Review: Hotel Indigo Bath

Following our three-night stay in the Cotswolds, we spent an additional night in Bath to explore the Roman Baths and experience the charm of the town. The journey from Castle Combe to Bath lasted a mere 25 minutes, and soon enough we were marveling at the breathtaking Georgian era architecture.

Situated at the heart of Bath, the hotel comprises a collection of twelve 18th-century townhouses that have been skillfully combined. Many public figures and historical figures have stayed in the townhouses, including Sir Walter Scott, William Wilberforce, The Duke of Kingston and the Duke of York to name a few. Placards were actually posted outside the doors to the townhouses where these figures stayed. The hotel is a 5 minute walk from Pultney Bridge, the Roman Baths, and the Abbey, making it an ideal locality.

I booked this stay using 33,000 IHG points per room which I gathered from a ridiculous IHG Priceless Surprises promotion many years ago. I don’t stay at IHG hotels very often so I still had those points left over. I believe the nightly rates for this particular Friday night were in the low 200s for your reference.

Due to the hotel’s location, valet parking is the only option available and costs 40 pounds per night. I pulled over next to the church and waited while my dad went into check in. In a manner of minutes, the receptionist came out to meet us at the car and help us with our bags while her colleague went to park our car. In general, I have to say service at this hotel was outstandingly friendly and most people working at the hotel seemed to be fairly young (probably in their 20s or 30s). It sort of reminded of my Virgin Atlantic flight from earlier in the week.

The hotel lobby was an elegant space with some tasteful art work and old world charm while maintaining some level of modernity.

Adjacent to the main lobby was a sitting area where I assume you could order drinks and just hang out. There was also a computer and a printer.

Right next to the elevator on each floor was a bookshelf full of books to borrow and read during your stay. This was a nice touch. I could definitely see myself grabbing a book and chilling out next to the fireplace.

Our rooms were located on the 5th floor of the hotel and were adjacent to each other. You can see where they connected the townhouses because there are many doors within the various corridors of the hotel. Again the hotel was very tastefully decorated.

There were staircases located every so often leading downstairs so there always was a faster way to the lobby than the elevator.

Due to my dad’s IHG Platinum status from the IHG business credit card, they upgraded both of our rooms to the ‘premium’ level and we were proactively offered late check out at 2pm, though we were planning on leaving at noon. We had room 512, which was a “Twin Premium Room.” Though it appears as though the room is on the 5th floor of the hotel, it is actually located on the second floor.

Right by the entrance to the room was the bathroom stocked with Bramley toiletries, which actually seemed fairly decent. The hotel thought they were valuable enough to charge 40 pounds for any stolen tube of toiletries. The shower and water pressure were quite nice other than the silly half door thing the UK has going on with all of its bathtub/shower combos.

We were surprised to find that the room was quite spacious for European standards and had all the essentials: a desk, arm chair, TV with Chromecast, and charging ports right next to the bed. The room featured a minibar, coffee maker, and mini-refrigerator, the contents of which were all included in the nightly rate. And I have to say it was fairly well stocked with tea biscuits, hot chocolate mixes, coffee pods, Coke Zero, Sprite, and other stuff. The room even had a fireplace  The arm chair in the corner of the room was exceedingly comfortable and I actually fell asleep immediately after sitting down. Wi-Fi was very fast during our stay, though I never actually ran a speed test to see what the exact download and upload speeds were.

There were some round shaped boxes which were probably for hats back in the day in a corner of the room. I don’t know the function of these boxes now, but they certainly added even more of an old world touch to the room.

Our view out the window was of St John The Evangelist’s Church and what turned out to be a rather quiet street. I appreciated that the views from this hotel on this side would continue to stay unobstructed given that there is no space left to build.

The alternative view at this hotel is of the courtyard if anyone was wondering:

Breafast was not included in our nightly rate and I did not bother buying it either since it was pricing out at 50 GBP for two people. I could easily visit a local bakery and undercut that price. Nowhere in Europe is the experience of paying for a hotel breakfast more disappointing, considering the abundance of delightful patisseries and coffee shops located in town centers.

Bottom Line:

I am loving the Hotel Indigo brand more and more nowadays.  The rooms are usually modern and designed tastefully. The staff at these hotels (especially the Bath property) have been very good in my experience and elite recognition is just decent enough to not get you the smallest room in the darkest corner. I would definitely say the Hotel Indigo Bath is a great property to stay in given the prices and the redemption rates as well. I would definitely stay here again if I were to return to Bath anytime in the future.