Hotel Indigo Melbourne on Flinders by IHG — Hotel in Melbourne

We stayed at the Hotel Indigo Melbourne for three nights.

I so want to give 5-star ratings for all areas, as I really enjoyed our stay. Nonetheless, there were several inconsistencies that need mentioning, particularly relating to lacklustre housekeeping and surprising maintenance oversights. I mention these issues but please don’t let it put you off staying at the Indigo! If you bring issues to the attention of front desk staff, they are quick to rectify them.

The ambiance created through décor and Helmut Newton photos made the hotel stand out from the normal chain-fare. Our daughter appreciated the photo booth!

The hotel has a pleasant lounge area which is well utilised by hotel guests, many who are on laptops working remotely (there was a small table but no desk in our room). This lounge bar hosts a generous happy hour daily from 4pm to 7pm. The hotel has a high-quality restaurant where we enjoyed a lovely meal (although the menu is a reduced version of what is listed online). During our stay guests received a 15% discount (make sure to check that this is applied – we needed to chase it up).

Overall, the standard of service from staff was high. Staff were welcoming and attentive – the one blight being the one staff member working in the lounge bar on the Friday evening. We had a couple of drinks and had to go and find her hiding away in the back of the main bar every time we wanted to place another order (which was in stark contrast to the other hotel staff and service in the bar on the other two nights). I wish I noted the names of two exceptional staff members in the lounge bar on Thursday and Saturday.

The attention to detail in the room fit out made it a very comfortable stay. This included: an ample robe area for luggage; a pullout makeup mirror with light in the bathroom; several choices of shower head spray settings; electronic black out blinds as well as privacy blinds; lots of points to charge phones; easy access light switches from the bed; a room clock; Chromecast on TV; and the night lights being spotlights so as to minimise disturbance on others in the room. I will note that there is an unnecessary window between the shower and main room. While it is reeded glass and translucent but not see-through, if anyone goes to the bathroom in the night, it lights up the whole bedroom.

Housekeeping maintained a high level of cleanliness but fell down in other areas. We booked for three guests, but towels were only replenished for two. The tissue box was empty and not refilled (although the front desk happily provided a replacement when we went downstairs to ask on the second day). At first, I was pleased to see a coffee pod machine, but it was dusty. While I support sustainability actions, unfortunately the quality of the coffee used in the refilled pods was not great. Housekeeping didn’t refill the pods on the second day and on the third day refiled the pods with all decaf. There were several cracked electrical points in the room.

All the attractions we visited were in a radius of around a 20 minute walk from the hotel (although we were enticed into the many eateries and shops in between so we rarely went point to point directly). The hotel is a close proximity to restaurants and bars at the Casino as well as shopping at DFO South Wharf and transport links at Southern Cross. On the Friday it was a pleasant walk along Southbank to attend NGV Friday Nights: Yayoi Kusama exhibition. During the stay we enjoyed strolling to Melbourne Central, Emporium Melbourne and Bourke St Mall shopping areas through the lanes and historic arcades (you could easily jump on a free tram). Although not on our itinerary the hotel is also close to Marvel Stadium, World Trade Centre and Melbourne...

As I was in town for a conference, I was looking for somewhere convenient but not too isolated from downtown Melbourne. Hotel Indigio is perfectly located a few minutes walk from Southern Cross station, even less to the nearest tram stops (Flinders Street or Spencer Street) and about 10 mins walk to the convention centre.

This boutique hotel is relatively newly refurbished (opened August 2023) and is an homage to German-Australian photographer, Helmut Newton. The walk-through lobby is like a stroll through a gallery, with works by local artists and photographers and a check-in counter that looks more like a studio desk.

We had a king-room, overlooking Flinders Lane. The interior was almost like a photography studio with Newton-inspired photograph over the bed, plush red velvet lounge, studio lamp light, as well as an array of artful snaps hanging on the walls. The floor-to-ceiling window, taking up the full length of the room, let in lots of natural light (though the automated blinds ensured almost complete blackout for those late morning risers) and a beautiful view of the tree lined street below.

The room itself felt spacious, with a large comfy king bed. The adjoining bathroom had a large shower area, and decent sized wash basin. The only improvements could be to provide complimentary waters and maybe somehow screen the light from the bathroom to the bedroom (although the bathroom did have a nightlight which minimised the impact). The Seed & Sprout bathrobes were luxurious and Biology bath products were perfect. The inclusion of USB Ports and international power points in the room were welcomed.

We went with an included breakfast, located on the ground floor with views out to the surrounding sidewalk. Friendly staff, plenty of freshly cooked options, ability to make your own juice and eggs cooked upon request - all that I needed for breakfast.

The hotel has a specially designed selfie booth in the lobby, which you can send to your email or phone or print it out as a polaroid - great way to capture some memories of your stay.

We thoroughly enjoyed our stay and would recommend to anyone looking to stay at the Spencer Street...

We stayed here this Friday and overall had a great experience. The parking directly across the road that was validated by the hotel for $33 per 24 hours we felt was very reasonable for the area. Very good central location. As soon as we walked through the doors, the hotel had such a modern, clean and luxurious feel. The front desk staff were absolutely lovely, so well spoken, welcoming and genuinely helpful. Their service really set the tone for our stay and made us feel valued from the start.

We only booked a standard room but were really impressed with the value for money. The unique artistic touches throughout gave the space character and we loved the big windows, comfortable king bed and pillows and the fresh, clean feel of the room. It definitely met our expectations for a standard category.

There were a couple of things that could be improved.. The shower was lukewarm at best, which wouldn’t have even been warm enough for our children. Unfortunately the bedside clock alarm in our room went off twice very loudly in the morning, which gave us quite a start and we also would have appreciated a couple of small bottles of water provided in the room, as the only option was glasses for tap water from the bathroom sink.

We did experience a minor issue with a large council tree outside our window that was scraping against the glass in the wind. The staff were very accommodating and moved us to another room directly above our original one straight away. While this new room was noticeably smaller and the tree noise could still be heard occasionally, we completely understand that this was not the hotel’s fault. Being on the third floor, we also picked up a bit of street noise, including a car alarm that went on for quite some time in the evening. Again not the hotels fault.

Despite these minor drawbacks, we really enjoyed our stay and would absolutely stay here again! The overall atmosphere, the friendliness of the staff and the great value make it somewhere we’d happily recommend to...