Visitors to the U.K often think they’ll find the best hotels in cosmopolitan capital cities such as London or Edinburgh.
However, on our extensive travels throughout the U.K we’ve discovered that some of the best hotels – both for quality and vibe – can be found in the U.K’s smaller cities and towns. The Hotel Indigo Chester is a perfect example of this.
It’s a recently opened, luxury boutique hotel with a warm welcoming feel that is close to all the major attractions Chester has to offer. Plus, with a fabulous restaurant promoting a ‘field to fork’ philosophy and traditional British food, you’ll enjoy one of the best meals you’ll find during your trip around the U.K.
Overview
The centrally located Hotel Indigo Chester opened in 2019 and its design and decor aims to emulate its historic surroundings. It successfully combines the intimate charms of a boutique hotel with the quality and amenities you’d expect to find from IHG, one of the world’s largest hospitality groups.
There are 75 rooms to choose from and this small number of rooms ensures guests will enjoy a highly personalised level of customer service. The excellent customer service particularly impressed us during our recent stay.
If you’ve stayed in Indigo Hotels before, you’ll know that no two hotels are the same as each property is designed to fit in with its surroundings. Indigo hotels do not have the same layout, colour scheme or decor – something other chain hotels insist upon and which travellers quickly get bored of.
Therefore, you won’t feel as if you’re staying in a generic, could-be-anywhere hotel when you choose an Indigo Hotel. At Hotel Indigo Chester, you’ll get individually styled, high class accommodation in a central convenient location for a very reasonable rate.
Location
The hotel is in the heart of historic Chester and is easily accessible by road and rail. It’s just over 600 metres on foot from Chester rail station and it sits on a side road off the major A51 road through Chester.
All the city’s principal attractions are within walking distance of the hotel. It’s an 800 metre walk to the Rows, Chesters’ famous two-tiered black and white timber buildings and 800 metres to the 2,000 year old city walls. The popular Storyhouse Theatre is just under 1 km away and Chester’s best shopping streets are within a 5 minute walk.
You can also walk to Chester Racecourse (also known as The Roodee) which is the oldest still-in-use racecourse in England. If you’re in town when the races are on, we highly recommend experiencing this popular, cultural event.
If you are visiting Chester by car, the largest designer outlet shopping mall in the U.K, Cheshire Oaks, is a 15 minute drive from the hotel and the world-famous Chester Zoo is just 10 minutes away by car.
Rooms
The 75 different rooms are subtly decorated in 3 different themes inspired by Chester’s rich history and heritage.
Each spacious room offers comfortable Hypnos beds which provide a great night’s sleep. The hotels’ quiet location and the addition of black out curtains on the windows further increase your chances of a good rest.
You can choose between rooms with a King sized bed or twin beds for 2 people or two double beds for 4 people. Interconnecting rooms are available for families and groups and there are several rooms which are accessible by wheelchair users.
All the rooms offer luxury Egyptian cotton linens, high speed Wi-Fi, air conditioning and a 40 inch flat screen TV with built – in Chromecast. There’s a desk, mini fridge, tea and coffee making facilities and a safe in each room.
I liked the quirky extra details such as the colourful wall art, bedding throw and especially the old fashioned Bakelite phones on the bedside tables.
The stylish spa-style bathrooms feature a walk-in rainfall shower and luxury Molten Brown toiletries. Fluffy towels are a must for me and the hotel did not let me down!
All guests can enjoy a complimentary newspaper plus free water, milk, popcorn and cookies in the mini fridge (which is replenished daily).
This attention to detail creates a homely feel, further helped by the large windows which flood the rooms with light.
We stayed in a larger deluxe room which had the added bonus of robes, slippers and a Nespresso coffee machine. Next time we visit we may treat ourselves to the King Premium Deluxe room which boasts a modern-style 4 poster bed, a roll top bath and even your own private balcony with seating.
With standard King bed rooms starting from as little as £101 per night, we thought the rooms were exceptional value for money for their size, quality and amenities.
Breakfast is available for an additional fee and there are both continental and hot plate options (for an English breakfast). We found the food fresh and varied and it was an ideal way to set us up for a long day of sightseeing.
Amenities
Dining
Hotel Indigo Chester has a 70-seater restaurant called The Forge, a luxurious bar and a private dining room for special occasions.
The Forge serves traditional British food with a modern twist and only uses British ingredients, which are locally sourced wherever possible. It has an open kitchen (so you can see your food being cooked) which specialises in grilling and roasting over oak and beech logs and charcoal for that extra-special unique taste.
The fine-dining restaurant prides itself on its dry-aged beef and wild venison so it was too good an opportunity to miss! We enjoyed dishes of pork belly for a starter followed by succulent lamb and Suffolk wagyu fillet steak served with caramelised cauliflower, bbq oyster mushroom and black garlic ketchup. It was sensational and reasonably priced for the quantity and quality of food we enjoyed.
Guests can also access a 24-hour room service with a full menu (which is unusual for small city centre hotels).
The Forge restaurant is open everyday from 7 am until 10 pm. Pre-booking is advised as the restaurant is popular with local diners as well as hotel guests.
The Forge Bar
I loved the classy, Art-Deco feel to this bar. Its plush velvet chairs were just what I needed to relax in after a long day walking around Chester.
The bar offers a creative selection of cocktails, several draught craft beers, plus a range of spirits and soft drinks. You can also order small (or more hearty bar snacks) such as crumpets, rosemary focaccia, a wild venison Scotch egg or a venison and wagyu beef burger.
The Forge Bar is open everyday from 10 am until 1 am.
Parking
Unfortunately, there isn’t parking available on-site but fee-paying parking is available nearby in an APOCA public car park.
Hotel guests pay a reduced parking rate of £12.00 for 24 hours but this must be arranged and paid for through the hotel.
Other amenities
Hotel Indigo offers a dry cleaning service with pick up and drop off to your room, luggage storage and a lift which accesses all floors.
Our opinion of Indigo Hotel Chester
We’ve stayed in several Indigo Hotel properties (their hotel in York is one of our favourites in the U.K.), so we had high expectations for Hotel Indigo Chester. It didn’t disappoint.
It had everything we look for in a hotel – a central easy-to-get-to location, great design, good amenities, friendly personal service and a quality bed for a good night’s sleep. We thought the customer service was impeccable – Steve on reception and Archie behind the bar are assets to the hotel. The staff were knowledgeable about the local area and are happy to help with insider tips for sightseeing.
The whole hotel felt luxurious, relaxing and, to us, the decor showed that the hotel goes the extra mile to care for its guests. We did not expect the attention to detail, the homely rooms and the little extras (such as free items in the mini fridge) in a hotel with such an affordable price tag.
If you’re visiting Chester – or even if you’re just looking for a quick stopover on a long drive north or south – we highly recommend staying at the Hotel Indigo Chester.
We promise you won’t regret it. We will definitely make a detour on our future trips around the U.K. so we can enjoy the hospitality and facilities at Hotel Indigo Chester once again.
Disclosure – Our stay at Hotel Indigo Chester was complimentary. However, all opinions and views expressed in this review are entirely our own.