Fully agree on that point, disappointment usually leads to despair, torment, wailling and lamenting .... not a good way to start the holiday

I have taken the liberty to hightlight some extra points out of the t&c for newbies which might be informative
https://www.ihg.com/content/us/en/cu...lestonerewards


Annual Lounge Membership:
Lounge Membership provides access to the hotel’s Club Lounge and offered amenities within the physical space (e.g., library, meeting room, and business station) for the registered Member plus one additional guest (the additional guest does not need to be staying at the hotel) for the duration of their stay or until time of Check-Out.
(Note: At Iberostar Beachfront Resorts the one additional guest must be a guest at the hotel.)


At participating Iberostar Beachfront Resorts Annual Lounge Membership provides access to the Star Prestige facilities and services, excluding Star Prestige guest rooms, for the registered Member plus one additional hotel guest


-

• Annual Lounge Membership is available at IHG properties with a Club Lounge unless restricted due to renovations, closures, or other facility limitations

Actually meaning that if a hotel has a DLS : Dual Lounge System ++/+
, the "premium" lounge access is excluded from the annual lounge pass and one can only enter the designated Club Intercontinental lounge ....
example : IC Tokyo Bay's "Nagomi" Lounge is considered a premium lounge, no access for annual lounge pass holders so instead can only get access to the Club Intercontinental lounge
However there also hotels that operate DLS +/- meaning a better Club Intercontinental Lounge and an inferior "executive" lounge ... example IC David TLV,
The annual lounge pass does get you in the better Club Intercontinental Lounge and you are not dumped in the inferior lounge

And not to worry.......
before everyone cries outrage, torches, pitchforks:
"IHG hates their elites
Bloggers are right, most lucrative are
Hilton, Marriott and Hyatt as they do not hate their elites and do not have DLS"

After extensive research it seems the only IHG hotels in the complete system that have DLS are
IC Tokyo Bay ++/+ premium Nagomi Lounge VS Club Intercontinental lounge
IC Bali Resort Jimbaran +/- Club Intercontinental loungeVS inferior Singaraja lounge
IC Malta +/- Club Intercontinental lounge VS inferior Opal lounge
IC David TLV +/- Club Intercontinental lounge VS inferior executive lounge

The only truely odd one is :
Regent Taipei ++ / -
It has the premium Taipan lounge and the inferior Balcony lounge but no designated Club Regent lounge
So reports are by knowledgable FTers: that YMMV



So in a nutshell
* going StarTrek technobabble : if the lounge mentions "Club" you can get in with your annual lounge pass

For more information by the complete helpful input FT:IHG Community and by yours truely, check the wiki at:

FT: Complete Masterlists of IHG hotels with lounges

Voco hotels & Holiday Inn hotels & resorts
Masterlist Voco and Holiday Inn Lounges

Crowne Plaza hotels & resorts
Masterlist Crowne Plaza hotels & resorts lounges

Intercontinental hotels & resorts
https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/inte...s-lounges.html

Regent hotels & resorts
Masterlist Regent Hotels&Resorts Lounges




However a MAJOR exception to this rule .....

• Annual Lounge benefit is not available at Mr & Mrs Smith properties or at InterContinental Alliance Resorts (Las Vegas and Macau)

So although it mentions the word "Club" the T&C excluded access for annual lounge pass holders for both Venetian & Pallazzo prestige club lounges
https://www.venetianlasvegas.com/res...ub-lounge.html