Last updated: 15 July 2023
For anyone looking for Instagram-worthy streets of half-timbered houses, centuries old Roman walls protecting the old city from invasion, a riverside to rival Bath, and a stunning cathedral which was founded initially as a Benedictine abbey in 1092, then now is the time to add a weekend in Chester to your list of places to visit in England. What’ll cover in this post is what it’s like to stay at the Hotel Indigo Chester during a weekend of sightseeing.
Chester’s location means it could easily be overshadowed by its bigger and bolder neighbours of Manchester and Liverpool. Spending a weekend here, whether your travel style is slow and steady, or a mad dash to see everything you can, this quaint little city has plenty of character, fabulous restaurants, and a tonne of history.
We have already written a post entirely dedicated to a weekend in Chester with a full 3 day itinerary. If you’re looking for things to do in Chester, then head over there after you’ve finished this post.
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Hotel Indigo Chester
The Hotel
Serving up as a contemporary boutique hotel in the heart of the city, Hotel Indigo Chester opened in June 2019 and offers 75 guest rooms.
This vibrant city has visible influences from Norman, Roman, Tudor, and Victorian eras, which provides a great base from which the hotel’s interior designers have clearly taken inspiration.
Just as no places are alike, no two Hotel Indigo properties are alike. Each Hotel Indigo draws inspiration from the local neighbourhood, culture, and design to create a warm and vibrant atmosphere.
The themes chosen throughout the Hotel Indigo Chester reflect the town’s history, from its stunning architecture of half-timbered houses, the iconic Eastgate clock, and its horse-racing heritage – Chester’s famous racecourse which is recognised as the world’s oldest still in operation, having been established in 1539.
Hotel Indigo Chester is just a short walk Grosvenor Park, a Grade II* registered, Green Flag Award winning public park which can be seen from some rooms on the fourth floor. It’s also just a stones throw from Chester’s historic 2,000 year old city walls, which are the oldest, longest and best-preserved city walls in the UK; a castle built by William the Conqueror in 1070, and of course Chester’s shopping high street – the famous black-and-white-striped 16th century Tudor shop fronts on the long main street known commonly as ‘the Rows’.
The Rooms
The hotel has 75 guest rooms decorated in 3 beautiful themes each inspired by the history and the city’s heritage; the racecourse, the Eastgate clock, and the local architecture.
The colour scheme is predominantly a calming monotone palette; featuring deep grey and charcoals, cream, a saddle-tan bedhead with button trim which is undoubtedly a nod to the racing history of the region.
A sign of the (Covid) times is that the hotel has removed superfluous in-room furnishings such as cushions, bed runners, and other “high-touch items” from rooms.
The double glazed windows will ensure a solid night’s sleep, undisturbed by the street noise below. There is individually controlled air conditioning, though I will admit I couldn’t get it as low as I would have liked.
All rooms are equipped with comfy Hypnos beds in king or twin configurations, with luxury Egyptian cotton linen, hair dryer, high speed Wi-Fi, and a variety of channels on a flat screen TV with inbuilt Chromecast enabling guests to mirror and/or cast content straight from your personal digital device to the TV.
As you would expect in any English hotel of this caliber, there are tea and coffee making facilities in each room. Expect to see chic stripy Bombay Duck cups and saucers, with Brew Tea Co tea bags, who use only natural herbs, fruits and oils to make their hand packed tea bags which are 100% plastic-free and compostable.
Add to that a Nespresso coffee machine with 4 capsules provided per day Arpeggio, Linizio Lungo x 2, and a Decaf Ristretto with branded Nespresso mugs and saucers enable guests to start their day on the right, caffeinated, side directly from their own rooms.
Stunning contemporary designed bathrooms with spa-inspired walk-in showers have easy to operate rainfall showerheads and feature Molton Brown toiletries. A nice touch is the addition of robes and slippers which are provided in Deluxe and Grosvenor rooms.
IHG, which Hotel Indigo falls under, offers free internet for all members of the IHG Rewards Club since 2014. At Hotel Indigo Chester, we simply connected to the WiFi without any issues.
At the time of our visit, a speedtest yielded speeds of:
- Download: 48.5 mps
- Upload: 55.3 mps
Deluxe rooms are equipped with a mini bar, mini refrigerator and a very chic separate walk-in closet with large mirror and iron with an ironing board.
The Restaurant
The onsite restaurant brings unfussy fine dining to Chester through a varied menu.
The dining area seats approximately 50 diners while maintaining social distancing, with additional capacity in the Lounge on soft seating, which features another nod to the local zoo with animal inspired cushions and bucket seats.
Diners can expect to see timber floors throughout, mixed in with detailed tiles and accents of gold in lighting of the common areas, with solid timber tables and booths in the dining and lounge. If you look closely, you can again spot another subtle nod to the zoo with artwork featuring animals in trim around the dining room.
Breakfast
For breakfast, guests can elect to have their breakfast served in-room, or book a time to dine in the restaurant. The choices of continental and hot breakfast remain, with some slight changes due to the Coronavirus pandemic.
The continental option consists of the usual suspects including a platter of sliced meats and cheese, individual cereal packets, small individual yoghurt pots, and sliced seasonal fruit and berries.
Fans of the hotel buffet breakfast will need to adjust to the changes following the pandemic. Guests can now choose from one of four items from the hot food menu:
- Smashed avocado and poached eggs on sourdough
- Full English breakfast with your choice of eggs, and toast
- Omelette with mushroom, cheese or ham
- Eggs Benedict
Milk for tea, and cereal, comes in the form of sealed individual plastic pots rather than ceramic jugs. Endless refills of juices, tea pots, and copper-coloured decafeteries are available upon request and served at the table.
Changes in the way meals are delivered was one of the rather more noticeable changes. Meals, be it breakfast or dinner, are delivered to tables on trays from which diners remove their plates from the tray.
Also noted was that the trays that are used by staff to deliver and take away dirty dishes are significantly different in size, shape and material. It’s a very encouraging sign to see a noticeable effort in handling dirty vs clean dishes.
Dinner
The restaurant is open for lunch (12pm-2.30pm) and dinner (5pm-9.30pm) six days a week, with a dinner-only service on Sunday’s (12pm-6pm).
The dinner menu is comprehensive and provides choice for the fussiest of eaters.
A British favourite is mackerel, served with capers, artichoke and micro leaves. On the day of our visit, the soup of the day was an earthy mushroom soup with truffle oil and blue cheese.
With proximity to Wales, one really cannot pass up the opportunity for lamb. A pink lamb rump served with Pomme Anna, a classic French dish of layered potatoes cooked in a very large amount of melted butter; beans, peas, and anchovy.
Russ couldn’t pass up the opportunity for a beef fillet. 6oz (170g) fillet steak with your choice of potatoes, dauphinoise, new potatoes, or fries with close inspection I can attest they were a soft fluffy interior encased in a crunchy exterior. Sauces (Diane, Peppercorn, Blue & Port, and Red Wine) are provided for a surcharge (£3) but oh-so-worth it to round out the meal.
The dessert menu offers six options. A cheeseboard is my go-to, but on this occasion I was tempted by the staff’s recommendation of a local farm in Cheshire where the ice cream is sourced. Tempted by refreshing creamy flavours of vanilla, chocolate, and mint choc chip was too good to pass up, it comes served with a pressed-fruit roll up.
The chocolate brownie served warm with an accompaniment of cherry ice cream and pistachio really came up second by comparison to the ice cream.
Changes Following COVID-19
Following the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020, hotels have had to amend the ways they operate. We noted the following during our stay at the Hotel Indigo Chester.
- Perspex/plexiglass dividers have been added to the reception and bar areas, providing additional protection between staff and guests.
- All staff with direct interaction with guests wore face masks.
- Guests are asked to wear face masks when not seated/dining.
- Robust signage displaying the Hotel’s policy regarding sanitising and masks.
- Hand sanitising stations at most entry points, including loos in the foyer, dining room, and on every floor beside the lift.
- Miniature hand sanitiser is placed in rooms and on all tables in the lounge/dining area.
- To limit contact with other guests, Hotel Indigo Chester has implemented traffic flow with one way in and one way out. Floor markers guide guests through the one way system in common areas such as lobby, lounge and dining area.
- Guests are asked, where possible, to take the elevator up to their room, and take the stairs down.
- Tables in the dining room were noticeably well spaced.
- Guests will need to reserve times in advance to dine for breakfast and dinner.
- The buffet breakfast is gone, replaced by entirely table service.
- A noticeable, and entirely justifiable, increase in the use of single use items rather than self-serve from a bulk station. E.g. milk at restaurant, cereal packets, yoghurt pots.
- Guests can elect to not have their room serviced by housekeeping by keeping a Do Not Disturb sign on the room. Also, staff will not enter rooms occupied by guests, so rooms need to be vacated for housekeeping to take place.
- Deep cleaning with hospital-grade disinfectants.
- Removal of “high-touch items” such as cushions, and bed runners from rooms.
- Check out is a contactless experience, with your final invoice being emailed to you rather than printed.
- Room keys are thoroughly sanitised by staff between guests.
Getting to/from Hotel Indigo Chester
Arriving by Car/Parking
There is no on site parking. Hotel Indigo Chester has a partnership with NCP on Pepper Street which offers hotel guests a reduced rate of £12 per 24 hours.
To get the reduced rate, simply retain your parking ticket you got when you entered the car park. Present this to hotel staff upon check out where you will pay them at the reduced rate.
Note: I noted at Pepper Street Car Park that NCP has disabled their car park lifts due to the pandemic. If you have mobility issues, please contact the hotel for advice.
Arriving by Train
The nearest train station is Chester. Less than half a mile from the hotel, should take approximately 10 minutes on foot via City Road.
Direct trains to Chester from London are available on Avanti West Coast in just two hours.
Be sure you’re booking a direct train otherwise you’ll likely need to change at Crewe Station though the change is unlikely to add a significant amount of time to your journey with trips taking just over two hours.
Not coming from London?
- Trains to Chester from Manchester Piccadilly (1 hr 3 mins, no changes)
- Trains to Chester from Liverpool Lime Street (47 mins, no changes)
As is always the case with train travel in the UK, be sure to book your train tickets early to get the best price.
The Essentials
Hotel Indigo Chester
- Where: Grosvenor Park Rd, Chester CH1 1QQ
- Price Point: From £70
- More Information
