Hotel Indigo Bath & The Elder Restaurant & Bar

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.

Hotel Indigo Bath (full review on Kavey Eats)

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 (full review on Kavey Eats) Hotel Indigo Bath (full review on Kavey Eats)

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.

Hotel Indigo Bath bedroom (Kavey Eats) Hotel Indigo Bath bathroom(Kavey Eats)

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.

Hotel Indigo Bath Vault bedroom (Kavey Eats) Hotel Indigo Bath Vault bathroom (Kavey Eats) Hotel Indigo Bath Vault bathroom (Kavey Eats)

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.

The Elder restaurant and bar

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.

Granary bread, butter and bullshot Granary bread, butter

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.

Jersey rock oysters two ways

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.

Roast belly of Hampshire White Roast breast of Norfolk chicken

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 Valrhona chocolate fondant Tarte tatin

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.

Tea Coffee

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.

Continental breakfast buffet at Hotel Indigo Bath

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.

Selection from Continental breakfast buffet at Hotel Indigo Bath Selection from Continental breakfast buffet at Hotel Indigo Bath
Selection from Continental breakfast buffet at Hotel Indigo Bath Yoghurt, Honey and Walnuts

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.

Smoked Severn & Wye Salmon on Toasted Bagel at Hotel Indigo Bath

And we ordered hot dishes from the menu, made to order and served to the table.

Full English breakfast at Hotel Indigo Bath Cumberland sausage brioche roll

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.

Bath Abbey and Roman Baths
Bertinets Bakery, Bath, England Bath, England Sally Lunn, Bath, England
Bath, England Bath Abbey Bath, England
Pete, Bath, England Kavey, Bath, England

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.

Painting at Hotel Indigo Bath Room key at Hotel Indigo Bath

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. 

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26 Comments to "Hotel Indigo Bath & The Elder Restaurant & Bar"

  1. Katie

    I’ve seen this move from building site to open hotel – but I haven’t been in yet! Given it’s an old building that’s converted to hotel use, how is the accessibility? Do they have lifts to all floors or are there lots of stairs? (Ever since my Dad has issues with stairs I’ve noticed them more and more where I wouldn’t blink an eye before!)

    Reply
    kaveyeats

    That’s something I take notice of as well, because I’ve had various periods where my mobility is quite poor, though it’s pretty good currently. The majority of rooms can be reached by lifts. Even the new vault rooms have lift access, though it’s slightly more long-winded as you need to transfer from the main lift to an outside lift to travel the last level down. That said, not every single room is wheelchair accessible, as some corridors and doors are not wide enough. I asked about this during my visit and was assured that customers are able to specifically book wheelchair accessible rooms for their stay. Access to restaurant and bar areas are step-free.

    Reply
  2. Suzanne Jones

    I’d love to stay here it looks fabulous. The food, the decor, the service – all top notch. Perfect bolt hole to explore Bath from. I know where I’ll be staying in my next visit!

    Reply
  3. Ossama Alnuwaiser

    Hotel Indigo Bath looks elegant and the food is amazing. I can see why you choose this place rather than staying somewhere else. Pulteney Bridge over the River Avon sounds like an interesting walk. I like the idea that the hotel is near museums and gardens that a plus.

    Reply
  4. Puloma Bhattacharya

    Hotel Indigo looks like a luxurious boutique hotel, I like the lavish interiors, preserving the Georgian style heritage architecture. The hotel seems to offer a great ambiance with a scrumptious breakfast and lunch treats. I would love to stay in such a boutique hotel. Also it’s great that it’s few minutes away from the station and the city center.

    Reply
    kaveyeats

    Yes the way they’ve incorporated and shown off the period historical architecture is really nice.

    Reply
  5. Pilar

    I have been in Bath in my teenage years so watching the pics in your post reminds me of a beautiful past. The hotel Indigo looks amazing. The bathroom is so luxurious. It must be so pleasant to sip a glass of good wine while taking a bath with the lights off and some candles. The food looks so tasty. I am specially curious about the Jersey oysters in a Vietnamese dressing and the cauliflower cheese, I have never tried such a things but sounds delicious.

    Reply
    kaveyeats

    It’s a great city, glad you have good memories of your time there. The food was indeed delicious!

    Reply
  6. Alice

    The vault rooms are very reminiscent of some French apartments/houses that use the natural curve of stone or brick to create these kind of cave like structures, love it. The Elder Restaurant has such a swanky yet cozy vibe, and I’m so glad to hear they actually have alternatives for those of us who don’t consume animal products. Lovely guide!

    Reply
    kaveyeats

    Yeah they remind me of some of the cave hotels in the Loire region! The restaurant is very cool and I was impressed that they had a full veggie and vegan menu available!

    Reply
  7. Joanna

    I absolutely love the decor of the hotel. They have done such an amazing job giving character to the rooms and to the entire hotel that I would definitely feel like I’ve stepped into the world of Jane Austen. The food looks incredible as well, there is so much attention to detail both for dinner and for breakfast. I like that they are using local British produce in their dishes.

    Reply
  8. Jan

    What a lovely boutique hotel with room comforts and great food! That smoked salmon and cream cheese bagel sounds so inviting but I would have the standard English breakfast everyday. It’s good to learn that Hotel indigo has 18 locations in UK, I will try their hotels the next time we go on a UK holiday. Enjoyed your blog post! 🙂

    Reply
  9. Umiko

    The bathroom is really chic, I wish I have the interior ability to turn mine like that. Haha.. Dinner and breakfast look so wonderful, even just by looking at the pictures, I can see how delicious they are. I also like the hotel location that is surrounded by places of interests within walking distance. Looks like a good choice for visiting Bath.

    Reply
  10. Clarice

    Your room looks wonderful and the bathroom is big. Love that they have a Nespresso machine available. The oysters look delicious. Happy to know that you had a great time in Bath. Thank you for sharing your wonderful experience.

    Reply
  11. noel

    I love boutique hotels, and quite unique for an IHG brand to have this type of eclectic look and vibe. I love places like this to stay and that green dining room is so cool. The food they have offered here looks amazing and would enjoy everything starting with that plate of oysters and then a roast pork belly, omg wow.

    Reply
    kaveyeats

    Yeah I hadn’t realised how many very distinct brands IHG have in their portfolio!

    Reply

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