WHEN I found out I would be spending a weekend away in Chester, I knew I’d be experiencing a new side to the north.

Neatly tucked between ageing cobblestones and 2,000 year-old city walls is a new contemporary boutique hotel made for both business and luxurious leisure.

The Hotel Indigo Chester, located in the heart of the historic Roman city and just an 8-min stroll from the main train station, has been open to guests since 2019 and is designed to reflect the rich architecture and famous ties to horse racing. 

As one of the world’s largest hotel groups, whether you are there for eloquent meetings and dining or a short city stay with must-have shops nearby, the Hotel Indigo Chester promises to have something in mind for all guests. If you’re a little like me who likes to discover city breaks on your doorstep, the little town of Chester promises to take you back in time.

Room with a View

The lavish 75-rooms at the Hotel Indigo Chester begins are modern and sleek, yet with a traditional twist in true Chester fashion. Hotel Indigo properties are alike; each is designed to uniquely reflect the local culture, character, and history of the surrounding area.

In Chester, it boasts three unique interior styles including Material Layers, which is an ode to the architecture throughout the city; The Eastgate Clock features nods to the famous clock and its designer John Douglas; and the Racecourse theme rooms which pays homage to the UK’s oldest racecourse based in Chester. 

There rooms have optimal levels of opulence for your liking from The Grosvenor which sits on the top floor and makes way for stunning balcony views of Chester, plus a four-poster king sized bed. The Deluxe room offers more space and light for guests, upgraded toiletries and is nicely known as a quiet room as they are situated at the end of the corridors.

The Standard rooms range from double to twin rooms, which is where I stayed for my weekend getaway. Although, I’m not a horse racing fan myself, you didn’t have to be to appreciate the details that had been put into the decorating the themed room.

From each crevice and corner, it was about spotting the horse racing trinkets from barn doors for cupboards to horse saddle buckles for headboards. The cupboards slid away in true barn door fashion, revealing amenities such as a conveniently hidden away fridge and a safe, while a 46 inch smart TVs with Chromecast built in sits just a few feet from the beds.

The bathroom was accompanied with a dim light option featuring a stylish spa-inspired waterfall shower head and high-end toiletries. While being bright and certainly colourful, the room is still the perfect place to relax before dinner and wind down before bed with artisan nibbles and refreshments at your disposal. 

Rooms start from £119 per night

The Forge at Night

Situated downstairs near the lobby sits The Forge cocktail bar and restaurant, an elegant and opulent drinks and dining experience to grace the end of your day. Seated in their comfortable, circular booths in a spacious yet cosy restaurant, I experienced a three-course A La Carte offering on the menu along with recommended wines and an open-kitchen where the food is roasted or grilled over blazing beech and oak log, where the delicate plating of the food can be seen firsthand.

Driven by head chef, Dan Regan, you can expect to be eating some of the finest British wild meat and fish, with options like dry-aged beef in the form of Sirloin and Ribeye steak and succulent venison for your palette.

For a light snack, I had the golden and crispy Cauliflower Cheese Croquettes, drizzled in truffle aioli, giving the crunch of the croquette a zesty kick. This was followed by a Cured North Sea salmon dressed in buttermilk, compressed apple, baby beetroot and topped with caviar. 

A refreshing and light start to ease you into more filling mains where I opted for the Glazed Merrifield duck breast as a confit leg on a bed of pearl barley risotto, BBQ pumpkin, cranberry, kale – a rich and hearty dish that echoed the cosy comfort of a Sunday roast. 

Dessert was a rich and buttery Sticky Date Sponge, doused in a miso caramel sauce and served with light and airy vanilla ice cream. The warmness of the toffee sponge paired perfectly with the chilled aroma of whipped vanilla, proving to be a decadent melt in your mouth pairing. 

The Forge also offers buffet-style breakfast for those with a lighter palette such as cereals, breakfast muffins and pastries and another A La Carte menu with hot food breakfast classics such as a Full English with all the trimmings to an Eggs Benedict with regular top ups of both tea and coffee.

The Hotel Indigo Chester promises to be a hotel which gives you the freedom for a mult-faceted city-centre-style stay with options right on your doorstep to more cosy evenings in the Roman inspired-city. Or if you’re a tad like me, it’s a perfect stop-over for a short-city-breaker.

Bookings are available for any number of persons and private dining requires a booking of 12 people maximum. 

Bookings for meeting rooms start from £45