Hotel Indigo Madrid - Gran Via, an IHG Hotel — Hotel in Madrid

My fiancé and I stayed at Hotel Indigo Madrid - Gran Via last week for two nights. The lobby always appeared clean and tidy and there is a pleasant scent too. Check-in was a breeze and I believe it was Carolina who did so. We had been having trouble booking tickets to the Palace. Even the staff at our previous hotel in Barcelona was not able to help, but Carolina was able to book us tickets, and for the same day we checked in too! After lunch, we came back to find a slice of chocolate cake and a set of cutlery next to it. We were confused, as this was a first in all of the places we’ve stayed at, but a quick call to reception confirmed we received courtesy cake. What a nice surprise! FYI, it was rich and delicious. We had an issue with the ventilation in our room. The AC was on and we were not able to increase the temperature. Before we left for the Palace, we stopped by the reception desk. I didn’t catch this employee’s name, unfortunately, but she explained that only staff was able to turn the AC or heat on/off. Guests can control the temperature, but only if one or the other is on. This explained why cold air kept coming out of the vent despite our attempts to increase the temperature. She turned the AC off and the heat on for us, but later that night, we saw the AC symbol again. A quick call got me to the same person who helped us the first time (so I really regret not getting her name) and she was able to help us again and made a note for her colleague who’d be coming in for the night shift. I have never had so much interaction with hotel employees before. It’s usually a “hello” at check in and a “goodbye” at checkout and a variation of greetings coming in and out during our stay, but I am very grateful for the employees who provided excelled support and service when we needed clarification and assistance. Other things to note: the hotel is conveniently located within a 7-10 min walk of the palace and 2-3 min walk to El Cortes Ingles (the second location is a few more minutes from the one pictured). The entrance is on a side street so even though we were in a busy populated area, it didn’t feel that way. We also got breakfast one of the mornings (18 euros pp) and it includes access to a buffet + hot food. My fiancé and I ordered pancakes and the Spanish omelette in addition to the foods at the buffet. The scrambled eggs reminded me of home (US), honeydew was particularly sweet, and I was able to get my tea fix so personally it was worth the price. Not to mention, the employees were quick to replace food items and one of them even grabbed EIGHT wine glasses - 6 in one hand, 2 in the other (assumed he needed to replace glasses elsewhere or a large party showed up to breakfast on the other side). I could never do that so it was pretty amazing to see. All in all, we had a wonderful stay. Thank you...

This hotel appears to be a symptom in the inconsistency of the Indigo brand in general. Although they were originally launched as funky type accommodation, more often in older buildings- this hotel is a disaster. The room although advertised as 25 m² was in fact a room with 12 m² of livable space. There is nowhere at all to put your clothes. No wardrobe, no hanger space and no drawers.The room room is a strange sourcepan shape and I would assume that most people don't consider a long narrow walkway as part of the room.

Not recognised as a Diamond member on arrival. No upgrade although the hotel wasn't full.

Housekeeping is a disaster. The hotel has a policy that if you hang your do not disturb sign outside, that equals no housekeeping. It was obvious that housekeeping went past at 8 AM every morning and crossed those rooms off their list. Although we stayed there for five nights, the room was only serviced twice. When I asked to speak to the manager, the manager, in fact, speaks no English whatsoever, and I was in a situation where the person I was complaining about - was doing the interpreting! I appreciate I'm in Spain, but at a hotel like this, there should be somebody in charge who speaks at least some English.

The location is quite good, and the chef did a wonderful job trying his hardest. The hotel advertises a rooftop bar; however, it only opens three days a week and is also closed for private functions. Therefore, one of the major features we selected this hotel for, a.k.a. the rooftop bar, was closed for two of the three nights.

There is a bar downstairs. However, they have a smoker's chamber in a courtyard adjacent to this room. They leave the door open, so it is wonderful to be assaulted by tobacco smoke in the interior bar downstairs. Up to each individual re smoking; however, I personally do not want to suffer from passive smoking.

When I raised this with a hotel, I received the usual formulaic response from the person who doesn't speak English. It's not really good enough, and the general manager of this hotel needs to take charge of the situation in general.

This led to me cancelling the next two visits at indigo hotels in my Europe tour and shifting to another brand. There seems to be a real problem with this...

Lets first start with the good. The staff was very friendly. The location of the hotel is great given how close so many tourist sites are in a walkable distance or and easy walk to the metro/cab stand. Housekeeping was also very friendly and did a great job cleaning the rooms as well as timing when to perform the cleaning (i.e., we were never disturbed while in the room for cleaning).

Now for the not so good. The internet constantly disconnected and the speed was extremely slow (at least below the advertised connection speed). The mattress appeared to be fairly worn, with an obvious indent in the middle section. The bathroom had loose tiles that would stick to your feet and pull up during showering. Visible masking tape was peeling near the light in the shower. Also, the street noise was fairly substantial at night time until 2 AM if your room is located on a lower floor.

We also requested an early check-in when booking, but we ended up having to drop our bags off and walk around killing time until our room was ready after 3 PM. While that is understandable that rooms are sometimes not ready, it is a major inconvenience after traveling for 12+ hrs in the same clothes you wore the day before for travel.

I typically opt to stay at Intercontinental hotels when traveling, but decided to try the Hotel Indigo as a boutique hotel in a great location. In this instance, the Intercontinental in Madrid was only $10 more per night and that value would have been worth it even though it is not as centrally located. My last impression though of the Hotel Indigo after this experience likely would not result in me choosing to stay at one again if I had other options.

I am not one to complain typically and the room is not the reason we were in Madrid (i.e., there to enjoy the things outside the room), but just some things that stood out from my traditional great experience with the IHG brand for business and...