Earlier In December, I did a quick one-night stay at the Hotel Indigo Singapore Katong, due to some works going on at my home. To be honest, I mainly picked the Hotel Indigo because it was the most reasonably priced “nice” option between the Hilton, IHG and Marriott properties on the date I needed. That said, I have had pleasant experiences in the past with the Hotel Indigo brand, most recently at the newish Hotel Indigo Hakone Gora. My impression of the Hotel Indigo Katong from what I’d heard before, is a hotel that’s designed to reflect the heritage of neighbourhood surrounding it, a common trait of the Hotel Indigo brand. All these factors combined, particularly the rate, made me decide to check it out.
My stay reinforced that perception, and I came away with a largely positive impression of the hotel. The rooms, as expected, are filled with little touches from a bygone era of Singapore. They’re pretty spacious and comfortable too. The rest of the hotel holds up well, with a decent breakfast and good status recognition. With its location in a vibrant area filled with an ever-expanding roster of great food places, the Hotel Indigo Singapore Katong has a lot going for it.
Booking
I booked this fairly short notice, a few days before my intended stay. I opted for a cash rate, paying SGD298 for the entry-level King Bed Standard. This was a non-refundable advance purchase rate. Given the way hotel rates have trended in Singapore in 2022, I felt this was an acceptable, if slightly high, price for a medium-to-high-end international chain hotel.
I could also have redeemed IHG points for this stay. Reward Night rates at this Indigo tend to be around 40,000. At USD0.5 cents per point, the “cost” of a Reward Night would have been around SGD280. At that sort of rates, it’s pretty much a toss up between points and paying cash. Hence on this occasion I preferred to keep the points for future use.
Location
As its name suggests, the Hotel Indigo Singapore Katong is located in well, Katong. While a little distance, relatively speaking, from the central areas of Orchard, Marina Bay and the CBD, the location is pretty good. The location could probably be considered “city fringe”. Nothing is far in Singapore anyway. The hotel is about a 15min Grab/ taxi ride from the airport. While there’s no MRT nearby at the moment, that will change in a couple of years when the next phase of the Thomson-East Coast Line opens. There’s plenty of buses along East Coast Road directly in front of the hotel, and along Marin Parade Road just behind it.
The Indigo is actually co-located in a small mall with a Holiday Inn Express. However as of writing, that HIX Express (Holiday Inn Express Singapore Katong) isn’t operating. Besides the mall that the Indigo is located within, there’s several other malls located nearby (i12 Katong, Parkway Parade) and loads of eating options. The Katong/ East Coast has seen tons of new cafes popping out in the last couple of years, joining established local delights.
My only gripe, and this is mostly because I’m used to driving almost everywhere here, is the relatively pricey parking. I do understand the Indigo doesn’t manage the carpark and I’m guessing almost all their guests don’t drive. Still, if many other hotels in Singapore located in integrated developments can work out an arrangement for complimentary parking for guests, surely the Indigo could do better on this front? SGD36 for daily parking (per their website) seems a little steep.
In terms of location, the only downside of the Indigo would be the lack of MRT access for now. Otherwise, as long as guests are not planning to spend every day in downtown/ Orchard, it’s a perfectly fine location with loads of amenities nearby.
Check-in
I ended up driving to the hotel despite the parking costs, due to the rainy weather. To get to the Indigo from the mall’s carpark, I actually had to go through the mall and out to get to the Indigo’s entrance. I reached the hotel a little before 5pm. The hotel’s front entrance is dominated by a huge plant wall, with an opening in the middle exposing the shallow ramp to the lobby. The hotel sign is pretty obvious though, so there’s no risk of missing the entrance.
At the lobby, there were a couple of other groups of guests checking-in, but there was one free staff who attended to me immediately. My IHG Diamond status was reocgnised, and I was offered a choice of welcome amenity between breakfast, points or a drinks vouchers. I opted for breakfast, which would be at the hotel’s restaurant Baba Chews.
My IHG app had shown an upgrade from the base King Standard to a King Heritage View. Rooms in the Indigo are virtually identical, with the only difference being the view and bed configuration, and some of the Heritage View rooms have a bathtub. The bathtub-equipped rooms are Heritage View only, and form a separate category above normal Heritage View rooms. I was tempted to push for a further upgrade to one of these, but since I was walking about with a bandaged foot, I figured a bathtub would go unused anyway.
I was given my keycards, a souvenir postcard and a welcome letter listing my IHG Diamond Elite benefits and a basic map printed on the bottom half with all the neighbourhood sights highlighted. The map was a nice touch and an early sign how the hotel respects and promotes the local culture and heritage. However, the list of benefits was totally generic like it was copied off IHG’s website, and I would rather they not write my points balance on the letter. I get they’re either trying to be helpful, or encouraging guests to burn some points, but because it was written there I felt the need to rip up the letter before disposing it when leaving the hotel. There was no identifying info on it other than my surname, but I’d rather everyone not know how many points I have in my account.
The lobby, and indeed most of the hotel, was decked out in Peranakan style prints. These included the walls, glass panels in the public areas, even the lift. Again, this reflects the Peranakan legacy of the Katong-Joo Chiat area where the hotel is located. Personally I found all the Peranakan influences a quite fascinating throwback to the days when architecture and design in Singapore had more ethnic and cultural influence, though some may find the hotel’s décor little too much and kitschy.
The Room
My upgraded Heritage View room was on the 10th floor. The rooms being nearly all identical, they all measure 30sqm. While it was stated as 30sqm, it actually felt more spacious than that. That sense of spaciousness is largely due to the omission of a desk. Given that, it’s clearly not suited to the corporate travel crowd, nor those on “workcation”. However I don’t think those are the hotel’s main target markets anyway.
The overall layout of the room, including the lack of desk, reminded me very much of the Hotel Indigo Hakone Gora that I stayed at last month in Japan. Likewise, the design features of the room are very much influenced by, and reflect the local neighbourhood heritage. The décor is of course, distinctly Peranakan.. There’s Peranakan patterns all over, from the ceiling light covers, to the bed headboard, and the toilet tiles.
Starting at the entrance, the toilet is located just off the entryway, and full decked out in Peranakan-style tiles. The toilet fixtures are all very modern of course, though the shelf beneath the sink has an old school feel about it.
The wardrobe is a little more standard hotel, though the inside is a rather eye-catching not-quite-indigo purple. If they were going to use purple, why not make it Indigo? It is a Hotel Indigo after all….
The wardrobe itself contained the usual items – safe, slippers, robes, iron and ironing board
The minibar is reminiscent of glass-door display cabinets that locals would use to store and display their ornate crockery. Indeed, the hotel has placed a few such pieces on display above the minibar. Thankfully it’s out of reach of children and clumsy adults like myself. The mugs provided had rooster prints on it, a design commonly found in 20th-century Singapore.
The minibar fridge wasn’t stocked, but there was plenty of interesting items provided. The tea was from TWG, while the coffee was Bacha. Both are “Singaporean” brands, in the sense they share the Singapore-based parent company, and a considered high-end. I say “Singaporean”, because in the case of Bacha the original Bacha Coffee has Moroccan roots. Regardless, they are of a higher and pricier standard than I would have expected from Indigo.
Besides these, three jars of classic local candies were provided. I’m probably too young to recognise two of them, but it was lovely to see a childhood favourite, White Rabbit candy. Technically White Rabbit is Chinese, but it’s considered a classic Singapore candy by locals.
Beside the minibar cabinet, the hotel had placed a pair of Chinese clogs. Strictly for display though, they’re not meant to be worn. The hotel would happily sell a pair to guests.
The small sitting area has furniture that also look like they belong to a different era. The sofa a basic dark wooden frame, with colourful (gaudy?) seat cushions typical mid to late 20th century Singapore. It wasn’t that long ago – maybe 20ish years – that my grandparents had a sofa like that.
The table was designed to resemble a carrom board, though of course it can’t be used as one.
On the table was welcome card from the hotel’s GM, along with a welcome gift of a couple of chocolates. I have to say the hotel puts in a decent amount of effort in recognising my IHG Diamond Elite status. The welcome card was a solid postcard type material, and the text was fully printed. Which means they have to print a card for every IHG Diamond guests since its personalised with the surname.
Despite Covid-19 now being considered endemic and almost all restrictions in Singapore already removed, the hotel still puts in effort to hold up the IHG Clean Promise and provide hygiene items. A signed card from housekeeping was left on the bedside to indicate who had cleaned the room. I had no issues with the cleanliness of the room, so looks like said housekeeper did a good job.
The bed was a standard king size. The throw pillows had more Peranakan print. The bed itself was a little too soft for my liking, while the sheets could be a bit softer, but overall it was fine to sleep on.
The bedside tables on each side had a lamp, and wall-mounted light switches and universal power outlets. The clock and phone were on one of the bedside tables.
There’s a TV of course, wall-mounted facing the bed.
While the toilet was at the front of the entrance, the bathroom was located farthest into the room, by the windows. The Heritage View by the way, in my opinion doesn’t have much heritage about it. True, it does face some traditional style shophouses, but those are few and far between now. Most of the surrounding areas are now just landed houses and low-rise condominiums.
The bathroom is also full of nostalgic fixtures. The vanity is designed like a retro sewing machine table, with the the footrest. In the corner is a string chair, another common sight in the olden days. The cups for rinsing were made of thin metal, another throwback. There’s even a chamber pot, which I assumed was the dustbin for the bathroom.
In rooms that come with the bathtub, the tub takes the space where the string chair is placed.
The hotel couldn’t claim to showcase the local heritage if it didn’t have a ‘Good Morning Towel’. These towels were often draped around the necks of rickshaw pullers and other manual labourers in Singapore during the early and mid 20th century. Together with the towel, the hotel also provides a metal washbasin for guests to wash their feet Peranakan style.
This room was only fitted with a shower. There was both a rain shower and shower head. The Peranakan pattern tiles of course continue into the shower area.
The toiletries provided are from Biology Skin, an Australian skincare brand. This was the same as the Hotel Indigo Hakone.
As a local, I found the room rather charming. It’s quite clear the hotel has taken great care to select elements of local heritage to showcase. Personally, I think the hotel to infuse the heritage elements into modern furnishings e.g. the bathroom vanity, carrom board coffee table. Perhaps, the décor could get a little too much after a longer period. I Some guests may find the kaleidoscope of colours a tad overwhelming. Still, I think the hotel has done a good job of incorporating elements of what it was like to live like in a bygone era of Singapore, while layering everything expected of a modern lifestyle hotel on top.
Food & Beverage
The hotel has one inhouse all-day restaurant, Baba Chews. I would describe Baba Chews as serving fusion Singaporean-Western cuisine. Many of the Singaporean dishes have Peranakan origins. Personally I find their menu – found here – a little too fusion for me, so I’ve not actually patronised them up to this point. As an IHG Diamond Elite, I get 20% off my bill there, even when not staying in the hotel. For this stay, I only had breakfast there, which was my welcome amenity choice.
The decor of the restaurant, much like rest of the hotel, is full of Peranakan style print.
Breakfast runs from 6.30am to 10.30am daily. It consists of a continental buffet, and a couple of daily ala carte selections. The menu for the daily selections can be found here. Since it was a Saturday morning, the choices were fried glutinous rice or roti prata. Normally I would have gone straight for the prata, but I couldn’t figure what they meant by fried glutinous rice, so I decided to try that. Turns out, it was similar something my late paternal grandmother used to cook. It was a great nostalgic moment for me, though of course my late grandmother did it better.
The buffet was a standard selection of cereals, breads, cold cuts etc. It wasn’t the widest selection I’ve seen, but it was sufficient. In any case, there’s plenty of great options around the hotel, and I was saving space for these. The room where the buffet was located was quite small, so I imagine it could get too cramped during breakfast peak hour.
I feel the Hotel Indigo’s breakfast is decent, but unremarkable. It’s nice to see the childhood snacks, and the quality of the food is acceptable. The daily hot items being limited to just 2 choices per day is a bit lacking in my opinion. While I’d still take it again as a welcome amenity, I don’t feel it’s worth paying for, whether as part of a rate or separate. There’s plenty of cheaper and more satisfying options within walking distance of the hotel. (one of the best and most famous Katong laksa is just a couple of days away in Roxy Square)
Service was also not great. My girlfriend went for breakfast before me, and ordered for me. When I got to the restaurant, I was pretty much ignored totally ignored by service staff throughout. Even when we were leaving the restaurant, I don’t really recall the staff saying goodbye or similar greetings. It’s not as if the restaurant was full, in fact it was barely half full. This lack of service was honestly quite a contrast to the front desk staff, who were friendly and helpful.
Facilities and amenities
The Hotel Indigo Singapore Katong has a rooftop outdoor pool and gym. I didn’t use either of these, but the pool actually looked like a nice place to chill on a sunny day. The pool looked big enough to do laps in if the need for aquatic exercise strikes. There’s deck chairs and handful or larger pods, the latter were fully occupied when I stopped by the pool.
The gym isn’t the biggest but has all the basic equipment, which are from Technogym. It was unoccupied when I stopped by after breakfast. Water and towels are available at the gym.
At the first floor between the lobby and Baba Chews, the hotel has a small retail cum lounge area retailing many of the heritage items found around the hotel e.g. the clogs.
Conclusion
The Hotel Indigo Singapore Katong is a pretty lovely, for an urban hotel. It plays heavily to the local history and heritage, but does so in a mostly tasteful and fun manner. The rooms incorporate loads of throwbacks to Singapore of my parents and grandparents’ times. It doesn’t neglect to provide a good hotel experience as well, save for the underwhelming breakfast offerings. In line with the Indigo brand identity, it delivers a boutique experience with all the features of an premium international brand. At the right price, it’s a great choice for visitors to Singapore, and even locals looking for a staycation (assuming you don’t live in the eastside). I’m probably a little biased, since I quite of the East Coast area, so I definitely wouldn’t mind spending a lazy weekend a the Hotel Indigo Singapore Katong.
Have you stayed at the Hotel Indigo Singapore? How was your experience there?