16 London Street, Paddington, London, United Kingdom | (877) 270-1392
Good central location with fast transport links to Heathrow Airport
Nice amenities such as a fitness center and brasserie
Brightly colored, contemporary rooms
Free Wi-Fi throughout the hotel, free laptop for guest use
Free coffee and pastries in the lounge
Gilchrist & Soames toiletries in all bathrooms
Rooms are on the small side compared with other London hotels
Lobby design, using cheap materials, may be tacky to some
Paltry snacks and basic drinks in minibars (though free soft drinks)
This boutique hotel has a great West End location with efficient transport links to Heathrow Airport, and rooms are refreshingly colorful and modern -- but the almost futuristic style of the lobby might not be to everyone's taste. The fitness center is a perk for a hotel of this size, as is the inclusion of a stylish brasserie on-site. Overall, though, Hotel Indigo lacks the amenities of a larger hotel, and cheap materials can make the funky, stylish decor feel a bit less high-end than the decor at some competing four-pearl properties.
Scene
Novel design concepts meet tacky materials
This 68-room boutique hotel is actually part of a moderate-size worldwide chain. Whoever decided to deviate from corporate-style design deserves slight kudos: The bedrooms are modern, generally tasteful, and adorned in funky colors. The lobby, however, is a slightly different story: Its two hallmarks are a vaguely glowing, elliptical, white plastic front desk that hovers by the entranceway; and some sort of a wiry, amorphous, LED-blinking light feature. The ceiling extends all the way up to the third floor and lets in plenty of beautiful natural light, but if you bend your head skywards you'll notice an actual fake sky that's been imprinted on the top. While the concept and original intention are noteworthy, the materials look a bit cheap, and some may find the overall effect tacky.There's a potentially interesting, concept-driven theme centered around the Fibonacci sequence, but while it's meant to be inspirational, the explanations are meek -- making it confusing for anyone who hasn't taken university-level mathematics, and even for someone who has.
Location
Just three minutes' walk from Paddington Station, in the popular West End
While Paddington doesn't offer much in terms of shopping, dining, or nightlife, being in the West End means that you won't have to go far to find great spots for any of the above. Paddington consists mainly of tourists and businessmen in-transit, and a good handful of medical staff and patients from St. Mary's Hospital. A few fairly decent local restaurants are just around the block and convenient for breakfast, lunch, and dinner options if you don't feel like venturing far.- 32-minute drive to Heathrow Airport
Rooms
Bright, modern colors with bare-bones amenities
Despite its being part of a moderate-sized chain, the rooms are styled in modern colors and don't feel remotely corporate (each floor is decorated in its own nature-inspired color theme). But amenities are minimal, and the size is slightly smaller than average for London.- Free Wi-Fi
Features
Brasserie-style dining, an outside terrace, and a fitness center (rare for boutique-sized hotels)
Deluxe Room
Double Bed Feature Room
Executive King Room
Standard Room
16 London Street, Paddington, London, United Kingdom
(877) 270-1392