Last week Mike Campbell and I had the pleasure of touring the Efroymson Conservation Center, home of
The Nature Conservancy in Indiana. In April the organization held their opening gala and we played host to some of their out of town guests in for the celebration. Since our Indianapolis green hotel is a member of some of the same treehugger groups as The Nature Conservancy, it was a natural (no pun intended) for us to partner up and provide their guests some rooms at our property.
The Efroymson Conservation Center is located on East Ohio Street, just a quick walk from our downtown Indianapolis historic hotel. Mike and I were greeted by some beautiful landscaping at the back and Indiana limestone, yellow poplar, red oak, shagbark hickory and maple flooring and paneling in the entry way. Our guide toured us through two levels, a basement and roof pointing out neat features along the way.
Some of my favorite green features: all lights are on motion sensors, suspended flooring with interchangeable tiles with vents for cool air and of course the green roofs! From Ohio Street you can see the intensive green roof which has native Indiana plants and a deeper soil base. The building rooftop has an extensive green roof with a shallow soil base and low-lying plants. The bees seem to love it up there and it has a great view of the Maxwell apartments and of downtown!
In the basement they have a wall of windows looking out onto a Live Wall. This wall consists of many cement blocks which are staggered and act as planters. Soil is planted in each one and four different cliff-dwelling plants are planted in the soil. It's pretty amazing and I really need to find a way to build my own...in the office...
As downtown Indy hotels and other businesses continue their green efforts, I hope they will look to new construction projects like that of Efroymson Conservation Center for ideas and self-sufficiency. They won an
award, you know!
While perusing Twitter for interesting things around town, I came across this link. Indianapolis was listed in the top 50 bike-friendly cities in the country! Although there are many trails in Indy to ride, the most well-known and probably the most popular is the Monon Trail. It's beginning/end points are located in downtown, near 10th and Massachusetts, connects with the Monon Greenway at 96th Street and ends at 146th and Gray Road.
Mass Ave is a great place to start, too! The avenue touts some great local restaurants, unique shopping, salons, theatres and music venues. Our hotel is the closest of the downtown Indy hotels near Murat Centre, where touring bands, comedians and plays stop to entertain. Another staple, and one of my personal favorites, The Rathskeller is on Mass Ave. They have a great outdoor biergarten with concerts in the summer, a beautiful historic feel and a dizzying list of great German beers from which to choose! Also, many of the weddings booked at The Rathskeller find accommodations for their guests at our Indianapolis wedding hotel.
The Monon is paved and has great scenery along the way. From industrial warehouses to residential areas and a jaunt through Broad Ripple, the Monon has lots to see in its 15.5 miles. The Monon begins just 1.5 walking/riding miles from the Hilton Garden Inn Indianapolis Downtown. So you can start here, ride up, check out Broad Ripple and Carmel or start up there and come visit our hotel Indianapolis green hotel just off the greenway!
Indianapolis is fast becoming a major destination for individuals and families looking for an enjoyable and affordable getaway! The beautiful, historic Hilton Garden Inn Indianapolis Downtown hotel is an ideal hotel to select when seeking exemplary discount hotel accommodations for your next Indianapolis visit In addition to our out of town guests, HGI is becoming ever popular with local residents looking for the perfect, yet inexpensive “staycation”! Many of our guests like our staff and amenities so much, they visit us again and again. This allows us to develop an ongoing rapport with these visitors, and most importantly it allows us to individualize our services even more, to better meet the needs of these guests.
When considering y our next getaway, be sure to call the Hilton Garden Inn – Downtown Indianapolis (317-955-9700) and inquire about your next great hotel deal located in the heart of the city!
***While in Indianapolis, you might want to consider visiting one or more of the following attractions:
The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis
The State Soldiers and Sailors Monument and Civil War Museum
Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Museum (Home of the Indianapolis 500)
Indianapolis Museum of Art
NCAA Hall of Champions
Indiana State Museum
Lucas Oil Stadium (Home of the Indianapolis Colts)
Downtown Indy’s Circle Centre Mall
Wow! it is hard to believe that the Big Ten Tournament is about to start again; it just seemed like yesterday our downtown Indianapolis hotel was playing host to some of the most notable teams in the Big Ten Conference. This year is extra special as the city of Indianapolis takes center stage in the NCAA Tournament. With the selections and seedings being announced right here in Indianapolis before the Tournament, as well as the Final Four with the Championship game being played at Lucas Oil Stadium downtown, there is sure to be a buzz in and around our city for the next couple months.
With all the action and excitement located just blocks away from the Hilton Garden Inn, there is an opportunity to be part of March Madness as it transcends into downtown Indianapolis. There are a very limited amount of spaces available for the women’s as well as the men’s Big Ten Tournament, so don’t delay and make your reservations today! We are one of the hotels near Conseco Fieldhouse, at only two blocks which is a very convenient walk to all the action, and near Indianapolis Airport. So when you’re searching for downtown Indianapolis hotel accommodations, and cheer on your team, join us at the Hilton Garden Inn Indianapolis Downtown! Although the Final Four is not available, don’t miss the chance to be a part of this historic year in the Big Ten Conference as well as the NCAA Final Four!
The Hilton Garden Inn Indianapolis Downtown is the most newly renovated hotel in Indianapolis downtown. These changes make us one of the best hotels near Indianapolis Convention Center and Lucas Oil Stadium. As of today all projects are complete. The project required some great coordination by the housekeeping, maintenance, and front desk staffs to ensure that our guest service did not suffer during the renovation. We accomplished this by keeping any work well away from any guests that might be staying in the hotel at the time this work was completed. The results of the renovation are terrific. The designer took our comments about ensuring our desire to continue giving great hotel accommodations Indianapolis.
Already we are getting very positive feedback from frequent guests about the enhancements made to the décor as well as our conversion to the GSS bedding system. In addition to replacing the carpeting throughout the entire building, we added a new soft seating chair and ottoman that compliments the existing décor as well as being a comfortable place to watch the big game on our LG flat panel televisions.
I am by no means a great photographer, and these photos don't do the changes justice. The most dramatic change is to our lobby and restaurant . As an important historic hotel of Indianapolis, we had to ensure that the changes were in keeping with the great flavor of the Fletcher Trust Building. The new colors compliment the historic flavor of the building while adding a new design element . The restaurant design enhancements have opened up the area to a more relaxed atmosphere. Whereas the feel of the restaurant was classic and established, maybe even a little boring before, the new semicircular booths, additional flat panel TVs, and lighting enhancements give the area a trendier atmosphere that is more fun to hang out in.
Let me know what you think, or better yet stop in and see for yourself.
The Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra is proud to present the Duke Energy Yuletide Celebration! A time-honored tradition complete with tap dancing Santas and flying reindeer, these shows are not to be missed. December 4 is the opening weekend at Hilbert Circle Theatre downtown Indianapolis on Monument Circle, a two minute walk from our historic hotel.
Keeping with our tradition, we are proud to once again partner with the ISO and WFYI to offer two incredible Indianapolis hotel packages! The first hotel package, Yuletide, Shop & Stay, is valued at almost $400 and includes:
- Hotel accommodations at the Hilton Garden Inn Indianapolis Downtown,
- Two main floor tickets to the Yuletide Celebration,
- One year membership to WFYI, breakfast for two,
- A $25 Simon Malls Visa Gift Card and
- A gift bag with shopping coupons and goodies from WFYI!
You also get a voucher for two Lilly
Classical Series tickets for a future show and all for only $219!
The second hotel package, Yuletide, Stay & SAVE, is valued at almost $350 and includes:
- Accommodations at our three star hotel downtown Indianapolis,
- Two 2nd mezzanine tickets to the Yuletide Celebration,
- One year membership to WFYI,
- Breakfast for two and
- A special holiday surprise gift!
This great hotel deal also comes with the Lilly
Classical Series voucher for two tickets to a future show. All this for only $189!
Both packages are available online or by calling 317.955.9700. For show dates and times, visit the ISO website. Reserve by Monday, November 23 and receive an email invitation to our annual Tree Lighting Ceremony Party held on Friday, November 27 in conjunction with the
Circle of Lights®.There will be a special appearance by Santa and PBS KIDS character Clifford, the Big Red Dog! If you'd like to stay with us that night and have access to this invitation-only party, you can make your room reservation
here!
The staff at the Hilton Garden Inn Indianapolis Downtown has the caught the FEVER! No, not a temperature, but for our Lady Fever. We want to send out out congratulations for making it to our first WNBA Finals! The ladies will be taking on the Mercury in game 3 at Conseco Fieldhouse on October 4, 2009.
Maybe you can "catch the fever" and make it an overnight. Looking for a hotel deal in Indianapolis? Look no further. We offer great Indianapolis hotel packages. You can't beat out location... one of the closest hotels to Conseco Fieldhouse. Go to work on Tuesday and let your co-workers be green with envy, that you were able to see the Fever win, and stay at a historic hotel of Indianapolis. Start by checking into a room with a view of the Monument Circle and before the game have dinner in our American Grill, but don't stop there. Have a victory drink in our lounge before calling it a night. We'll see you in the morning for an amazing hot breakfast buffet. Our staff is second to none and is proud to be one of the star hotels of Downtown Indianapolis. What are you waiting for?
Make your hotel accommodations now and start the celebration!
This week work began on the installation of our new roof! We are replacing our traditional EPDM or black rubber roofing on both our 4th floor and 16th floor roof landings with Firestone White TPO roofing material. This material carries an energy star rating for commercial building. As we strive to be more green hotel Indianapolis, the opportunity to improve our carbon footprint while taking care of a planned capital improvement appealed to us. The change from a black roof to a white roof does not affect the historic aspect of this building. This is important, so that we also stay consistent with our commitment as a historic hotel Indianapolis.
This new "White TPO roof" has several green components: 1. Because it is white, it reduces the heat island effect produced in urban areas with large areas of dark rooftops and asphalt and concrete roads, 2. The increase in heat reflection reduces the amount of energy needed to keep the temperature cool inside the building thereby reducing our utilities, and 3. The roof material is heat adhered to the building rather than with more traditional roofing adhesives that are more caustic.
The choice of using this material was a no-brainer. We were able to replace our roof with a white roof for the same cost as a traditional black EPDM roof and with the same warranty of 15years. The material cost of the White TPO roof is a little more but the labor investment is less and it is not as dependent on weather for installation as a traditional rubber roof, so you can do it later in the year. So for the same cost, we were able to further our green initiative, reduce our utility usage, and accumulate some energy star building credits.
This roof replacement should take about 3 weeks.
If you are going to be traveling regularly to downtown Indianapolis over the next year or so, you should definitely attend one of the Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra’s upcoming concerts. The 2009-2010 Season starts this September and will end in May of 2010. Throughout this period, you can experience an outstanding repertoire of classic creations by the Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra…how do we know this? Christian Celis-Schemidt, our Director of Sales, has joined the Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra’s Board of Directors.
Within this organization, one of the things Christian will work toward is advancing the artistic contribution that this fine organization makes to our city, by raising the awareness to expand its audience. So, if you are in town over the next few months, please check the Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra’ website for performances (http://www.icomusic.org). Also, starting in September, the Chamber Orchestra will be celebrating its 25th year and for the occasion, they will feature a myriad of talented musicians for every taste and every season. Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony and Handel’s Messiah are only glimpses of the upcoming performances.
A collaborative creation with the American Pianist Association is also a part of this celebration. “ICO [Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra] Conversations concert will feature a performance by American Pianists Association Fellow, Adam Golka, followed by a distinctive, intimate discussion about music. This unique concert experience caters to audience involvement, allowing the exploration of the lives and contributions of pianist-composers such as Rachmaninoff, Chopin, and Liszt”. Be a part of this fine organization by joining Christian at these distinguished concerts!
Why not make a night of it? While enjoying the ICO at the Eugene and Marilyn Glick Indiana History Center – Frank and Katrina Basile Theater, stay at a historic hotel in Indianapolis! It's a great idea for Indianapolis group travel. Call Christian at (317) 405-5708 and he can help you set up a hotel package with the ICO and a block of rooms at our beautiful Indianapolis downtown hotel!
Yesterday we received the final approval for the furniture design and color scheme of the updates to our lobby area. As we are a Historic Hotel the designer was very careful not to affect any historic aspect of the building or lobby area but merely freshen the colors and give the atmosphere a slightly more contemporary feel. The lamps and furniture can be seen below.
The colors will be a brighter pallet than what is reflected here and will feature functional space that will allow visitors to utilize laptops and other electronic devices that can take advantage of our wireless internet access.
In keeping with our environmental commitments to be a more green hotel Indianapolis, all lobby furnishing that are being replaced will be either reused or recycled elsewhere.
The hotel rooms, meeting rooms, and restaurant are also being renovated and once completed we will be the most newly renovated hotel in downtown Indianapolis. Target date is the end of the year.
...Everywhere I look around! Love is in the air, every sight and every sound!
I can't believe I haven't blogged about this yet! I receive many phone calls from soon-to-be brides and grooms, friends of the couple, planners, mothers and fathers. They look for blocks of discount hotel rooms and hotels near the Murat Centre or Mavris, Scottish Rite, The Rathskeller or Fountain Square Theatre or ceremony or reception site. They want menus for rehearsal dinners and brunches. Almost every weekend throughout the year, the Hilton Garden Inn is host to many friends and family members of the soon-to-be Mr. and Mrs.
There are many Indianapolis wedding hotels from which to choose. Of the downtown Indianapolis hotels, I think we are a great choice! Of course, I am biased, but it's a charming historic hotel in Indianapolis, and soon to be newly renovated hotel! Our great location, history, friendly staff, comfy rooms and catering capabilities make us a great option! With that said, I thought I might offer some of my own planning tips for our Indianapolis wedding hotel:
- If your reception serves alcohol, choose a hotel close to the reception location. Guests will appreciate the short walk or cheap cab ride back. If not, consider providing a shuttle for your guests. I can give you some choices.
- Have your rehearsal dinner or day-after brunch in the hotel! You will be able to get a great deal on a private room for your meal(s) when you have a room block in the hotel.
- Research the hotel online before you call. Many times I get calls asking to accommodate 250 or 300 guests for a reception - too large for us. I hate telling someone that we can't do it, and they waste precious planning time.
- Gift bags are a big hit! Thank your guests for sharing in your union by making gift bags for them. We will deliver them out at check-in!
- Why not take advantage of the hotel for your bachelor or bachelorette parties? Indianapolis group travel rates are available for you!
For helpful tips from Hilton, check out their
Guestiquette page. Then call us!
Check out our Solar Panel Production link on our
Hilton Garden Indianapolis Downtown website's environment page. We installed this 4.05KWh system on March 19th earlier this year and in that time it has produced over 1,600 KWh of electricity. While this represents a small portion of our hotel overall electric use, it does reduce our demand on peak or during the hottest portion of the day, thereby reducing our overall electric bill. This project was completed with the help of the Indiana Department of Energy and Defense, and we are the only Indianapolis Area Hotel to have such a visible green component. I snapped this photo back in early April on a clear day and you can just see the Soldier and Sailors Monument and the State Capital building in the background. The three other prominent buildings are the Key Bank (Market Square) Tower, the Old National Bank building, and the One America Building (formerly AUL).
I was interested to see today that Indiana continues to become more involved in the encouragement of alternative energy sources and is currently soliciting the headquarters of a wind turbine manufacturer to relocate to the state. We considered wind energy initially but were afraid it would detract from the exterior, whereas the solar panels were low profile and would not change the profile of the building. We take our responsibility as a historic hotel Indianapolis seriously and wouldn't want to detract from this unique character of our hotel. These solar panels allow us to continue to green our hotel and not interfere with the historic exterior profile of the building.
One of the most Guest Focused of the Downtown Indy Hotels continues to green it's business! If you are looking for Hotel Accommodations Indianapolis with an active commitment to the environment this is the place.
During the last 12 months we have worked diligently to incorporate more sustainable practices and become a more green hotel in Indianapolis. This process is a logical extension of our historic building and a more clearly stated desire of our guests to be more eco-friendly.
The Fletcher Trust Building, constructed in 1915 is a classic example of the period's architecture and great care was taken with preservation of the existing structure when the Hilton Garden Inn was opened in 2003. The hotel carries a historic landmark status making it one of best examples of a historic hotels in Indianapolis. Preservation and Conservation are very compatible goals and partly for this reason last year we began to actively incorporate green business practices in our operation.
To check out our environmental statement visit our site
www.hiltongardenindianapolis.com/green. You can even view the current electrical production of our new solar panel array commissioned just 2 months ago. As we continue to evolve into one of the more prominent Green Hotels Indianapolis we welcome you input on what else we could be doing.
Guess what? King Tut is coming to Indianapolis! The Children's Museum of Indianapolis will host the Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of Pharaohs exhibit from June 27 to October this year! As an historic hotel in Indianapolis, we can definitely appreciate the history this exhibit will bring to the city.
Don't forget, our three star hotel is downtown Indianapolis only three miles from the Children's Museum. We are one of many downtown Indy hotels which is close to the museum, but we are one of the
closest! The Children's Museum is a site in itself as it is the largest of its kind in the world.
Many residents, guests and hoteliers are excited about this exhibit! We are one of many area hotels which with Indianapolis hotel packages especially for this exhibit. Our two packages each include breakfast, tickets to the exhibit and parking...a superb hotel deal in Indianapolis! You can reserve your package online today by visiting
this site. We have one for families and one for adults only!
Searching for Indianapolis group travel to bring a school group or bus tour? We would be happy to help you with special rates! Please contact me at the number or email below to set up your Indianapolis hotel reservations today! While you're in town, don't forget we are one of the closest hotels near Conseco Fieldhouse to check out a Pacers game. Want to check out our Super Bowl XLI champs the Indianapolis Colts? We are one of the hotels near Lucas Oil Stadium and there are four home games in the pre-season and regular season to catch while in Indy.
We hope to see you soon!
Lindsay Gill
Leisure & Online Sales Manager
(317) 405-5710
lgill@fhginc.com
Wow! What a race! Hollywood couldn't have written a better story. We would like to congratulate all of the drivers that were in the 2009 Indianapolis 500. We send warm wishes of recovery to Vitor Meira and Tony Kanaan. Race fans don't get down, we have the Brickyard 400 just around the corner! Please log onto our website to see some of our amazing Indianapolis Hotel Packages. Weather you have group travel or are in town on leisure our historic hotel has something for everyone.
Are you coming to a summer concert at Conseco Fieldhouse? Our hotel is in a perfect location for you, just 2 blocks away! Are you attending one of the great shows at the Murat Centre? We are one of the hotels near Murat Centre! Let our amazing staff help you choose your next Indianapolis attraction.
The Hilton Garden Inn is one of the closest hotels near Conseco Fieldhouse and the closest of the hotels near Murat Centre. Our proximity to these venues and our beautiful hotel accommodations makes us an ideal destination for group travel to Indianapolis to see your favorite band or sports teams at one of these venues. Our guest rooms have always been comfortable and fresh, and even though they still look great, we are beginning the selection phase of our interior design refresh.
We'll want to make our new design both pleasing to the eye and functional for the traveler by incorporating contemporary comfort and some of the newest technology. By the end of the year our hotel will be the most newly renovated hotel in Indianapolis. This redesign will be particularly careful to preserve the characteristics of this 1915 historic hotel of Indianapolis. During this process we will incorporate some aspects of reuse and recycle as we continue to strive to be one of the more green hotels in Indianapolis. We will certainly welcome any ideas that might be proposed from one of our readers or guests. One of the first adopted practices will be the commitment to send the replaced carpet to a carpet recycling facility.
Mike Campbell, General Manager
Hilton Garden Inn Downtown Indianapolis
Welcome to the Hilton Garden Inn Indianapolis Downtown blog! For our first post, we would like to tell you a little bit about our downtown Indy hotel and what we will discuss.
The Hilton Garden Inn Indianapolis Downtown is an historic hotel in downtown Indianapolis renovated from the American Fletcher National Bank building which was built in 1915. The Hilton Garden Inn Indianapolis Downtown is a three star hotel located on the corner of Market and Pennsylvania Street. Our downtown Indianapolis hotel is within walking distance to Conseco Fieldhouse, Lucas Oil Stadium and the Murat Centre.
Our bloggers and what they will be discussing:
Michael Campbell - General Manager
Mike will be blogging about our sustainability efforts. Mike has been instrumental in implementing eco-friendly practices to make the Hilton Garden Inn Indianapolis Downtown a green hotel in Indianapolis.
Teresa Tracy - Assistant General Manager
Teresa will blog about what's going on in downtown Indianapolis and how it relates to the hotel. There are lots of events throughout the year so she will have much to write about.
Megan Mills - Guest Service Manager
Megan will be discussing what's going on at the Hilton Garden Inn Indianapolis Downtown. Whether we are welcoming convention attendees, reviewing a recent client function or recognizing a member of our staff, Megan will write about it.
Lindsay Gill - Leisure & Online Sales Manager
I will be discussing the special offers and hotel deals, hotel packages, weddings, meetings and banquets at the Hilton Garden Inn Indianapolis Downtown.
The Hilton Garden Inn Indianapolis Downtown staff looks forward to telling you more about our hotel, our team and what's going on in Indy!
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