Hotel Room Indianapolis

2010 Rib America Festival Indianapolis Hotel Deal

Friday, July 30, 2010 by Lindsay Gill

If you have been paying attention, you know I love to give discount Indianapolis hotel accommodations and offer great Indianapolis hotel packages. With that said, let me introduce you to the 15th Annual Rib America Festival!

We have two hotel deals again this year:
Rib America Festival - room only and
Ribs & More 2010 - package room with admission, food & beverage tickets and breakfast in the hotel!
Click on one of the links above to make your hotel reservations at our newly renovated Indianapolis hotel before these great hotel discounts expire! Or call the Hilton Garden Inn Indianapolis Downtown at 317.955.9700.

As I said last year, it's the best carnivorous event of the summer!
When: Labor Day weekend, September 3-6
Where: Military Park, Downtown Indianapolis (5-6 blocks from our HGI)
What: Tasty ribs, cool drinks, awesome vendors, great music, and LOTS of wet wipes!

Friday, 9/3: Stereo Deluxe, L.A. Guns & Bret Michaels
Saturday, 9/4: Borrow Tomorrow, Healing Sixes, ZOSO (The Ultimate Led Zeppelin Experience), Jackyl, The Marshall Tucker Band & Ted Nugent
Sunday, 9/5: Dane Clark, The Why Store, The Reverend Peyton's Big Damn Band, Seven Mary Three, Candlebox & Collective Soul
Monday, 9/6: Corey Cox, Pat Travers Band, Foghat & Blue Oyster Cult

One of my FAVORITE bands to see live...EVER...Candlebox:

Indianapolis Hotel Packages

Wednesday, July 28, 2010 by Lindsay Gill

I met with Jillian's a couple weeks ago and was treated to lunch. Do you know Jillian's? It's that restaurant/bar/club/bowling alley/billiards room/arcade entertainment venue in downtown Indianapolis just a few blocks from the Hilton Garden Inn. The food was delicious! I had a chicken pasta dish and sweet tea. Just a heads up, if you haven't eaten there, you should really take the time to check it out. Their menu is varied and my contact recommends just about everything!

During my meeting, we discussed an idea to set up a new Indianapolis hotel package for all you guests out there. It will partner our downtown Indy hotel with entertainment and gift certificate from Jillian's to keep you occupied while there. Another hotel deal I'm working on is with the Indiana Repertory Theatre, or IRT. Stay and see a play, experience the Indy arts scene. Keep your eyes peeled for a couple new packages coming this August!

Don't forget about our other packages we're always selling. Our hotel packages are a great way to find a discount hotel room in Indianapolis paired with great goodies from local businesses or from our hotel.
Indianapolis Zoo Package
Circle Centre Shopping Package
Wine Lovers Package and
Romance Package
Just go to our website and check availability for your preferred staycation date and see which one fits you best!

The Nature Conservancy in Indiana

Thursday, July 1, 2010 by Lindsay Gill

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!

HGI Downtown Indy receives Green Key Designation

Friday, April 9, 2010 by Michael Campbell

Located in the heart of Downtown, the Hilton Garden Inn is one of the closest hotels to Lucas Oil Stadium, the Indianapolis Convention Center, and Conseco Fieldhouse, and is adjacent to the tallest skyscraper in the city. Not the place you'd think to find one of the greenest hotels in Indianapolis.

However, just this month, the Hilton Garden Inn Indianapolis Downtown received a 4 Green Keys designation by Green Key Global. We are the first hotel in Downtown Indianapolis awarded with this certification and the second in the city of Indianapolis. This is obviously something we are very proud of, but doesn’t represent the end of our continuing practice of adopting and developing new opportunities to enhance our sustainable operation.

Green Key Global is a international organization (US and Canada) that ranks hotels on 9 areas of sustainability (energy conservation, water conservation, solid waste management, hazardous waste management, indoor air quality, community outreach, building infrastructure, land use, and environmental management). This encompasses all facets of our business from our hotel meetings to our hotel sleeping rooms.

A Four Green Keys designation is described by Green Key Global in this way: “A hotel that has shown national industry leadership and commitment to protecting the environment through wide ranging policies and practices. Mature programs that involve management, employees, guests, and the public have shown substantial and measurable results.

If travelling green is important to you, and you need hotel accommodations Indianapolis, then we invite you to stay with us or check out our environmental statement above.

Ladies & Gentlemen, Start Your Engines!

Friday, February 12, 2010 by Lindsay Gill

Guess what? Race season is just around the corner! There are three races this season: The Indianapolis 500 (The Greatest Spectacle in Racing), the Brickyard 400 (NASCAR) and the Red Bull Indianapolis MotoGP.

As a newly renovated hotel in Indianapolis, we are happy to offer rooms and rates during the Indy 500. Our Indianapolis group travel deals are great for your group if you need ten rooms or more. The Hilton Garden Inn Indianapolis Downtown is the northmost Hilton hotel in downtown, making it the Hilton hotel nearest the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

For group rates and Indianapolis hotel reservations information, please contact Camille Lauer, Corporate Sales Manager at clauer@fhginc.com or 317.405.5710.

Colts Super Bowl Bowl Bound After Winning AFC Championship

Monday, January 25, 2010 by Lindsay Gill

Celebrate the Big Game Downtown with the Hilton Garden Inn! What better place to be than in the heart of downtown Indianapolis while the Indianapolis Colts face off against the New Orleans Saints! Check out this great Indianapolis hotel deal: Enjoy deluxe accommodations in our newly renovated hotel and breakfast for two for only $99 on Sunday, February 7. If you want to bring a couple more people to share the room, we will include breakfast for four for only $109!

Our Great American Grill and bar will be open for dinner to serve up some tasty food and drinks while you watch the game in the grill or have room service delivered to your guest room. If you want to bring your own food and drinks to your room, all guest rooms include a complimentary microwave and refrigerator.

There’s nothing wrong with a little competition…chat it up with your friends, Tweet scores and update Facebook while watching the game by using our complimentary wired and wireless high-speed internet in your guest room, our lobby or bar and grill!

You can also make a weekend out of it; these special rates are available Friday through Sunday that weekend. The Nuclear Cowboyz freestyle motocross riders will be downtown on Saturday, February 6. Being one of the hotels near Lucas Oil Stadium, you can there in a matter of minutes.

Call us today at 317.955.9700 and ask for “The Big Game” rate! Or go to our website to reserve your room online by entering group code GAME.

See you at the Hilton Garden Inn for the Big Game!! GO COLTS!!

What's Happening?

Thursday, January 14, 2010 by Lindsay Gill

Happy New Year and welcome to 2010! There's going to be a lot happening this year! The Colts have home field advantage for the playoffs and face off against the Baltimore Ravens this Saturday at Lucas Oil Stadium! Being one of the hotels near Lucas Oil Stadium, our lobby is decked out with Fatheads, flags, bobble heads and our staff will surely be in Colts attire starting tomorrow!

We are officially one of Indianapolis' newly renovated hotels! Only a few final touches remain before we're 100% complete. Our restaurant, the Great American Grill, has been completely redone and has a very chic feel to it. The guestroom beds, carpet and furniture have been replaced. Lobby furniture is brand new and, as and Indianapolis meeting hotel, we have updated our meeting space as well! Check our pictures out on our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter too!

The Hilbert Circle Theatre will be host to some great shows this season. I'm particularly interested in the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra's presentation of The Music of Pink Floyd! Of course being a concert fanatic, I'm very excited to see what other venues will present this year. We're the closest hotel to Murat Centre, so why not stay with us when you come to your next show? Don't forget about the Pacers and those performances at Conseco Fieldhouse to which we're one of the the closest hotels.

Big things will be happening in 2010! Oh...ladies and gentlemen, Valentine's Day is rapidly approaching! So when you get engaged, be sure to call our wedding hotel when you're looking for a place to host your rehearsal dinner, small ceremony or reception or simply need a discounted hotel room block for your group's travel!

Happy New Year from the Hilton Garden Inn Indianapolis Downtown!

Indianapolis Downtown Hotel installs New Carpet and recycles the old

Friday, November 13, 2009 by Michael Campbell

NEW CARPET!!!

One of the key parts of our renovation and refresh is new carpeting. We have about 40% of our guestrooms completed with thankfully little to no disruption to our guests. Because of the high rise nature of the building we have a small number of rooms on any given floor so we've been able to isolate the work from areas our guests are in. The nightmare of any guest, and therefore any General Manager, is construction work being done right next door to someone trying to sleep, relax or work. We've worked hard to make sure that doesn't happen. The carpet, gives the room a warmer feel as you can see below.

The $1.2 million investment in carpeting, bedding, and new furnishing will allow us to be the most newly renovated hotel in Indianapolis' downtown. As part of the Hilton family of hotels it is important to keep our product fresh and vibrant and comfortable for our frequent business travelers as well as for those Indianapolis Colts fans that are arriving to support the team this weekend versus the rival New England Patriots, you might want to stay at this newly renovated hotel near Lucas Oil Stadium.

Our guestrooms will be very near 100% completion by Thanksgiving. If you are Downtown for the Tree Lighting ceremony on Monument Circle, or coming into town for the MLB Winter Meetings at the Indianapolis Convention Center take a look at the newest rooms in an Indianapolis Downtown Hotel.

As I've mentioned before, part of our ongoing strategy during this renovation has been to look for ways to green the operation. In accordance with our commitment to be a green hotel, the old carpet is being recycled. Indianapolis is fortunate that we have a regional carpet recycling center located on the Northwest side of town. We are working with Kruse Carpet Recycling to ensure that the enormous amount of carpeting doesn't end up in a landfill. To see more about the process take a look at this video of the Kruse Carpet recycling process.

The cost of recycling this carpet approximates the amount we would have spent on a roll off dumpster and has kept this material from accumulating near the building and detracting from our exterior appearance. It keeps this from entering the waste stream so it's a win win for us.

Circle of Lights®

Monday, October 26, 2009 by Lindsay Gill

Since 2003, our Indianapolis downtown hotel celebrates the holiday season by throwing a great party the night after Thanksgiving! This party is by invitation only...BUT, if you do not receive an invitation, there's still a way to join us! Wanna know how?

Tell me if this sounds good. A beautiful guest room with 14' ceilings, cozy beds and some great downtown (and even Monument Circle) views on the chilly night after Thanksgiving. A great buffet with a variety of appetizers, entrees and desserts for your snacking pleasure. Hot chocolate, coffee and two free "adult beverages" at a private bar!

But wait...there's more! Live music, kids' entertainment like balloon artists, cookie decorating and even a special appearance by two beloved guests! Thanks to WFYI, Clifford, the Big Red Dog, will be here to take pictures with the kids and Santa Claus will be here for photo ops, too! If you're like me and don't like to fight the crowd outside to see the tree light up, you're in luck. Your Indianapolis hotel accommodations happen to be located just 1/2 block from the Monument! You can step outside the front door right onto Market Street, see the tree light up, bathe in the lights, then come right back inside for dessert and hot chocolate!

But wait...there's even more! You'll also have breakfast for two the next morning in the hotel's Great American Grill! A Full American breakfast buffet will be served from 7am until 12noon. On demand waffles, pancakes, French toast and fresh, cooked to order omelets are at your watering lips! I guess I'll tell you how you to get this special deal. All you have to do is visit our website, choose November 27 for your date of stay, then type in Group Code LIGHT9. You will receive a discount hotel rate for all the holiday goodness mentioned above. If you want to talk to a real person, though, you can always call up our Guest Service Reps at 317.955.9700 and ask for the Tree Lighting rate!

Well, what are you waiting for?

Duke Energy Yuletide Celebration

Friday, October 16, 2009 by Lindsay Gill

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!

Hilton Garden Indianapolis Downtown Selects Waste Management

Friday, October 9, 2009 by Michael Campbell

Starting an active recycling program in April 2007 was one of the first conscious efforts in greening our hotel. In October 2009 we've taken another important step.

We've selected Waste Management for our waste removal and recycling services for the upcoming year. Previously we had separate vendors for our trash service and our recycling service, and we have restrictions on what we can recycle and in what bins. With our switch to Waste Management this week we will be able to utilize a single stream recycling which will allow us to increase our volume of recycling and decrease our landfill waste hauling. Already in the first week, my recycling bin is overflowing and we were able to reduce our trash bin size by a full yard.

We have always struggled with the logistics of expanding recycling to our guestrooms; however with one recycling bin that takes everything now it's feasible. We anticipate being able to institute in room recycling by the end of the year or January 2010 at the latest.

This will coincide nicely with our guestroom renovation that begins at the end of this month. We are replacing all guestroom carpet, soft seating, and bedding. This should go fairly seamlessly and because of the high rise profile of the building we should be able to isolate any work being done on a completely unoccupied floor.

Got the Fever?

Thursday, October 1, 2009 by Teresa Tracy

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!

Best Available Rate Guaranteed!

Wednesday, September 9, 2009 by Lindsay Gill

Did you know Hilton Garden Inns are Best Available Rate guaranteed hotels? What does this mean? Well, it means that when you, as our potential or returning guest, are searching for Indianapolis hotel accommodations or and Indianapolis hotel deal, you will find our rates are the same on all third party booking sites, like Expedia and Orbitz, as they are on our HGI site.

How does this benefit you? First, you know the Hilton Garden Inn Indianapolis Downtown doesn't jack up our prices to sell at a higher rate on any website. Second, you know that king room you reserve on our website will be a king room when you arrive. Some third party booking sites only guarantee you a room, not a specific room type - like airlines guarantee you a fare, but not a specific seat. If this is the case on our site, you can always call the hotel to see what "Room Type Selected At Check-In" really means and if your preferred room type is, in fact, available. Finally, we can only offer our great packages on our HGI.com site. You'll find great Indianapolis hotel packages and our best available rates online...guaranteed.

Finally, whether you are searching for Indianapolis wedding hotels or a meeting hotel, hotels near Conseco Fieldhouse for your team or something downtown but still near the Indianapolis Airport for your group's easy arrival and departure, you can find Indianapolis group travel accommodations through our sales department. We would be happy to check availability for your friends, family, clients, conference or team. Call one of us if you need anything!

Christian Celis-Schemidt, Director of Sales, (317) 405-5708,
Camille Lauer, Corporate Sales Manager, (317) 405-5709,
Lindsay Gill, Leisure & Online Sales Manager, (317) 405-5710 and
Marcy Schwegman, Banquet & Meeting Manager (317) 405-5711.

Get Cultured in September

Thursday, August 20, 2009 by Lindsay Gill

September is a great month for things to do, music to hear and people to see in downtown Indy! If you read my carnivorous post a while back, you know the 14th Annual Rib America Festival kicks off the month. You also know our downtown Indy hotel is the host hotel and has a special room rate and package for the event.

September 12 is the next event. The Penrod Arts Fair takes place on the grounds of the Indianapolis Museum of Art. The IMA is only five miles from the Hilton Garden Inn Indianapolis Downtown. The Fair is the largest single day art event in the U.S.! And it's family friendly, so check it out! That same weekend, the Chinese American Festival kicks off with art, performances, food and Chinese medicine. The event is at Military Park, only six blocks from our three star hotel.

What's next? The 14th Annual Irish Fest, also at Military Park! Enjoy music, dancing, food and kid friendly activities like bounce houses. When you're done there, head over to the 29th Fiesta Indianapolis at the American Legion Mall, just a few blocks north of our downtown Indianapolis hotel. It's the city's premier Latino celebration!

Tying up the month will be the week long Indy Jazz Fest. This popular event ends with a huge concert at The Lawn at White River State Park on September 26 and 27. Also on the 26th is the Eiteljorg's WestFest. There's so much to do and see, hear and eat! September will definitely gear you up for the first two weekends in October: Circle City Classic and then The Original and Fabulous Germanfest!

Check out Indianapolis Downtown Inc.'s website for more details! Don't forget to make your Indianapolis hotel reservations at the Hilton Garden Inn Indianapolis Downtown hotel!

Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra

Thursday, August 20, 2009 by Lindsay Gill

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 25^th 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!

Hotel Tax Increase

Friday, August 14, 2009 by Lindsay Gill

It's been all over the news lately: How will Indianapolis fix the Capital Improvement Board's $46 million deficit? Most of the talks have centered around taxes. It has now fallen on downtown Indianapolis hotels, and all Marion County hotels, to help fund the ailing CIB.

Hotel taxes in Marion County will increase from 9% to 10%. This will make total taxes paid on a hotel room 17%. From hotels near Indianapolis Convention Center to hotels near the Indianapolis Airport, east, west, north or south will make that jump on September 1, 2009. This means that $99 rate will be $115.83 instead of $114.84 - not a huge difference right? The $199 rates during races at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway will now be $232.83 instead of $230.84...again, not a large difference.

There is a lot of media hype about Indianapolis being one of the nation's highest in hotel tax. That is a fact but look what little difference it makes. We all have to roll with the punches sometimes and make changes when it comes to supporting and improving our city. This is just one thing Marion County will be doing to help the CIB.

Leave a comment and let us know what you think!

New Bedding Selected for Guestroom Renovation

Friday, August 14, 2009 by Michael Campbell

In order to maintain our 3 star hotel downtown Indianapolis status we are placing orders now to upgrade our facility by the end of the year.

As the Hilton Garden Inn Indianapolis Downtown moves forward with its new hotel renovation project we are upgrading all of our bedding to the Garden Sleep System Bed by Natural Form. This bedding system self adjusts to your personal comfort level. We currently have this bedding system in our suites but by year's end this will be available in each guestroom. Check out the link to see the technology behind this bed. Below is a photo of one of our existing hotel room in our Indianapolis Downtown hotel. The carpeting is also slated for replacement and I'll give a copy of the new color scheme in my next blog.

This GSS bedding system also helps fulfill our commitment as one of the prominent green hotels in Indianapolis.

One environmental benefit of this Garden Sleep System bedding is its component construction. This will allow us to replace only the portion of the bed that has either failed or been damaged. Unlike a Sleep Number bed or traditional spring mattress, we will not have to discard the entire mattress into a landfill if it is damaged through abuse, component failure, a wine stain, or normal wear, we will be able to reduce the amount of material that has to be discarded. This will lessen our solid waste footprint and will also allow us to keep costs down by not having to replace an entire mattress.

As for our outgoing mattresses, I promise to find them a good home. They are 6 years old and still in very good shape, and will likely be either donated or resold to another facility so that they will not immediately wind up in a landfill.

Hilton eTools

Thursday, August 6, 2009 by Lindsay Gill

In this age of technology, social media like Facebook and Twitter let us stay in touch. Gadgets like portable GPS trackers and map applications on our PDAs make it easier to find that Indianapolis conference hotel or hotels near Indianapolis Convention Center. So, why wouldn't those hotels you're searching provide something to make life easier on you?

Let me introduce Hilton eTools! Group Value Dates let you search for our hotel and find out what hotel deals we're offering for holding your event or setting up a room block here. From here you can submit a request for a proposal and get an email back shortly. Guest List Manager allows you to keep track of those guests in your room block, see if there are rooms still left in the block and edit/make/cancel hotel reservations.

You can plan your meeting, all online, from the comfort of your own home/desk/office with Hilton's event resources. My personal favorite, the Personalized Group Web Page, allows guests to reserve their rooms inside the block without inputting a group code or making any long distance phone calls. The best part about it? You, as the group administrator, can build the page and add in group-specific information. For example, an itinerary of a wedding weekend, schedule for a meeting or family reunion activities. You can also add up to two pictures to really personalize it and make it yours.

All Hilton Family hotels have these tools. So the next time you're using that GPS on your PDA to search for "Indianapolis Wedding Hotels" or "Indianapolis Meeting Hotels", why not check out the Hilton Garden Inn Indianapolis Downtown to see how we can take some planning stress from you with these great eTools!

Feeling Charitable?

Wednesday, July 29, 2009 by Lindsay Gill

I have recently had the pleasure of partnering with two great organizations in the hopes of helping others. The first is Ovar'Coming Together, Indiana's nonprofit ovarian cancer education and resource organization. The second is the Muscular Distrophy Association.

September 26, 2009 will mark the 2009 Ovarian Cancer Run & Walk benefitting Ovar'Coming Together. The event begins at Victory Field at 9am. You or your company/organization can help by donating, registering to walk or volunteering. Our Indianapolis downtown hotel is helping by raising awareness by adding symptom cards to our employee's paychecks, displaying flyers at the Front Desk, wearing the teal wristbands from the organization. Also, we are offering discount hotel rooms for the run & walk. $10 per room night will be donated to Ovar'Coming Together.

The Muscular Distrophy Association is holding their annual lockup again! I will be removed from my hotel on Thursday, August 27 and taken to "jail" for GOOD. In order to be released, I need to make bail. I'm asking friends, family, guests and business partners to help bail me out and donate to MDA. In this economy, we all have a better hold on our cash, which means there are less people donating to organizations like this. Luckily, small donations go a long way! Help me help Jerry's Kids by stopping by my site and donating today!

Do you donate to any charities? If you are passionate about a charity and would like to let us know how Indianapolis area hotels can help, please comment on this post!

New Hotel Lobby Furniture and Design Selected

Tuesday, July 7, 2009 by Michael Campbell

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.