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IHG opens a Hotel Indigo in Exeter

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If you are planning a trip to the West Country in 2023, there is an interesting new accommodation option.

IHG has just opened a Hotel Indigo in Exeter. The website is here.

Given its pedigree, I have high hopes for it. In many smaller cities in the UK, the Hotel Indigo is one of, if not the, best hotels in town and usually adds a design flair missing from competing properties.

IHG opens a Hotel Indigo in Exeter

Hotel Indigo Exeter has been developed by Castlebridge. Whilst the name is unlikely to mean anything to you, this is the same group behind Hotel Indigo Bath which I reviewed in 2021.

I was very, very impressed by this hotel, which has a good city centre location as well as a decent restaurant and a very high standard of design.

The same group also runs Hotel Indigo Stratford upon Avon, which I have seen praised in our comments section in the past, and Hotel Indigo Chester. They seem to ‘get’ the Hotel Indigo brand and are happy to invest substantial sums in their developments.

IHG opens a Hotel Indigo in Exeter

Hotel Indigo Exeter is inside the old House of Fraser store on Catherine Street, which closed pre-pandemic. The building has a 1930s modernist style and is only 30 seconds walk from the cathedral.

As well as 104 rooms, it claims to offer a restaurant, rooftop bar, sports bar and an impressive sounding spa. This includes four treatment rooms, a sauna, steam room, two hydrotherapy pools and, erm, a nail bar.

IHG opens a Hotel Indigo in Exeter

Rates are around £90 per night for midweek January stays, rising to £125ish at weekends, but I would expect this to increase as it becomes more established. Redemptions seem to start at around 19,000 IHG One Rewards points per night.

In terms of other new branded options, Marriott opened a Courtyard hotel next to the Sandy Park rugby stadium and conference centre this year. You could also consider Hilton’s Hampton at Exeter Airport which I reviewed back in 2019.

The Hotel Indigo Exeter website is here.

If you’re not a member, you can learn about the IHG One Rewards loyalty programme in our review here.


IHG One Rewards update – April 2024:

Get bonus points: IHG One Rewards is offering 2,000 bonus points for every two cash nights you stay (not necessarily consecutive) between 1st April and 31st May 2024. You can read our full article here and you can register here.

New to IHG One Rewards?  Read our overview of IHG One Rewards here and our article on points expiry rules here. Our article on ‘What are IHG One Rewards points worth?’ is here.

Buy points: If you need additional IHG One Rewards points, you can buy them here.

Want to earn more hotel points?  Click here to see our complete list of promotions from IHG and the other major hotel chains or use the ‘Hotel Offers’ link in the menu bar at the top of the page.

Comments (22)

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

  • Ian says:

    No real parking in the area. Website doesn’t mention parking at all. So fine if you arrive by train. Not so if you drive.

    But a good option if needing to be in the city.

    • TGLoyalty says:

      It’s right in the city centre plenty of paid parking around

    • Andi says:

      There’s plenty of parking around including Northernhay and Princesshay in easy walking distance. St Davids station on the other hand is a very very long walk up a steep hill.

      • Andy H says:

        Exeter Central station, on the other hand, is a short walk along a flat Queen Street, so I guess it depends which station you arrive at.

  • mark2 says:

    This is very interesting to me. Redemption opportunities in the West Country are sparse. We have stayed in Indigo Cardiff and Chester and eaten at Stratford-upon-Avon, one of the best restaurants in the town.

  • pooki55finland says:

    It’s a great location https://www.devonlive.com/whats-on/shopping/gallery/incredible-new-views-exeter-house-5982553

    Sure to be popular with parents visiting offspring at University of Exeter – 25000 of them these days.

    273 spaces at fairly nearby Princesshay 1 car park (£12.40 for 24hrs) – quite a few other options.

  • mark2 says:

    No dedicated parking at Indigos Cardiff, Chester or Stratford-upon-Avon or many other city centre hotels.

    • David says:

      There is on site covered car park at Stratford upon Avon as well as on open air overflow, all entirely for the hotel.

      • The real Swiss Tony says:

        In all fairness, that one in Stratford is comically laid out, tiny and was full when we arrived – despite us having pre-paid for parking. The staff found a solution but it was far from slick.

  • DevonDiamond says:

    Some interesting characters hanging around cathedral green

  • SammyJ says:

    I’ll just add Durham hotelto the list of excellent Indigos in this country – one of the best UK hotels we’ve stayed in.

  • Graviation says:

    Much of Exeter was bombed during the war, and as a result has many fine examples of 1950s modernism. Nice to see the architecture being put to good use.

    • pooki55finland says:

      Otherwise known as a lot of ugly buildings. More formally – brutalist – though you should understand that this term refers to/ derives from béton brut (raw concrete) and art brut (raw art). Functional and cheaper to build than pretty/ pleasant architectural designs – understandable in the post-war years.

      • apbj says:

        Thanks for mansplaining that to us.

      • The real Swiss Tony says:

        Brutalism is a subset of modernism. Brutalism is however defined by the use of significant volumes of poured concrete, yet the Artist’s Impression of the hotel appears to show it made entirely of brick. You’re welcome 😎

        (snorts and pushes spectacles back up nose with a pencil)

  • Greenpen says:

    For ultimate brutality go down the road to Plymouth, surely the ugliest city in the UK. And pretty bad for hotels too sadly.

    • Tom says:

      Yeah, I cannot think of one decent hotel in Plymouth.

      Exeter also has a Hotel Du Vin, and the Mercure Southgate isn’t bad.

    • pooki55finland says:

      Plymouth can be excused – razed to the ground by the Luftwaffe, reconstruction had to be cheap & cheerful.

      Other towns can’t hide behind the same excuse – Aylesbury springs to mind – lovely old town with lots of mediaeval bits like Chester – all demolished in the 60s.

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