Hotel Indigo Old Town Alexandria by IHG — Hotel in Alexandria

We lived in Alexandria for a long time and remember when this place was built. We moved away three years ago and decided it would be a good location to stay while visiting friends. The location is terrific. Away from the main drag if king street, but close enough to walk to everything. Check in was pleasant but we were surprised by the amenities fee that they only mention when you arrive. A little shady. The parking garage is also owned by colonial parking, and it is incredibly small. We were getting in on a Thursday so we were able to tuck in and keep the car there all weekend, but it looked like a scene the few times we went down to get stuff out of the trunk. Our room was nice, had lots of storage and it was pretty. Nice view of the Potomac. However, we were wondering why the fridge was warm and soon realized that all of the outlets on one side of the room (including the fridge) were connected to the light switch. So if you turned of the lights with the switch you were also shutting off the fridge. Weird electrical plan for sure. There is a restaurant with a bar. We'd been to hummingbird before. We only had drinks there one evening. It closes pretty early so we would kind of br forced to go elsewhere if we got back late. The biggest disappointment was the cleaning staff and how the room was serviced. The first day we got back around four and our room had not been cleaned despite the fact that we saw the staff on our floor that morning when we left. It was a major inconvenience to have to ask to have it cleaned them go sit in the lobby when we'd hoped to be relaxing and showering for dinner. And after that initial clean we realized nothing had been touched except the bed. Dirty coffee cups, glasses all left on the counters and no replenishment of towels, TP, or coffee and creamers. We let it go figuring it was a mistake. But the second day we got back, the bed was sloppily made but nothing else touched again. We called for clean towels at least and more to, creamers and coffee. We washed the cups ourselves and I had to remake the bed myself because it was made after half off the mattress pad had slipped off making a huge lump in the middle of the bed. Stefan at concierge was able to run up and bring us fresh towels, but mind you he was working the front desk at the same time. The towels we got were torn on the edges and one hand towel had a hole right in the middle. I don't think I had ever seen anything like that before. I had to go back down to show him what he'd given me and he got me some new towels that were a little better. (Still not the best but I could see it was a losing battle) Stefan did say he would give us points back on on my husband's reward membership and I am not blaming him because it looked like he had too much on his plate. He was very professional but you could see that too much was being left for him to handle when he should have had housekeeping staff there to help him. I'm not even sure why there were any towels available in that condition at all. They looked like they were ready to go in the rag bin. It seems pretty clear that they need more or better cleaning people. After that fiasco I could see that the floor hadn't been vacuumed in a while and that in general the whole area could have been cleaner. The staff is either goofing off or being allowed to make these short cuts which are unacceptable. We didn't let this ruin our stay, but I must say we were disappointed in many aspects and would consider staying somewhere else on our...

I'm an IHG Platinum member and booked a standard room using my free anniversary reward night. I always try to choose a Kimpton hotel because I am usually traveling with my dog and I appreciate that they're pet friendly. Hotel Indigo does not have the most amenities of any Kimpton I've stayed in, but it is a good hotel. The room was lovely, very clean, very spacious for a single traveler for one night, and I'd like to add, the hotel is very tastefully decorated. I do wish pet friendly didn't mean a $50 pet fee, because that doesn't feel super pet FRIENDLY, but my dog did enjoy the friendly staff and squeaky toy we got (only after we asked for one).

My biggest problem with the hotel is the parking. There is a parking garage on-site, but when I arrived, it was a flat rate of $39 for overnight parking and the garage is teeny-tiny with teeny-tiny spaces. For 39 bucks I really wish there had at least been an offer to help me park my car, letting me know when I was getting too close or needed to back up or straighten up more. I ended up having go squeeze into a spot and scratched up the driver side of my car on a cement column so as not to hit the car parked on my right. I would have happily paid extra for a valet who is used to the size of those spots and could park everyone's cars well so as not to create a ripple effect of everyone else parking slightly off - anything to avoid the $500 insurance payment to cover the intense paint job I now have on my hands.

The location is ::chef's kiss::. Walking distance to so many parks, restaurants, coffee shops, and the Old Town Book Shop (also pet friendly!) where my dog and I were able to find a book for me to read while she happily sunbathed and made friends with passersby in one of the many lovely places to sit outside the hotel with a view of the river. The hotel also has a lovely library - not much in the way of a selection, but a sunny spot to read your own book in on colder days, if your room/travel companion is making you want some quiet space. ;)

I did order from the hotel restaurant... it was fine. The dinner selection for a Saturday night was surprisingly slim, but what I did order was good. I wish there were a soda fountain instead of cans at a premium, but I guess, my bad for not bringing beverages with me for the mini fridge.

For what it's worth the photos of the rooms when booking on the website show a pair of champagne flutes filled with bubbly, but there was no such thing waiting for me in my room. There has been at least a flute of complementary champagne in the mini fridge at other Kimptons I've stayed in, but I suppose each Kimpton is different. I didn't need it, but I felt a little bit duped by the photos lol.

All in all I think the hotel could do a better job of anticipating what guests might need to make their stay smoother instead of waiting to be asked, but they were very nice and professional and courteous when I did ask or walked through the lobby. I'd stay again... I'd just probably find somewhere else to park and then get a ride to the...

I have stayed here twice now, both times for vacation, and can't do so again in the future because of bizarre business practices despite otherwise liking the hotel. During my first stay the person who checked me in automatically pushed me into signing up for the IHG One Rewards membership program despite my repeatedly saying no. I brushed this off as his receiving a commission or internal corporate employee metrics - which has nothing to do with the individual so I didn't want to complain - and figured I'd just unsubscribe from their emails asap. However, today I went to log in to the account to write a review only to find that that stay from months ago wasn't even added to my membership bonus points. So it's rather annoying to get pushed into something I didn't want and then not get the benefits for the stay.

The second stay was last night. We arrived shortly before 11pm and checked out at 6am. The service was lovely, the people are great. It's always nice to get great service from a hotel at odd hours and is one small part of why I hope single family homes as rentals disappear entirely one day. BUT between my first stay a few months ago and now, Hotel Indigo has tacked on a $28 / night amenity fee that you cannot opt out of and was certainly not made clear as a change in their policy. It's a ridiculous charge that tipped me over the edge to not staying here again in the future. $28 might not be that egregious in today's hotel add-ons, I hear you protest. So why is it so egregious?

The amenity fee gives you a few bucks towards a soda (I don't drink soda), a water bottle (I brought my own water), a yogurt item (lactose intolerant), or chips (no thank you). It also gives you a small % discount if you shop at a handful of local stores - which as an opt-in program to support local merchants I'd be happy to sign up for, but I a) was not in Alexandria to buy anything and b) was in and out during hours stores weren't open anyway. In general I'm not staying at a hotel to buy more things. I'm staying there to have a nice place to sleep and relax. If I want to buy something nearby that is my prerogative and not something that should be taken out of my wallet as a potential, maybe, possible option.

To show up to a lobby weary and ready to sleep before having to get up early and get slapped with a truly bizarre additional fee presented as an amenity but functionally impossible to even use is a truly egregious waste of money. As someone who rarely gets to vacation and picks his hotels carefully because every time is a treat, this was an awesome disappointment and has warranted my first-ever review of...