Hotel Review: Hotel Indigo Lower East Side NYC

Hotel Indigo Lower East Side New York Hotel Review

Overview & Pricing

The Hotel Indigo Lower East Side New York is located in one of the trendiest neighborhoods in Manhattan, the Lower East Side. This chic hotel with considerably large rooms for NYC standards boasts stunning views, a popular rooftop bar (Mr. Purple) and is in the heart of arguably NYC’s most “foodie” neighborhood, with no shortage of restaurants and bars at walking distance.

Key Stats

• Base Room Prices: Rooms start at $212 plus tax
• Award Costs: 50,000 IHG points per night
• My Stay: 2 nights in a King Deluxe with Terrace room using 1 free anniversary night from Chase IHG credit card and Points + Cash (30,000 + $96) for 2nd night.

A visit to see friends in NYC is a bi-annual tradition for me. Typically, I crash on someone’s couch but this time I had an uncapped ‘free night’ to use from my IHG Rewards Club Select Credit Card and this dad of twins wanted needed some quality sleep.

Location

I moved to NYC days after graduating from college and the Lower East Side was where I spent most of my weekend evenings. The affectionately dubbed ‘LES’ is where gritty alleys meet upscale apartments, chic boutiques and hot restaurants. At night, the neighborhood draws hip, young crowds to the area’s trendy bars, music venues and restaurants.

The hotel’s location is merely 50+ yards from the legendary Katz’s Delicatessen so you can literally peak your head out of the hotel entrance and check for lines at Katz. If no lines, go get your Pastrami Reuben Sandwich you’ve been craving with no wait.

Within walking distance from Hotel Indigo LES you have some of New York City’s most visited neighborhoods such as Soho, East Village, Little Italy and Chinatown. For a touristic visit to Times Square, Midtown or Central Park, you’ll most likely need to catch a cab or take the subway which is only 15-20 minutes away from those areas.

Lobby & Check-in

I’m a huge fan of Hotel Indigo properties as they’re probably my favorite IHG brand (prior to the acquisition of Kimpton). Every Hotel Indigo I’ve visited has a hip and chic decor that integrates itself well to the local neighborhood and the Hotel Indigo Lower East Side certainly does that.

I took the train/bus combo in from LaGuardia which cost me a total of $3.75 since I was in no rush to get into Manhattan and the one hour commute was painless since the F train ‘2nd Avenue’ stop is a few short blocks away from the hotel entrance. Upon entering I noticed a cool “LES” mural behind the concierge desk and a few bellmen opening doors for guests.

Once I passed the concierge on the ground floor, I walked a few feet towards the elevators that took me to the hotel lobby located on the 14th floor.

At the 14th floor lobby, the check-in desks are to the immediate left but you’d be hard-pressed to miss the lobby views.

The lobby is a sprawling space taking up the entire 14th floor with floor-to-ceiling windows and incredible views.

During the day I’d see some folks with their laptops open getting some work done while having a latte at the Lobby Cafe and Bar on the 14th floor. The lobby also provides free usage of Apple desktops with a password that can be attained at the check-in desk.

I was immediately checked-in by a very friendly lady who happened to share my last name. I asked politely if there was a terrace room available (two levels above the standard room booked with the free night) as I badly wanted some outdoor space in my room, an  uncommon feature in New York City hotels. She checked her inventory and found only one room with a terrace available for both of my nights. I don’t know how many terrace room types they have but with a total of 294 guest rooms occupying 26 floors, I was ecstatic and felt extremely lucky to snag a 7th floor room with a terrace.

Getting upgraded at check-in is a constant reminder to always be nice to hotel staff. There’s no better hotel status than to be kind to the people who have the ability to hook you up with a more comfortable room type.

Room Review

Guest rooms at Hotel Indigo are chic, comfortable and spacious. The most striking detail of the room is the large, colorful wall murals created by graffiti artist Lee Quiñones, which showcases the hotel’s artsy approach.

All the rooms have hardwood floors with desks accompanied by ergonomic chairs. Other features of the rooms are 42-inch flat-screen TV’s, minibars with local items, Keurig coffeemakers, robes, safes, and free Wi-Fi.

I slept like a baby both nights on this King bed accompanied by 300 thread count of linens.

The bathrooms are very spacious, I’d label them ‘very big’ for NYC standards. The sizable walk-in showers with rainfall shower heads and appealing marble-top vanities made the bathroom space feel ‘trendy’ yet comfortable.

Marble vanity with CO Bigelow products (my favorite bathroom amenity brand).

Units on the higher floors typically feature sweeping views of the New York City skyline from the tip of Lower Manhattan to Midtown Manhattan. Because I asked for a room with a terrace, my view although still impressive, wasn’t as ‘sweeping’ as a higher floor room. Still, I wasn’t complaining.

The highlight of the room was definitely the extended terrace.

The terrace truly made my stay feel a bit more special. When I was out in the city with friends, I found myself looking forward to returning to my room later to enjoy the views from my private outdoor space.

Prior to my stay, I had read some reviews from past guests that noise from the street and the rooftop bar may be bothersome. As a self-proclaimed light sleeper, I actually found the room to be surprisingly quiet during my entire stay except for some light hallway chatter.

Hotel Rooftop

A popular rooftop bar for the after-work Manhattanites, Mr. Purple in the Hotel Indigo LES also happens to be accompanied by a gorgeous pool with equally stunning views.

Despite the photo, the temperatures outside constantly hovered in the 50’s, not quite optimal pool weather for me. I opted to observe the pool from afar and instead had a drink with a friend inside Mr. Purple rooftop bar in the evening before dinner.

The 15th floor rooftop bar Mr. Purple was a nice touch to the overall impression I had of the hotel but the crowd was certainly on the younger side on the weekend, a bit too young for this mid-30’s dad of pre-schoolers.

After a day of walking around the city, I came back Saturday evening to long lines wrapping around the outside of the hotel entrance. It seems Mr. Purple rooftop bar is a happening spot on the weekend but luckily all I had to do was flash my room key and the doorman let me bypass everyone in line and go right up the elevator designated for hotel guests. Again, once in the room, nothing but quietness and tranquility.

Conclusion

Hotel Indigo Lower East Side is an exceptional IHG property and was a great use of my IHG free anniversary night with rates exceeding $350 for a standard room over a weekend in late April. With a location built for the ‘local’ NYC experience rather than the typical tourist plan and convenient proximity to the legendary Katz’s Delicatessen, hundreds of exceptional eateries, buzzing nightlife and steps from neighborhoods such as Soho and East Village, I definitely look forward to booking again when visiting solo or with my spouse.

Have you stayed at the Hotel Indigo Lower East Side? What’s your impression of it?

Disclosure: Miles to Memories has partnered with CardRatings for our coverage of credit card products. Miles to Memories and CardRatings may receive a commission from card issuers.

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