I’m a huge fan of city break holidays; two to three days to explore the city, see the sights, enjoy some great meals out and relax in a great hotel. I love boutique hotels with gorgeous rooms, great service and a central location that places us at the heart of our chosen city. Hotel Indigo Bath bangs each of those nails on the head with its envious location in a beautiful 18th century Georgian terrace that’s calm and peaceful yet only steps away from the city centre.
The Hotel Indigo brand is part of IHG, a global hotel and resorts group that includes Holiday Inn, Intercontinental, Crowne Plaza, Regent, Kimpton, Six Senses and others. Hotel Indigo is one of the group’s luxury brands, and currently offers over 140 boutique hotels across the world, with eighteen of those located in the UK.
Hotel Indigo Bath opened in September 2020 after a major restoration project of a beautiful Grade 1 listed building, and offers 166 guest rooms in a variety of themes reflecting the history and locality of Bath, such as ‘Romance & Mischief’, ‘Literary Hideaway’, ‘Architectural Beauty’, and ‘Garden’. There are vibrant colours and eclectic decor throughout the property.
Hotel Indigo Bath Bedrooms
We were allocated a king bed superior room with views out over South Parade, one of the Architectural Beauty styled rooms. Our room had a Hypnos bed (we splashed out one at home a couple of years ago and they really are the most comfortable beds to sleep on) with high quality linen, and a bright and attractive bathroom. Facilities include a Nespresso coffee machine, high-speed wifi, and a flat-screen TV with a decent range of channels. Additionally, superior rooms also come with complimentary soft and alcoholic drinks in the fridge, which is a really nice touch. If I could make one tweak to our room it would be to find a layout that allowed for two armchairs rather than one, given that the room was spacious enough.
The latest rooms to be completed are twelve ‘Vault’ rooms, which make very clever use of the building’s basement level; I took a look at 2 unoccupied vault rooms during our visit and loved their exposed brick-work, vaulted ceilings and huge, luxury bathrooms.
Dinner at The Elder Restaurant and Bar
During our stay we had a lovely evening meal in The Elder, a restaurant and bar that’s located within the hotel, but also accessible directly from the street. It’s independently owned by award-winning restaurateur Mike Robinson, and Group Head Chef Gavin Edney leads the restaurant’s kitchen team. Offering seasonal British lunch and dinner menus, the kitchen seeks out high quality, sustainable produce, buying from local suppliers as much as possible.
The restaurant space is also where hotel guests enjoy breakfast each morning.
We ate in the Elder on the first night of our stay, and as it was a Sunday, the menu focused on Sunday roasts. Two courses are £40, three come to £48. An alternative vegan menu is also available, priced at £36 for two courses, or £46 for three.
Throughout the meal we were looked after by Anette and Nick, who did a great job of making diners feel at home, explaining the menu, and ensuring we had everything we needed.
Before the meal we were served hot-from-the-oven granary bread and butter with a “bullshot” of venison and beer broth. This tradition of bread and hot meaty broth originated with Gavin and Mike: the first time Gavin went deer stalking with Mike, on a cold day, early in the morning, Mike pulled out a flask from his pocket and passed it to Gavin to take a sip. Inside was wonderfully warming bullshot tea, something hunters drink to keep them warm when out for hours in the cold. Mike had made his bullshot tea recipe with beef consommé, vodka chilli and loads of black pepper, and Gavin adapted the idea to give restaurant guests a similar experience at the start of their meals.
For starters I had Jersey oysters two ways – two in a Vietnamese dressing and two with an orange and shallot mignonette. Both ways were delicious, full of punchy flavours that really lifted the super-fresh and plump oysters to another level.
Pete enjoyed a very good wild venison tartare with curry emulsion, served on a tiny English muffin.
For our mains we had roast belly of Hamphire White pork and roast breast of Norfolk chicken, both served with all the trimmings. For both of us, the meat was a highlight, cooked just right, and full of flavour. The roast potatoes were some of the best I’ve had with a restaurant Sunday roast, the cauliflower cheese was lovely and rich, and the intensely savoury gravy was a delight. One small criticism was that the towering Yorkshire puddings were overcooked, resulting in an unpleasant bitterness to their flavour.
Valrhona chocolate fondant with manjari salted caramel and popcorn ice cream was beautifully gooey in the centre, and a great use of good quality chocolate.
Likewise, the tarte tatin with creme fraiche was an excellent rendition of a classic dessert, and allowed beautifully caramelised apples steal the show.
Coffee and tea were good too; I’ve been to too many places where poor quality tea and coffee let down an otherwise excellent meal.
Breakfast at Hotel Indigo Bath
Breakfast at The Elder was also a delight, which we enjoyed both mornings of our stay.
As with dinner, service was helpful and attentive throughout.
We helped ourselves to an excellent continental breakfast buffet featuring a wide range of pastries, bread, charcuterie and cheese, cereals, natural and fruit yoghurts, fresh and dried fruits, nuts and a selection of spreads including honey, Marmite, and jams.
And we ordered hot dishes from the menu, made to order and served to the table.
Smoked Severn & Wye salmon on a toasted bagel with cream cheese was very good, and we appreciated the restaurant’s use of salmon made in the area.
A full English breakfast included good quality cumberland sausage, smoked bacon, braised mushrooms, grilled tomato, black pudding and scrambled egg. I’d have liked the choice of how to have my eggs but it’s a minor quibble. Vegetarian and vegan cooked breakfasts were also available.
On the second morning, we reined it in a little with Cumberland sausage brioche rolls, which really hit the spot!
Sightseeing in Bath
Having visited Bath before, we already knew our way around the city, and you couldn’t ask for a better location than South Parade.
Hotel Indigo Bath is 2 minutes walk from the city centre shopping area, 3 minutes walk from Bath Spa train station, 4 minutes walk to the Abbey and the Roman Baths, 6 minutes walk to to Pulteney Bridge and to Thermae Bath Spa, 12 minutes to Mary Shelley’s House of Frankenstein, and 15-20 minutes to the Royal Crescent. Indeed, most of Bath’s attractions are well within 20 minutes walk from the hotel, including many popular museums such as the Fashion Museum, the American Museum and Gardens, the Museum of Bath at Work, The Museum of East Asian Art, the Herschel Museum of Astronomy, the Bath Postal Museum, The Jane Austen Centre, and the Holburne Museum.
For food lovers, Bath offers many excellent restaurants, alongside lots of great coffee shops, bars and pubs.
Staff at the reception and concierge desk are friendly and helpful, and can make recommendations for sightseeing and eating out if you would like some help.
Hotel Indigo Bath is a real gem for anyone wanting a modern boutique hotel that’s really well located for the best that Bath has to offer.
Our superior room was priced at £179 per night during the week of our stay in mid-June, but Kavey Eats visited as guests of Hotel Indigo Bath and The Elder.