Hotel Indigo Williamsburg - Brooklyn by IHG — Hotel in New York

The Hotel Indigo Williamsburg offers a one-star experience at a four-star price point. Buyer beware!

Unfortunately, the Hotel Indigo Williamsburg is a glaring exception to the Hotel Indigo standard. My subpar experience at this hotel with my wife on what was supposed to be an enjoyable first-time trip to explore Brooklyn badly impacted our holiday and is leading me to rethink my once high regard for the brand.

Everything about this hotel, particularly its rooms, but also its lobby and hallways are worn, dingy, and badly in need of refurbishment. The entire hotel, inside and out, looks tired and in need of care and thorough cleaning. I had to remind myself that the Hotel Indigo Williamsburg is indeed a Hotel Indigo as it’s fails on all counts to live up to the brand’s standard.

Promotional photos of this hotel are undeniably flattering but in no way do they reflect the property’s shabby reality or one’s experience of it as a guest.

Each room is retrofitted with bizarre circular white LED lighting that gives the room all the charm and ambiance of a big box store. The furniture in both of our rooms was badly nicked and scuffed, the bedding wasn’t comfortable nor was it to the standard of better hotels, the towels were rough. Practically everything about the Hotel Indigo Williamsburg was to a budget motel standard but is offered at a premium hotel price.

We had booked a “premium” king room with a “city view” and balcony. What we got was, in reality, a cramped, bizarrely angular, narrow corner room with a view of Interstate Highway 278 and the accompanying drone of traffic below. There was no view of the city apart from some area buildings. Bear in mind that this should not have been the hotel’s last available room. Ours was not a late booking or late arrival. We had even pre-checked into the hotel early, at around 12:00 pm.

If you are unlucky enough to book this hotel, avoid room 628 at all costs. Although I was told there isn’t an elevator nearby, there was an intermittent, incredibly annoying, electric buzzing noise, which sounded almost like a drill, followed by a series of loud clunks. This maddening series of noises recurred in roughly four-minute intervals and never stopped. I am convinced there must have been a service elevator somewhere adjacent to the room, yet none of the staff could explain the source of the noise.

When I reported these issues and requested a different room, the person at the front desk was of no help. I was told there were no other rooms of similar size facing away from the highway. I was also informed that none of the other guests have reported issues with traffic noise from the highway or the other noises so there must not be a problem. It was implied that we should just grin and bear it. No attempt was made to make our stay better or even satisfactory.

After enduring the buzzing and clunking for three hours and even a visit from maintenance, we later connected with someone at the front desk who was helpful. We moved rooms at 1:30 am. Somehow a neighborhood-facing room had materialized in the meantime? I am certain that the first staff member couldn’t have been bothered to help us.

We were taken to a room with broken lock and somehow managed to get a little sleep.

We took all of these issues up with the manager, Chandler, the next day and asked for a follow-up I’ve yet to receive. He waived the facility fee and offered a free beverage from the fridge. Scant recompense for an awful night.

Bear in mind, the rate for this hotel was over $500 a night.

The next evening, we returned to a room that had not been cleaned. We had requested room cleaning and had not placed a “do not disturb” sign outside our door. It was a fitting end to a miserable and incredibly disappointing stay.

We checked out of the Hotel Indigo Williamsburg feeling ripped off and badly neglected as customers, feeling not as valued guests but as inconveniences.

Don’t be fooled by the flattering photos. The Hotel Indigo Williamsburg is at best a one-star hotel at a four-star...

Was SO excited to stay here because this is my childhood neighborhood and booked 7 nights. Unfortunately, beyond an excellent check-in and one great dinner, everything went downhill quickly.||When I arrived, Johnny at the front desk was wonderful - warm, welcoming! At Aliya, Vivian was incredible and the food during my first dinner was delicious. The service that night reflected true hospitality. ||Breakfast was consistently disappointing. On my 1st morning the staff seemed more focused on chatting loudly about the US Open and using their phones than serving guests. At one point, the server sat down to eat with their hands and then got up to prepare drinks. They also opened a plastic bottle of orange juice and poured it into a plastic cup, which is wasteful. Even seated guests were being served coffee and juice in disposable plastic instead of reusable glassware. ||The 2nd morning, no one was present at breakfast despite guests waiting. After a 5 mins we went to the front desk and were told there was only one person, likely in the back. After more waiting, most of us ended up leaving without being served.||The 3rd morning there was efficiency thanks to Ashley, who worked quickly and effectively. However, she was by herself handling a sold-out hotel at peak breakfast time and the wait was long. After that, I never returned to breakfast again, and all of my breakfast vouchers went to waste.||Housekeeping was also inconsistent. Returned to my room at 4 PM on the 4th day, and it had not been serviced and was late to dinner. On another night, had requested that my sheets be changed, but when I returned to the room they had not been touched despite waiting patiently in the lobby to give housekeeping space.||The amenities were another low point. On one afternoon the pool and restaurant were closed for a private event without any notice to guests. That meant no pool access, no restaurant access, and not even a place to get a glass of water at 4 PM on a Thursday. While a staff member offered me a glass of wine instead, I was surprised to be charged $24 for it. Given the $40 per night resort fee, it felt inappropriate to charge guests full fees while restricting access to basic spaces and not communicating in advance. The front desk offered to remove the resort fee for that day, but was still charged for it when I checked out.||Adding to the frustration, the rooms are noisy. The combination of the HVAC system, the nearby expressway, and the pool area made it difficult to rest.||Finally, the checkout experience sealed my opinion. Midweek, I had asked that my status be honored with late checkout, and the front desk had agreed. On the final morning, even with the Do Not Disturb sign on the door, housekeeping knocked and told me I had to leave immediately. When I called the front desk, was told the hotel was at maximum capacity and needed to check out right away. I skipped a shower and rushed to pack, requesting a bell cart to move my luggage. 20 minutes later no one had arrived, I called again, was told all carts were being used for the private event and none were available. Someone from Bell services came up, without a cart and was willing to carry my numerous pieces of luggage down without a cart. I tipped him and said that I would be back once getting a car. Returned with the rental car and the car was in front of the hotel, and he rolled up the luggage, with my trunk door opened and didn’t offer assistance getting the stuff into the car. Also realized when I was far away that he didn’t include my bag of groceries from across the street, so lost $45.||This property has potential, but the operations are clearly dysfunctional. Departments are not aligned, communication is poor, and basic guest expectations are not being met. While some individual employees were truly excellent, the overall experience was frustrating and disappointing.||I left saddened, because I had been genuinely excited for this stay in my old neighborhood, but will not return and cannot...

Was SO excited to stay here because this is my childhood neighborhood and booked 7 nights. Unfortunately, beyond an excellent check-in and one great dinner, everything went downhill quickly.

When I arrived, Johnny at the front desk was wonderful - warm, welcoming! At Aliya, Vivian was incredible and the food during my first dinner was delicious. The service that night reflected true hospitality.

Breakfast was consistently disappointing. On my 1st morning the staff seemed more focused on chatting loudly about the US Open and using their phones than serving guests. At one point, the server sat down to eat with their hands and then got up to prepare drinks. They also opened a plastic bottle of orange juice and poured it into a plastic cup, which is wasteful. Even seated guests were being served coffee and juice in disposable plastic instead of reusable glassware.

The 2nd morning, no one was present at breakfast despite guests waiting. After a 5 mins we went to the front desk and were told there was only one person, likely in the back. After more waiting, most of us ended up leaving without being served.

The 3rd morning there was efficiency thanks to Ashley, who worked quickly and effectively. However, she was by herself handling a sold-out hotel at peak breakfast time and the wait was long. After that, I never returned to breakfast again, and all of my breakfast vouchers went to waste.

Housekeeping was also inconsistent. Returned to my room at 4 PM on the 4th day, and it had not been serviced and was late to dinner. On another night, had requested that my sheets be changed, but when I returned to the room they had not been touched despite waiting patiently in the lobby to give housekeeping space.

The amenities were another low point. On one afternoon the pool and restaurant were closed for a private event without any notice to guests. That meant no pool access, no restaurant access, and not even a place to get a glass of water at 4 PM on a Thursday. While a staff member offered me a glass of wine instead, I was surprised to be charged $24 for it. Given the $40 per night resort fee, it felt inappropriate to charge guests full fees while restricting access to basic spaces and not communicating in advance. The front desk offered to remove the resort fee for that day, but was still charged for it when I checked out.

Adding to the frustration, the rooms are noisy. The combination of the HVAC system, the nearby expressway, and the pool area made it difficult to rest.

Finally, the checkout experience sealed my opinion. Midweek, I had asked that my status be honored with late checkout, and the front desk had agreed. On the final morning, even with the Do Not Disturb sign on the door, housekeeping knocked and told me I had to leave immediately. When I called the front desk, was told the hotel was at maximum capacity and needed to check out right away. I skipped a shower and rushed to pack, requesting a bell cart to move my luggage. 20 minutes later no one had arrived, I called again, was told all carts were being used for the private event and none were available. Someone from Bell services came up, without a cart and was willing to carry my numerous pieces of luggage down without a cart. I tipped him and said that I would be back once getting a car. Returned with the rental car and the car was in front of the hotel, and he rolled up the luggage, with my trunk door opened and didn’t offer assistance getting the stuff into the car. Also realized when I was far away that he didn’t include my bag of groceries from across the street, so lost $45.

This property has potential, but the operations are clearly dysfunctional. Departments are not aligned, communication is poor, and basic guest expectations are not being met. While some individual employees were truly excellent, the overall experience was frustrating and disappointing.

I left saddened, because I had been genuinely excited for this stay in my old neighborhood, but will not return and cannot...