Hotel Indigo.. Do I Go Or Do I Stay?
Hello! Welcome back! My goodness what a week it has been!
As most of you know, I just took a quick self-care trip down to Los Angeles, because let’s be honest, sometimes you just need to get the heck away from life. I find it important to serve both sides of myself when they need to be feed. One part of me will plan, focus, and execute my life away while the other side of me screams for utter freedom and lack of responsibilty. To which a part of my adulting experience, has been a juggling act between these two diametrical opposite ways of living. Fortunately, I was able to get away for a few days to just simply exist and be spontaneous with my days.
A part of my getaway was trying to find a place that I would feel comfortable enough to feel relaxed in.
After searching for many hours between AirBNB and hotels, I decided upon this absolutely beautiful hotel, Hotel Indigo in Downtown Los Angeles.
Let’s get into all the details to see if it is worth the stay or worth passing up.
The question is, “do you go, or do you stay (away)”
What I looked for in picking a place:
The location. I think this is fairly obvious. For this trip, I wanted to feel as relaxed as possible during this trip. Part of that was going to be achieved simply by not having to worry about driving through LA traffic or dealing with the hassles of city parking.
Walkability was at the top of my list for this trip. I was concerned with staying somewhere within walking distance of many things. Hotel Indigo provides convenient access to downtown entertainment, dining options, access to shopping venues and is seven minutes from the Staples Center (or Crypto.com Arena if you’re into that name change.) Of course, the benefit to being walkable aside from the traffic and parking was the fact that it allowed me to get out in the sun, feel that fresh air breeze across my face, and get my body moving. I was intentional about how the little things like that would make me feel more relaxed.
The shower. Maybe I am the only one who puts the shower so high up on the list, but I can not stand a bathtub shower situation. It is so uncomfortable and often a slipping hazard. Since I always trip over my own two feet, I try to avoid those at all costs if possible. I prefer one or the other. In this case, The bathroom shower sold itself to me. It was one of my favorite things about this specific hotel. It is beautiful, spacious, has an adjustable water head, and an area to put my bath products on to keep them off the floor.
Storage and closet size used to never really be something I cared much about while traveling. Lately, it has become something I consider when assessing my options. If possible, I like to unpack my bags and have all of my belongings laid out, hung up, and put away properly. It just makes getting ready 10x easier when I don’t have to shuffle through my suitcase a hundred different ways each time I am looking for something.
Amenities. Although these are not where I intended to spend much time, I was going on this trip to have no plan. Thus, if the vibes for the day were for me to work out, then I wanted the option to do so. A pool for me is always a must, so being that their pool was open, especially when many places still have theirs closed due to the vid, I was impressed.
Let’s talk great things about the stay:
The entire design of the hotel is stunning. The devil is in the details and this hotel has the design details down perfectly. The exquisite blend between old Hollywood glamour, striking neon colors of LA nightlife, and the modern touches that bring relevance to today's favored design style are brilliant. The hotel has constant juxtapositions between bright, striking colors and deep contrasts of blue-green hues.
Views from the bedroom are on point.
It is a very quiet hotel. Although many people were staying there, including large groups, there was never any rambunctious noise to get over. I never heard anything through the walls either.
The bathroom was fricken beau-ti-ful! Spacious and gorgeous.
The staff was splendid. From valet to the bellhops to everyone behind the counters, they were always professional, friendly, and efficient. There is nothing negative that I could say about any team members. The bartender even helped me with taking pictures.
The valet team was quick. Though the hotel was so busy, there was always plenty of staff, which made for a short wait time.
On the 4th floor, the gym and swimming pool were open for use. The gym is small but has all the necessary machines. The gym also offers panoramic city views. As far as the swim area, the cabanas were private yet inviting for relaxing on the beds and dining. Both times I went up to these spaces, I was alone which was extremely relaxing.
The wifi at the hotel was reliable with quick speeds. At one point, I had several of my devices connected simultaneously, downloading material to which there was no issue with buffering or lagging.
Incredibly spacious interior. The standing closet had plenty of hangers for all my clothes to be hung. There was plenty of overhead shelving for my purses and bags to be nicely stored as well. At the bottom of the closet, there was shelving for all my shoes to be stored away nicely. For reference, I had four (4) purses and a large camera backpack stored on the top shelf and eight (8) pairs of shoes on the bottom.
There were a few things that I was unimpressed with when it came to the stay here:
First and foremost, I felt that the bed was lumpy and uncomfortable. Understand that when I say that, I am a very picky sleeper, it is not easy for me to fall asleep in new places easily. Even then, comfort is never something that I feel is negotiable. I would have much preferred to be staring at the ceiling or reading a book comfortably in the bed rather than needing to adjust myself every few minutes. Considering this, I would say that immediately the experience was tainted.
Also, the A/C in the room was weak. There was no oscillating fan and unfortunately, I was never to get the room to cool down. That said, as soon as I brought it to the staff's attention, someone immediately began working on it.
Lastly, the bathroom sink did not drain properly. This is not the end of the world, but again it can become an inconvenience. When you treat yourself to a weekend away, these little things can become irritations. Under the sink, the door meant to cover the sink pipes was broken. The material was off the hinge, propped up against the pipes, and then covered by towels.
Price: $$
Hotel Indigo is a pretty pricey boutique hotel to stay at. It is 4.4 stars, so you pay for that luxury as well as the location. Valet is also costly, $50 for 24hours. Do note that this valet does allow for unlimited entrances and exits. This can make the cost seem particularly cheap in comparison to alternative locations. Parking garages across the street, for example, were $15 for 12 hours with no multiple entrances.
If I had to choose between this hotel and trying out another one, I would personally try it out again. I understand random maintenance issues so the A/C and bathroom sink issue, although frusterating, I would try it once more before deciding not to recommend it. Overall my experience with customer service from check in up until check out was second to none. For me that will always be the saving grace and afford a second chance.
Location: Prime location
Easy to walk or scooter your way downtown. Close freeway entrance to get out towards the Hollywood area or west to the Beach.
Overall, this is not a bad option by any means. Just be on the look out for those notable mentions if you do decide to stay here, and just request an alternative room.
Catch up on what you may have missed.
