Page 2 - Indianapolis Meeting Hotel

Let's Meet PBS KIDS in the Park

Friday, April 15, 2011 by Lindsay Gill

It's almost time for summer! And what happens in summer around here? Well, among many other things, one of my favorite events! Marsh presents WFYI Let's Meet PBS KIDS in the Park! The date is Saturday, June 11 in Military Park in downtown Indianapolis. This event begins at 10am and ends at 4pm. We are one of the hotels near Military Park at only five blocks and we are proud to once again be the official hotel of Let's Meet PBS KIDS in the Park for the third consecutive year!

To keep the trend with our great Indianapolis hotel packages, we have another awesome hotel deal Indianapolis for you and your family! Stay Friday night with us and enjoy a very special VIP event in the hotel with craft activities by WFYI, milk and cookies, story time and sing along and a meet-n-greet by a PBS KIDS character! Enjoy our indoor pool and hot tub and then a super sleep in our comfy beds. You can make reservations by calling the hotel directly at 317-955-9700. A limited number of rooms are available and Saturday night rooms are also available.

WFYI is giving this VIP package away as a gift with a $150 pledge. To support WFYI and make your pledge, call 317-715-2009. There are also a limited number of these rooms available so act quick!

Don't forget to stop by the Hilton Garden Inn Indianapolis Downtown tent for a chance to win an overnight stay at the hotel with breakfast included, games for the kiddies and general information. See you there!

Use e-Events to Book Your Next Indianapolis Meeting Hotel

Friday, March 25, 2011 by Lindsay Gill

Did you know you can plan your entire meeting online at our hotel? No, really! No need to call to research pricing for your Indianapolis meeting hotel, or wait for us to come back from an appointment to call you back. Although we love to talk to our clients more than anything, it's definitely a time-saver to be able to book your Indianapolis group travel all online and review our proposal on your watch!

Here's how:

Visit the Groups & Meetings Page of our website.
Click on the "Get Started Now" button on eEvents
- If you're not ready to book your meeting and just need pricing, click on the "Get Started Now' button in the Pricing Request box.
Follow the steps and fill out all information completely.
- The more information we have, the less we have to bug you!
Submit!
The sales manager in charge of servicing/managing your event will call you within a day to confirm the details of your meeting.

For your convenience, the Groups & Meetings page has meeting space capacity charts, meeting room diagrams and even our catering menu so you can see what you need. If you book your room block online, you'll have access to other online tools which can help you manage your guests' reservations or even create an online booking page where your guests can make their own reservations without picking up the phone.

It's that easy! It saves you time and puts the control in your hands. Try it for your next group room block or Indianapolis meeting hotel needs!

Need a Venue for Your Spring Formal?

Thursday, March 10, 2011 by Hilton Garden Inn Team

One of the fun things about being in a sorority or a fraternity is that you get to attend some really great parties and events. With Spring around the corner, love is in the air and everyone is getting excited about getting out and about after being couped up all winter.

Whether you are in a fraternity or a sorority, your Spring formal is an important event and therefore it's important to choose a venue that is not only convenient but is also in a newly renovated hotel Indianapolis.

If you are in charge of your Spring formal this year, then you might check out our green hotel Indianapolis because our Benjamin Harrison Ballroom and James Whitcomb Riley rooms may be available.

Our Brand New Benjamin Harrison Ballroom features upscale and sophisticated meeting and event space. Our experienced and professional sales and banquet staff can create an unforgettable experience for all your brothers and sisters!

The best thing about booking your Spring formal at our hotel is that you don't have to worry about your fraternity brothers or sorority sisters driving home - you can go ahead and book hotel rooms. If you are planning on buying a bunch of our hotel rooms - then we are happy to offer a hotel deal Indianapolis. That way, you can be guaranteed that everyone will be safe that evening and all traveling will be done by foot rather than automobile.

Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. Biennial Grand Chapter Meeting July 5-11, 2011

Tuesday, March 8, 2011 by Hilton Garden Inn Team

In any organization, a centennaial year is of grand importance. This year Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. celebrates 100 years of achievement and is having their 80th Grand Chapter Meeting in Indy from July 5-10, 2011.

Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity was founded on January 5, 1911 on the campus of Indiana University. Since then the organization has grown tremendously "uniting college men of culture, patriotism and honor in a bond of fraternity."

No doubt if you are a Kappa Alpha Psi brother, you are planning on company to Indy to celebrate 100 years of Kappa. If you are looking for hotels near Indianapolis where you can stay during the meeting, then you want to check out our green hotel Indianapolis as an option.

The Official Centennial Celebration Kick-off Events are held from Jan. 4th-9th, 2011. Here is a quick list of the events that are planned for this exciting occassion:

Fireside Chats and Historical perspectives from Kappa IU Icons
Welcome Dinner hosted by Bloomington (IN) Alumni Chapter
Wine and Cheese Social
Kappa Centennial Kick-off Ceremony
Official Pilgrimage/Kappa Trail
Centennial Luncheon hosted by Alpha Chapter
Wreath Laying Ceremony at the Founders Graves
Centennial Founders’ Day Banquet & Celebration

Please feel to reach out to us if you are looking for a hotel deal Indianapolis while you bond with and enjoy the company of your Kappa brothers.

Vintage Indiana in Downtown Indianapolis

Friday, February 11, 2011 by Lindsay Gill

Summer in downtown Indianapolis is the time for festivals. There are many to choose from in the summer months: 500 Festival, Italian Street Festival, Let's Meet PBS KIDS in the Park, El Dia De La Familia, 4th of July, Indiana State Fair, Rib America Festival, Chinese Festival, Irish Festival, Fiesta Indianapolis, Jazz Fest and Vintage Indiana!

Vintage Indiana is located in Military Park in downtown Indianapolis. Military Park is just five blocks from our three star hotel downtown Indianapolis. This particular festival takes place on Saturday, June 4, 2011 and features Indiana wineries from all over the state. Beginning May 1 you can purchase a ticket for only $22 which allows you to sample wine and food, listen to local musicians and check out artwork from 11am to 7pm. Tickets will be available at Marsh Supermarkets and other vendors; check the website for details.

Designated drivers can even have a good time! With more than just wine, and a $10 ticket, DD's can enjoy the festival and receive free soft drinks and purchase wine to take home (no sampling). The event has a big draw each year and happens RAIN OR SHINE! I've not been able to attend yet but plan on going this year.

If you want to make a night of it to relax after sampling all day, make your Indianapolis hotel reservations at our downtown Indy hotel. You can walk back from Military Park, put your DD to work or take a $5 cab ride; tell the driver "Hilton Garden Inn Indianapolis Downtown, please!"

To get more out of your weekend, book our Wine Lovers' Package! You'll receive a bottle of Easley Winery's Reggae Red, two Indy Wine Trail glasses, two bottles of water, valet parking, breakfast for two and 10% discount off any non-alcoholic merchandise at any of the seven Indy Wine Trail wineries.

Historic Hotel Indianapolis Welcomes Kurt Vonnegut Library

Monday, November 29, 2010 by Lindsay Gill

The Hilton Garden Inn Indianapolis Downtown is considered an Indianapolis historic hotel. Although the hotel was not the original purpose of the building, our property was constructed in 1915 as the American Fletcher Bank. In 2003 the building was converted into our three star hotel downtown Indianapolis.

Kurt Vonnegut, Sr., the famous author's father, was one of the architects of our building, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Now open in downtown Indianapolis just a few blocks from our downtown Indy hotel is the Kurt Vonnegut Memorial Library. Located in the Emelie Building at 340 N Senate Avenue, the library already has the author's artifacts displayed and will add more in January.

I was honored to meet the author in 2004 when he visited with his wife just before he passed away. The library's hours are:
Noon-5pm Friday and Saturday beginning December 3
Noon-5pm Monday and Wednesday through Sunday beginning late January

For more information on the the Kurt Vonnegut Memorial Library, please visit http://www.vonnegutlibrary.org/. Don't forget to stop by our historic hotel Indianapolis to see what the author's father and the architectural firm accomplished by building the first skyscraper in the city!

Hotels Near Lucas Oil Stadium, Home of the Colts

Tuesday, November 23, 2010 by Hilton Garden Inn Team

If you're an Indianapolis Colts fan, or if your team has the task of playing against Peyton Manning and company, then no doubt, you're more than likely looking for hotels near Lucas Oil Stadium.

Of course, Lucas Oil Stadium hosts a lot more than just the Indianapolis Colts. Here's a quick look at the events taking place in the coming months at The Stadium:

Fri Nov 26 - Nov 27 2010 IHSAA State Football Championships
Sun Nov 28 2010 Indianapolis Colts vs. San Diego Chargers
Tue Nov 30 2010 International Motorsports Industry Show Reception
Wed Dec 1 2010 Beck's Hybrids Christmas Extravaganza
Wed Dec 1 2010 GER & D 2010 Team Meeting
Fri Dec 3 2010 Midwest ISO Holiday Party
Sun Dec 5 2010 Indianapolis Colts vs. Dallas Cowboys
Fri Dec 10 2010 Indianapolis Housing Agency's Year End Celebration
Sun Dec 19 2010 Indianapolis Colts vs. Jacksonville Jaguars
Sun Jan 2 2011 Indianapolis Colts vs. Tennessee Titans
Sat Jan 29 2011 Monster Jam
Fri Mar 4 - Mar 6 2011 Indianapolis Home & Flower Show
Sat Mar 12 2011 Supercross
Thu Mar 24 - Mar 26 2011 Fire Department Instructors Conference (FDIC)

As you can tell from this list, there are a number of events taking place and therefore you might be interested in knowing about hotels near Indianapolis' Lucas Oil Stadium - so that you have a great place to stay - or a great place for your group if you are organizing Indianapolis Group Travel.

If you are looking for Indianapolis hotel packages that go along with any of the events listed above, please do not hesitate to contact us here, or call us at 317-955-9700.

Lucas Oil Stadium is located at 500 South Capitol Ave in Indianapolis, IN 46225.

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!

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.

Now Serving Starbucks® Coffee!

Thursday, March 25, 2010 by Lindsay Gill

As our Indianapolis downtown hotel continues to grow and improve, we have recently started serving Starbucks® Coffee in our hotel! Starbucks® started out as a single coffee shop in Seattle's Pike Place Market. Now the company is an internationally recognized brand known for its quality coffees.

Starbucks® is now being served in our Great American Grill, located on the first floor of our newly renovated hotel.

As a smaller conference hotel in downtown Indianapolis, we thought it would be a great idea to offer Starbucks® Coffee as a hot beverage option for all banquets. Planners who are searching for an Indianapolis meeting hotel, or even couples searching for a hotel wedding brunch can now offer their guests the familiar flavor of premium Starbucks® coffee! We plan to offer Tazo Teas and different blends in the future.

Stay tuned! Or, better yet...come in for breakfast, lunch or dinner and have a cup today!

Looking for Hotels Near Indianapolis Motor Speedway?

Thursday, March 18, 2010 by Lindsay Gill

The Hilton Garden Inn Indianapolis Downtown would like to announce and introduce ourselves as a new member and Preferred Hotel partner of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. We are very excited about our new partnership! Being one of the Indianapolis downtown hotels near the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, it seems natural we partner with the most famous sports venue in the world right here in Indianapolis.

I and the staff at the Hilton Garden Inn are committed to working hard to create competitive packages for our partners, like you, that include preferred partner benefits whether you are here for the races or other meetings and events in town. What are you waiting for? Let the Hilton Garden Inn put you in the driver’s seat for the 94^th running of the Indy 500, scheduled for May 30 at the famous Indianapolis Motor Speedway! Don't forget about the Brickyard 400® and the Red Bull Indianapolis GP®!

**This is your opportunity to experience our HGI hospitality and the rush of The Greatest Spectacle in Racing® at a great Indianapolis hotel package price!

-=For package pricing and availability on our great Indianapolis hotel deal, please contact Camille Lauer at 317-405-5709 or clauer@fhginc.com.

Visit Indy!

Friday, March 12, 2010 by Lindsay Gill

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

Celebrate Barbie at the Children's Museum

Friday, February 19, 2010 by Lindsay Gill

Calling all stylists! Are you ready for the fashion experience of a lifetime? The Indianapolis Children’s Museum presents Barbie: The Fashion Experience, where you can not only be Barbie’s stylist, or makeup artist, but you can also walk the runway as she would! Barbie will be on the runway in Indianapolis until February 2011. The Children’s Museum is less than five minutes away straight up Meridian Street. Also, don’t forget to bring along your friends to meet Barbie!

Our General Manager, Mike Campbell, took his daughters to see Barbie and his son got to see Bob the Builder. As you can see in the picture, the girls look like they're having a great time in front of the wall of Barbies! While you are visiting, make a weekend of it and stay with us in our newly renovated hotel in downtown Indianapolis. We offer different family-friendly Indianapolis hotel packages that you can reserve to see our magnificent Indianapolis Zoo, or go shopping in the Circle Centre Mall, which has plenty of stores, a movie theater and great restaurants and is only a block and a half away.

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.

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.

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!

HGI to be connected to the Indianapolis Cultural Trail

Friday, July 24, 2009 by Michael Campbell

One result of our expressed interest in environmental issues and our desire to be one of the more green hotels in Indianapolis is our exposure to other area greening projects.

As a representative of a Downtown Indy Hotel I've recently been able to sit in on a few meetings that have highlighted some of the important steps that Indianapolis is doing to become a greener and more environmentally friendly city. Currently the Indiana Cultural Trail construction is already well underway and will pass within one block of our hotel sometime next year. Our central location on this trail will connect the Hilton Garden Inn hotel in all four directions via the trail to all the major cultural districts including the Fountain Square, Wholesale District, Mass Avenue and the Murat Centre, the Canal and White River State Park, and of course Monument Circle. If you know someone looking for a conference hotel in Indianapolis, another corridor of this trail will branch off to the Indianapolis Convention Center and Lucas Oil Stadium making this a very pleasant walk from the hotel for conventioneers, Colts Fans, or others on Indianapolis group travel.

Once completed, the Indy Cultural Trail will connect with the existing Monon Trail which will give guests staying at the hotel easy access to Broad Ripple Village as well. Check out the Cultural Trail's site if you get a chance. The storm water planters and natural vegetation will really add to the feel of Downtown Indy and enhance the experience for both cyclists and pedestrians. Very cool stuff.

To check out our own environmental projects check out our own environmental statement at the top of the screen.

It's Been Awhile

Friday, July 24, 2009 by Lindsay Gill

...since I've blogged. I had the privilege of meeting my favorite band, Incubus, for the second time this past Wednesday, July 22. Every time I see them live, it's a great experience and my eyes and ears are glued to the stage. It got me thinking, what are our guests passionate about? Maybe it's the upcoming concert at Conseco Fieldhouse, the Colts games this year at Lucas Oil Stadium or our three star hotel downtown Indianapolis. Feel free to tell us what you're passionate about, including comments about our hotel!

We're near the Indianapolis Speedway and this is the perfect time to be one of many downtown Indy hotels close to that venue. Saving Abel is playing there this weekend, practice is running and the Brickyard 400 is Sunday! I'll be there, will you? There are lots of upcoming events this summer including some major conventions. GenCon, the Best Four Days in Gaming, will be held downtown in August and we are near the Indianapolis Convention Center - only a five block walk!

Since my favorite topic is live music, the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra plays at Conner Prairie every year for Symphony on the Prairie. I've not been myself, but I hear it's great. If you'd like to stay in an Indianapolis area hotel after the Prairie, get online and check out our special rates for this event! Just input Group Code SOTP09.

There's only a couple months of summer left! Tell us how you'll make the most of it!

Follow us on Facebook and Twitter! We will soon be setting up a Facebook and Twitter rate, too...stay tuned for more...

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.