A weekend break is a great way to wow your partner or surprise your family. Here is our pick of the best InterContinental hotels for a weekend break. My top hotel choices are all in Europe, All these hotels are worth flying long-haul for. They are fabulous!
1. InterContinental Marseille – Hotel Dieu
The InterContinental Marseille – Hotel Dieu was a palatial 18th-century hospital that has been exquisitely restored to five-star hotel standards. Curved archways provide rooftop views. Stately plazas and opulent furnishings make this hotel one of the best in Marseille.
The hotel has 179 rooms and 15 suites, including 72 with views of the Old Port and 33 with a private terrace. Designed by Jean-Philippe Nuel, a well-respected designer of luxury hotels, the rooms and suites offer magical views, stylish decor, walk-in showers, and separate tubs. This hotel is one of the best IHG hotels in Europe!
The hotel is situated on a hill, on the edge of the Panier (Old Town), and near lively bars and restaurants that sit on the waterfront. Artwork and original features make this hotel rather unique. While there is no outdoor pool, the concierge will arrange access to a private swimming club across the Old Port. The indoor pool is classy and comes complete with a waterfall and sunburst lighting. There is also a Clarins spa and a gym.
The Alcyone restaurant is Michelin-starred with excellent food. There is also an informal Fenêtres brasserie, with a fantastic outdoor terrace offering brilliant views over Marseille. The cocktail bar also has a terrace.
Make time to linger on the terraces here. Lingering is what you are meant to do in the South of France, and the views from both the communal and rooms with balconies and terraces are stunning across the city and over the sea and hills. If you can stretch to it, the Junior Suite Terrace rooms are the ones to pick. Ranging in size from 45 to 50 m2, these Terrasse Junior Suites offer an immense terrace kitted out with a table and lounging chairs.
2. InterContinental Lyon – Hotel Dieu
Lyon may be one of many cities you think of when visiting France. Paris will undoubtedly be one of your top choices, but Lyon should be, too!
Lyon is the third-largest city and second-largest urban area of France. Lyon’s quaint Unesco-listed Old Town is crowned by an elevated basilica, and from the top of this hill, you can see how the Rhône and Saône Rivers meander through the city. The city’s quays offer a picturesque place for a bite and a relax, surrounded by peaceful water gardens and floating bars. The gastronomy is among France’s finest.
InterContinental Lyon – Hotel Dieu is one of the city’s most emblematic historical landmark buildings, and it sits on the banks of the River Rhône. One hundred forty-four rooms run across three floors, and enjoy road-and-river or peaceful courtyard views. The room design is swish with gold and slate color schemes. Duplex suites have double-height arched windows and mosaic-tiled bathrooms offering magnolia-scented amenities by Parisian perfumer Frederic Malle.
Following a four-year restoration and new interiors by Jean-Philippe Nuel, the hotel is now stunning. The bar is built in the former chapel and is topped by Le Grande Dome, which soars 105 feet in height. The Grand Dome can be seen from all over Lyon. Epona restaurant offers excellent cuisine in a modern dining room that has views over the river. At the back, there’s a courtyard and garden where you can dine alfresco on warm nights.
A well-equipped fitness room is open 24 hours a day, and guests have complimentary use of a sauna, steam room, and yoga classes. Spa Le Tigre is where you book massages or treatments. The enormous landmark building that houses the hotel is also home to offices, shops, restaurants, and bars, which means that the hotel offers a great base and is surrounded by lively local businesses.
3. InterContinental Bordeaux Le Grand Hotel
The gorgeous city of Bordeaux in the South West of France is home to the stunning InterContinental Bordeaux Le Grand Hotel. This historic hotel lies on the Place de la Comédie in the very heart of the city’s ‘Golden Triangle.’ Bordeaux is known for its architecture, art, and history as much as its gastronomic scene and the wine! Almost everywhere in the city is within walking distance, but if you don’t fancy walking, the tram stops right outside the hotel.
The hotel is housed in a former stately home, built in 1789 and was recently renovated by renowned designer Jacques Garcia. The hotel now exudes an elegant Baroque opulence, which feels inherently French and, of course, divinely luxurious.
The facilities include an ultra-glamorous spa with a decadent, designer pool, ten treatment rooms, a hammam, a fitness center, a tea room, and an outside terrace; there can be few better ways to spend a lazy afternoon than chilling in the jacuzzi with a drink from the bar while you soak up the magnificent city.
There are 130 rooms, of which 44 of these are suites, and 21 of these offer spectacular views of the Grand-Théâtre (L’Opéra National de Bordeaux) and the Place de la Comédie. All the rooms feature luxury amenities, including heated floors, marble bathrooms with bathtubs, ornate furnishing, high-tech television systems, and a daily newspaper. Upgrade your room for a view, or upgrade to a Suite for even chicer opulence, more space, and an even better view.
The gastronomic restaurant Le Pressoir d’Argent boasts 2 Michelin stars and a menu rich in local produce. In Le Bordeaux Gordon Ramsay brasserie, you’ll find culinary delights from Southwest France alongside traditional British dishes. Gordon Ramsay also oversees the food served in the bars, the Conference and Banqueting department, and Room Service. Evenings here must always end at the stunning and very trendy, vast roof terrace “Night Beach.” It’s infamous throughout Bordeaux for its elegance and chilled vibe plus, of course, breathtaking 360°panoramic views of Bordeaux.
4. InterContinental London Park Lane
InterContinental London Park Lane features at the top of our best club lounges in London. This elegant luxury hotel offers rooms of varying sizes with incredible views across Regents and Green Park, as well as the Hyde Park Corner roundabout. It also has a great gym, Elemis Spa, two excellent restaurants, and an unbeatable location.
There is a hint of the oriental in the newly refurbished rooms with pretty blossom designs on the headboards, loads of mirrors, and light, warm marble bathrooms. Club Lounge access is free here if you book via our luxury travel concierge along with benefits including room upgrade on arrival, early check-in/late check-out (all subject to availability), and complimentary Wi-Fi.
The view in this club lounge is an absolute winner. It is simply the best view from any Executive Lounge in London. The view looks south towards the Thames with Big Ben and the London Eye in the distance to your left, Hyde Park corner in the middle, and Knightsbridge to your right. On Guy Fawkes night and New Year’s Eve, you can enjoy the distant fireworks across the London skyline from this wonderful lounge. In the distance, you can also see the spires of Battersea Power Station and Green Park, with Buckingham Palace hidden in the trees beyond. You are literally looking down on the Queen (assuming that she is in residence!).
5. InterContinental Paris Le Grand
The beautifully refurbished and remodeled InterContinental Paris Le Grand easily offers one of the best club lounges in Paris. The last time I made use of the InterContinental Paris club lounge, we booked a wonderful rooftop room in the eaves of this historic hotel. The view was out over the rooftops of Paris in the Opera district. The hotel is also very close to the Place Concorde, Rue Faubourg Honore, Champs Elysees.
Even if you have loyalty status or are an InterContinental Ambassador, you will be charged around 150 Euros to access the club lounge at this InterContinental in Paris. If you book with our concierge, you get all your usual benefits. We can apply your loyalty number to your booking so that you can collect your points. Plus, you will also get Club Lounge access absolutely free, even when you book their standard room.
6. InterContinental The O2
One of the best InterContinental hotels in London is the InterContinental London the O2. Based near the O2 venue and in Greenwich in East London, you are around a 5-minute walk from North Greenwich Tube station, which is around 30 minutes to a 1-hour ride from central London, depending on where you are heading. Or just hop on one of the bus boats that whizz up and down the Thames River that will drop you right in the center.
The hotel is brilliantly convenient for Excel Exhibition Centre via the Emirates Air Line cable car is a 5-minute walk from the hotel. Hop on this cable car, which takes you above and over the River Thames with spectacular views of the Thames Barrage and London Airport before you “land” on the other side of the river just along from Excel.
The hotel is also convenient for flights out of London City Airport. The airport is just 3 stops away via the DLR, which is east London’s Docklands Light Railway.
Swathes of marble, glass, and steel make the communal areas, like the foyer, feel very modern. The hotel itself looks over the river and out to the skyscrapers of Canary Wharf, and all the main bars and restaurants embrace this fantastic view, so this is a spectacular place to stay.
There is a 24-hour gym and a large pool as well as a spa at the Intercontinental London The O2. We used the pool and loved it. A huge 453 rooms (yes, this is a big luxury hotel) start with Superior rooms at 29-32 m². We recommend Club Intercontinental rooms, which start at 42 m² and come with Club Lounge access. We have reviewed the Club lounge at the Intercontinental London The O2 separately.
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Image courtesy of InterContinental Marseille.
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