Hotel Indigo Stratford Upon Avon, an IHG Hotel — Hotel in Stratford-on-Avon

We arrived too early for check-in on Friday but thought we would ask the front desk if we could leave the car in the car park, it's £10 per £24 hours. The front desk staff were very friendly and said yes and also said our room would be ready in about an hour so we went in search of lunch.

On return, we checked in and were given a room on the first floor in the new section. By the way, the hotel has smell diffusers which smell amazing and you can purchase candles for a small fortune.

Back to the room, it was not the largest but had a good size bed, a cupboard that contained tea, coffee, a mini-fridge with some complimentary drinks and snacks, a safe, hairdryer, iron & ironing board and the other half for clothes. Freestanding drawers with tv and a desk and chair. The bed was a good size although my partner found it hard and uncomfortable for her, which is odd as I am the one that normally struggles with a hard bed and I didn't and loved the pillows. Wish I had asked what they were! The room also contained a soft chair and a small table. The bathroom was fitted with a good power shower and a rain shower head too and beautifully decorated. The rain head did leak slightly so you would get the odd cold drip while using the other head. My partner also mentioned that it was leaking from the handle by the end but I didn't witness this. One thing missing from the room was a toilet brush.

The view from the room was very disappointing as we had a wall from the hotel not more than ten metres away but it did let in a fair amount of light. As we were there for sightseeing we wouldn't be spending much time in the room anyway.

Where the front desk loses a point is they failed to mention there is an alarm in the room and this is not an obvious alarm. When going to bed the first night we were trying to find a switch to turn off the lamps, there isn’t one, you have to get out of bed and do it manually but we didn’t realise we had triggered the alarm. Five minutes later we get a concerned phone call from reception checking on us!

On the last day we ate Sunday lunch in the hotel’s restaurant The Woodsman. We had the special which was lamb and was delicious but also £56 for two. The beef was priced at £27 each. We didn’t have a starter or dessert as nothing took our fancy to sway us to pay for these at around £10 each. The staff were very friendly and attentive. When booking the restaurant online we did receive a call confirming our reservation but also telling us we had to vacate the table within two hours, I didn't feel this was too professional, if this was a case a note online at the time of booking would be better.

The hotel also has a fitness area and a nice outside courtyard but we didn't have time to enjoy these during our stay.

Overall we were happy with the hotel, It's a great location within Stratford-Upon-Avon and we would be happy to stay again and recommend to friends. It just needs to improve with communication about the alarm and the lunch...

We made our visit this time based on being able to book "the same room at the same rate" via the app, something I have done with IHG before. I often stay at Crowne Plaza in Stratford upon Avon but switched to Hotel Indigo at the last minute last summer when the Crowne was closed, and was extremely impressed.

For our visit in November I had booked earlier when the Crowne was still not taking bookings, and we were placed in Room 506, a delightful surprise, and in fact we stayed an extra night (paying quite a lot for the privilege!) as we liked it so much. I remarked to the staff that we always wanted that room in future and joked I wanted my name on the door. They said it was quite possible to have that room or at least the Tudor section again and would note it.

For the February visit I tried something I had done before via the app, which was to click on the option to book "the same room for the same rate" - there was no option to state any other preference. At no point did it say that it might be the same room or that it could be a different room in a different part of the hotel. On arrival we were given a different room, not in the slightest like room 506, and indeed not even in the Tudor section.

The fab staff (always amazing) sorted out another Tudor room but it was much smaller and not anywhere near as good as 506.

The booking process needs to make things much clearer. This is not what has happened to me in the past over many long years of booking for IHG hotels. Indeed when I wanted to book a place for a visit in April a few weeks ago the fact that the app told me I couldn't have the same room (described to me since as a premier room though this doesn't appear on the hotel description - though "similar" rooms were available at the same price) made us opt for the Crowne Plaza again.

It is unfair to the hotel to be critical as it is a great place to stay and the staff are truly brilliant. But there is an issue with the app/booking process, which needs to make what is available clearer rather than stating categorically something that isn't the case any longer. In many paces a particular room doesn't matter but when yopu dins a good hotel with a particular favourite room, you do hope to be able to book it again, especially when you have asked for it, not offered something...

Review for Woodsman only and I post this here because the restaurant doesn’t seem to care about feedback.

We had booked a table for lunch. I had confirmed my reservation with every intention of making it. However, due to the unpredictable nature of train schedules in the UK over the summer, our train back from Stratford had been cancelled so we were hoping to take an earlier train. Now while I completely understand the cancellation policy and the need to stick to it, I was absolutely appalled at the insensitivity displayed by the team at Woodsman. First off, they just weren’t able to grasp the fact that we had to take an earlier train and kept telling me I could book a 6 PM table. Secondly, after reiterating multiple times that the request for cancellation was coming on the back of factors completely outside my control, the manager said to me and I quote “We have to charge you because we stand to lose more than you do”. I cannot even begin to explain how tone deaf that was. I kept telling them that if we were to make the reservation, we would have to take a really late train and that would mean we’d get back home really late. To that their response was, “Okay then, see you soon”. So we had to, albeit very begrudgingly, make the reservation and not once were we given an apology for the inconvenience that we went through. Again, I get that cancellation policies are there for a reason but never before in all my time have I encountered a restaurant so rigid and inflexible with their policy. And that too for factors well beyond my control. It’s absolutely safe to say I am so terribly disappointed by this behaviour. The food was average at best, and certainly NOT worth the effort. I hope they can allow for more flexibility in their policies so people who come into town don’t leave with such a sour taste in...