Stay Report: Hotel Indigo Houston at the Galleria (Houston, Texas - May 2016)

Stay Report: Hotel Indigo Houston at the Galleria
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I wanted to try Hotel Indigo near the Houston Galleria for a while.  I had heard a lot about the 'boutique hotel' within IHG's portfolio and had stayed at a Hotel Indigo in Canada about 5 years earlier and was intrigued by it.  From my understanding, Hotel Indigo was supposed to be a boutique hotel, one that was modern and funky, and mostly in urban settings - similar to Aloft but more business/boutique.  That is what I was expecting as I found something similar in Canada (see my review here); however, at the Hotel Indigo by the Galleria I found something different.  The hotel was a cross between Aloft and Hilton Garden Inn/Hampton Inn - it was an interesting combination.

The entrance to the hotel parking lot is on the backside of the Galleria, next to Nordstrom's Garage.  You enter into the long driveway which takes you to the back where the hotel is located.  From the outside, the hotel looks more like a Hilton Garden Inn or a Hampton Inn versus what I expect a boutique hotel to look like.  There is ample free parking available though.  When you walk into the hotel, there is circular, open-desk in the middle that is where check-in takes place and the elevators to the room are in front of the desks.  To the right of the entrance is the sitting/lounge area plus the business center and fitness center.  On the other side of the check-in desk is the restaurant and coffee bar.  Overall, the lobby looks funky and modern and has a nice color scheme with the light blue.  This look, plus the open check-in desk, made it feel like a boutique hotel but the attendants and the layout of the hotel made it feel more like Hilton Garden Inn.

Check-in was quick and we took the elevator to our room - the elevator continued the nice color scheme.  The hotel itself is not that big and only has 6 floors - our room was on the 2nd floor.  Our room was at the end of the hallway, and the hallway itself was very wide and also incorporated the nice color scheme as well.  We opened the door to our room, and although the room continued the color scheme, the layout and the design of the room made it feel more like Hampton Inn.

As you open the door, you enter into the hallway of your room.  On the left hand side is the entrance to the bathroom, while ahead on your right is a table with the coffee stand and ice bucket.  The bathroom itself was very wide - it had a nice wide sink with some storage underneath.  There was a toilet (which looked more like a Hilton Garden Inn toilet) and then a small table in front of the toilet that held additional towels and the bathroom amenities.  The shower was interesting, as even though the bathroom was large the shower was very long but narrow so it was difficult to manage.  Also, the design of the shower was very odd as the drain was far away from the shower so the water just stayed there, and the shower itself was alright.  Again the bathroom was an odd mixture of boutique and leisure.

The room design was more Hampton Inn than boutique, but the bed quality was very nice.  As you entered into the room, on the left hand side were the two double beds with a night stand in the middle.  The beds were very high and extremely comfortable, providing a nice and restful night sleep.  Across from the beds was a standing closet that had places to hang your clothes, an iron and an ironing board, as well as a safe.  On one side of the closet was the TV stand that was on top of a dresser with drawers underneath - there was also a fridge in the dresser as well.  On the other side of the closet was the desk to do some work.  There were a lot of amenities in the room including a safe, a fridge, and many outlets and USB ports to plug in your electronics.  The amenities were nice, but again the design and the layout of the room felt more like Hilton Garden Inn.  

There was wifi in the room and you needed to login to access the wifi - while the wifi was free, the login would not stick and sometimes the wifi would drop.  While the wifi was on the speed was decent, but the constant checking to ensure the wifi was on was a bit annoying.  Additional amenities of the hotel including a business center as well as a fitness center.  The business center was not an enclosed area but rather was an open business center that housed mostly desktop computers.  If you are doing standing surfing and printing then its fine, but there were some business men who were conducting a skype-meeting in the business center and the volume echoed throughout the open hallway.  The fitness center was nice, while basic it provided the facilities needed for a good workout.

Overall, I was a bit confused by my stay at the Hotel Indigo.  After my stay I was not sure what the hotel was going for - are they trying to be a boutique leisure hotel, a modern, funky leisure hotel, or  just a leisure hotel?  Who is their competition - Aloft, Hilton Garden Inn, Hampton, or another brand.  While the stay was comfortable, the price for the hotel consistently remains high and after my stay I was not sure why the high price since I can get a similar stay and a competition for a much lower rate.  Still, an interesting experience at the Hotel Indigo.