Stay & Play

In the heart of it all, the Hotel Indigo, London

by Natalie Ayotte

Location, location, location! That is just part of what makes this little boutique hotel great. Besides being close to all the major attractions, dining areas, and shopping streets, this property offers excellent comfort and service.

The theme of the Indigo is theatrical, in this case it is the London’s famous West-End theatre district. You almost feel as you were back-stage at a live show. Our room was decorated with spot-lights, ropes, pulleys, casting mirrors and black and white period pictures of actors.

With all this there were all the modern amenities one would expect in a good hotel, refreshing A/C, high-speed WIFI, a pleasant, newly renovated and sizable washroom, fridge full of commentary drinks and snacks. One of the best modern features the Indigo offers is a mobile phone already hooked up to a local provider that you can bring along to navigate your London escapade.

Our room had a wonderful balcony that faced the square below and offers views of the most iconic London sites. It’s amazing to see the London Eye, Big Ben and St Paul’s Cathedral from the comfort of our room.

But the room is just a taste, as the piece-de-resistance was the top floor restaurant and bar. This large space with an open patio gives access to a panoramic view of London. We visited this wonderful space for healthy breakfast buffets, nightly cocktails and outdoor dining under the stars. Nothing could be finer than carefully prepared meals and a glass of our favourite wine while viewing and listening to the hustle and bustle of the big city.

Location, again this is prime territory. Directly on the lively Leicester square, there was plenty to do without even losing sight of the hotel. All around us was the theatre district, in every direction we were walking distance to whatever live performance we cared for and we did, as on one evening we took a ten minute walk to the historic Novello theatre to watch the fabulous players perform Mama Mia!. On the way back we had to try some of the treats in the Covent Gardens.

A mere block away was the famous Trafalgar Square and the very impressive National gallery. In one direction were Piccadilly Circus and street and the wonderful stores on Regent Street. A little distance away was Oxford Street and Bond shopping where you can find just about anything one could want. And not far away was Buckingham palace, the major central parks, the house of Parliament, Big Ben, the London Eye and so on and so on. Having the Indigo as a base, we barely used the subway cards we had and strolled the streets of London was the way to go.

www.hotelindigo.com

The hotel also offers IHG Rewards Club, offering redemption of points for a night at any of the nearly 5,200 locations worldwide, creating new memories and getting more points.