A stylish, upscale hotel in Chelsea, New York – Hotel Indigo

For a recent trip to New York City, I chose the Hotel Indigo in Chelsea, again! It is in a great neighborhood, with easy access to all that New York City has to offer, has stylish rooms and is available on IHG Rewards points and free night certificates, making a visit to New York much more affordable! Read my review to see if it is worth to consider for your next stay!

Location: Hotel Indigo is located in mid-town, on 28th Street, between 6th and 7th Avenue. It’s 4 blocks from Penn Station with train access to Newark and JFK Airport and 1 block to two subway lines, making it easy to get to the hotel from the airport and anywhere around New York. You are also walking distance to the Empire State Building, lots of shopping around Penn Station and all the bars and restaurants of Chelsea! It’s in the middle of the block and reasonably quiet by New York standards.

Service: Unfortunately, the service experience on this stay wasn’t as good as on a previous visit. I arrived around lunch time and despite being Platinum, no room was available and I was asked to return a few hours later. To my surprise, a different agent gave a couple (without elite status) checking in a few minutes later several options for rooms available immediately. I’d expect any front desk staff to at least check for availability (like the second agent obviously did), instead of saying “come back later”. The check-out experience wasn’t much better – the front desk was understaffed, causing a wait to get going. There was no room upgrade and I wasn’t able to get a late check-out either – it’s rare that a hotel makes none of the IHG Platinum benefits available, which is disappointing.

NYC Indigo Bed3Room: We had a standard room with a king-size bed and I’d consider it good size by New York standards – I’ve had smaller rooms in the city! I like the hardwood floors and the bright, colorful headboards for a modern, stylish look. The three porthole style mirrors added an interesting detail to the room. There was a work desk and chair, sufficient closet space for two people and enough room to store your luggage, something not always the case, even in expensive hotels in New York. You’ll also find a coffee maker and safe. The bathroom was small and basic, with a shower with glass partition, a wash-table style sink, a mirror and good lighting – not quite the spa experience promised, but very nice nevertheless. Overall, I consider this one of the nicer hotel rooms available in the Chelsea neighborhood. On a previous visit, I was lucky enough to get an upgrade to a suite – which was a stunning room. They sometimes are not much more expensive than the standard room and worth it for the extra room! The wifi internet in the room was free, reliable and fast at an average of 4.9Mbps!

NYC Indigo BathAmenities/Restaurant: If you are visiting New York, you’ll have lots of choices for restaurants, so I rarely eat at a hotel restaurant in town. There is a small restaurant as well as a rooftop bar, but we didn’t try either.
There is also a small gym with 2 bikes and treadmills and some weights – it’s not very inspiring for a workout, but will do in a pinch. A PC and printer are available to print your boarding passes or show tickets.

NYC IndigoChelsea BusCtrConclusion: I like the Hotel Indigo Chelsea for the location and rooms and would return because of that. At $349/night during our stay, it is expensive for what it offers, but still competitive with comparable hotels in the area. It makes a good value for the redemption of IHG Reward Free Night Certificates we receive for our IHG Rewards Mastercard or for IHG Points Redemptions! Service is a mixed bag, like I’ve found at other New York hotels, sometimes great, sometimes not so much. I’ve had the best experience with luxury hotels, like the Intercontinental Time Square that seem to offer more consistent service. If the cash and points rate sound expensive, there are a number of relatively new mid-scale hotels available in Chelsea that offer more basic rooms at somewhat lower prices, including the Holiday Inn 6th Avenue a few blocks away!


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