During the May long weekend, I made a visit to the big apple for the first time! Since my boyfriend lived in New York for two years before, he was adamant about not staying in Midtown as it was too touristy. So we found a pretty good deal at Hotel Indigo Lower East Side. We booked the hotel on Hotwire and I want to share what we thought about the room, location, and amenities!
About Lower East Side
The Lower East Side neighborhood is appropriately on the lower east side of Manhattan. The very east side of this area is still a little rough around the edges with projects. But on the west side, tons of trendy restaurants, bars, and shops scatter along the narrow streets. If you keep walking west, you’ll quickly stumble into Soho for world renowned shopping. To put it into perspective, it is about 40 blocks south of Midtown. If you want to visit Brooklyn Bridge early in the morning for amazing photos, Lower East Side is a fantastic location as it’s almost at the edge of Manhattan!
If you enjoy nightlife, this is definitely the neighborhood to be in! Tons of bars and clubs are open late and some go all the way to the morning! I found the area still a little bit up and coming for my liking. But I do like how easy it was to visit other areas. Hotel Indigo Lower East Side was just steps away from 2nd Avenue station which goes all the way up 6th Avenue to Central Park. I talked about my favorite things to do in New York city in my 5 day travel guide.
Deluxe Queen
The standard room types are the Superior Queen/King and the Deluxe Queen/King. The only difference between the two is that the Deluxe room types are on higher floors. If you have the money to splurge, Hotel Indigo LES has some beautiful suites and also rooms with terraces! Since we booked on Hotwire, the room type we had was Superior Queen. Once we arrived, we were upgraded to a Deluxe Queen with a nice view over Mr.Purple and the city.
The room was a standard size with a chair and small table near the window. There is also a desk and a rolling armchair if you need to do any work. The bedding is quite simple but there are some really neat touches throughout the room.
For example, there was this cute taxi souvenir in the room and it is so quintessentially New York! Also, there was a cocktail shaker available and once it’s all put together, it looks like a graffiti paint can!
The room was decorated with unique tidbits that add to the charm and highlight the “boutique” factor. However, at the lower end of their offerings, I wouldn’t say the room is luxurious by any means. We paid $350CAD per night (Saturday and Sunday night stays). Based on current rates, the Queen Superior is approximately $315 USD, or a Deluxe King with Terrace about $400 USD.
Bathroom
I absolutely loved the crazy pattern on the bathroom floor. Since the rest of the decor is pretty reserved, I thought this pop of color was really fun. I also noticed that they chose decor items in yellow which brings out the yellow in the floor! The bathroom sink is a bit small for my liking as I like to plop my whole makeup case down. There’s also no drawers to stash my personal care products so I have to lug things back and forth from the room.
My favorite part of the bathroom is the rainshower. It’s got wonderful minimalist tiling but contrasting colors on the floor. the shower is also quite spacious so if you want to have a shower for two, that can be accommodated!
Lastly, I was impressed by the CO Bigelow products throughout the bathroom! They all have a wonderful scent and the packaging blends in perfectly with the room decor!
Lobby & Common Area
The rooms at Hotel Indigo Lower East Side are nice, but I think the Lobby is where they stand out. As you can see from the photo, the lobby is not on the ground floor but rather the 15th. Floor to ceiling windows give you beautiful views out to the city. When we were checking in, there was also complimentary champagne which is a neat touch.
The lobby is spacious with many couches to rest on. Hotel check in and out times often don’t work with travel schedules so it’s nice that there’s such a comfortable spot to relax in before heading to the airport.
Lastly, if you are feeling peckish, there is a cafe at the far end of the lobby. I didn’t try out any of the items but they serve coffee, snacks, wine, and beer. The desks are handy if you need to get some work done.
Mr. Purple the Pool Bar
If you like to party, then the biggest draw for Hotel Indigo Lower East Side might be your access pass to Mr.Purple. Although I flagged Mr.Purple as a bar to check out, I didn’t realize how popular it is! As a hotel guest, you’ll always be able to enter and won’t have to wait in line. We took full advantage of this on a Saturday night when there was a huge line! There is also a plunge pool on the rooftop but it unfortunately doesn’t open until after Memorial Day which is a week after when we stayed.
At $350 a night, it is surprisingly on the low end of “nice hotels” in New York City! This is one of the highest ranked hotels in Lower East Side so I’m super happy I found a deal on Hotwire.com. The rooms have a minimalist boutique feel, similar to Gorki Apartments in Berlin, but surprises you with a few design touches. I wish I got to hang out more at the pool and common areas but it was awesome being able to check out the atmosphere at Mr.Purple on a Saturday night with no line up! It’s not a luxurious stay but the hotel puts you right in the middle of the action for the best local hang out. It’s also just a few steps away from the subway which will take you to other touristy spots.