Review: Hotel Indigo Bridgetown Barbados (Hastings, Barbados)

There’s quite a bit going on in Barbados, as a number of new hotels and resorts have opened or have undergone renovation in the past few years. One of the newest additions in IHG’s Hotel Indigo on the southern shoreline in Hastings.

The Hotel Indigo brand is pretty much a regular full-service boutique hotel with a bit of local flair, ranking as more upscale than luxury property. Hotel Indigo locations are typically close to where all the action is, and that is the case as they are on the south coast, close to the capital and other regular tourist hot spots.

Booking

I booked the “1 King Standard Pool View”, which is the most basic room. However, as all rooms at this Hotel Indigo are ocean facing, you will also have a great view of the ocean even from the first floor.

There aren’t that many room combinations and it really comes down to preferences like wanting a low or high floor, corner room, and smaller or larger square footage. If you really want something that offers a significant upgrade, they do offer a One Bedroom Suite on the top floor with a hot tub, living and dining room area, and so on.

With taxes and fees included, I paid US $358.33 for one night in late June 2026. There is a breakfast option as well at $50 extra. Guests booking should also be prepared to place a $50 hold per night on their card for incidentals.

Location

Hotel Indigo Bridgetown Barbados is located in Hastings, and is about a 7-9 minute drive from the heart of the capital, Bridgetown, and 15 minutes from Oistins. It’s on the shoreline (separated by a public boardwalk), and sits on the site where the old Caribee hotel once was.

It’s about a 20-25 minute drive from the airport depending on traffic, and can easily be accessed by via car or public transportation. There is also complimentary parking for hotel guests, with both self-serve and valet options.

Check In and Lobby Area

The hotel itself has a rather slim and long profile. On entry, the center area offers open-air views of the ocean, with the hotel entrance to the left, and the Compass restaurant and gym area to the right.

The check in area is somewhat small, and the process itself was generally quick. However, you must fill out your details via their online check in link before they process you. I thought this was a bit of an annoying process as I’m sure it could have easily been done by the hotel staff.

The other hotels I’ve been to around this time period in Barbados also recommended online check ins, but I wasn’t forced to use the form and did a regular check in via the counter.

This Hotel Indigo did an excellent job when it comes to design, using a wide range of colors and fixtures to decorate their lobby. The central area features a ring of couches and chairs, as well as a few more facing the sea side.

Stepping outside, there is a row of seating for the Vintage Café guests, as well as two rows of pool deck chairs, along the infinity pool. Due to the narrow profile of the building, it can feel a little congested when it gets crowded.

The colorful theme also carries through the well-lit room corridors, with aquamarine-colored doors, and a combination of blues and greens in the carpet.

Room

I was in room 108 (one floor above the ground level), which was not too far from the mid-section of the hotel and elevator. Measuring 452 square feet (~41.9 square meters), pictures can’t do the room justice as it looks much larger in real life.

The same colorful theme continues with generally earthy colors used for the walls and floor, with leaves painted on the wall, some artwork on the wall opposite the bathroom area, and a multi-colored rug. The furniture also uses a lot of darker wood to contrast the lighter theme set by the rest of the room.

There is LED strip lighting in the ceiling at the entry door and balcony areas, a single bed side lamp and another hanging lamp on the other side. Even with all the lights on during the night, it’s a warm atmosphere at best, and the room really does not feel that well light if you want it to be.  

On each side of the bed, there are AC and USB power outlets, with the respective light switches for each lamp. There’s also a phone and alarm clock on the night stands. To the side is a chair in the corner near the bathroom wall.

The wooden bar area has the essentials such as an ice bucket, glasses, a Nespresso machine and coffee pods, coffee cups and a kettle. There is also a decent selection of teas for regular brewing.

Just below is a slide-out fridge. Don’t get too excited as they did not provide the Coke as seen in the photo (stolen from my Royalton visit),  but at least you have somewhere to store your food and drinks.

The central area has a smart TV with cable channels and a number of streaming apps, as well as information about your hotel stay and services. Below that is a small wooden work desk, which I only realized later on is in the shape of a tree.

The storage closest has the bare essentials including some extra bedding, a luggage rack, safe and a few drawers. Even though the Indigo brand isn’t top tier, I’m surprised something as simple as an ironing board is not included. However they do have a handheld clothes steamer.

Moving to the bathroom area, the first thing I noticed is the pair of louvres which when opened, gives you a view of the room. If you’re not with someone you’re comfortable with, be sure to keep them closed. Even though there are a pair of pendant lights, I think like above, the lighting isn’t the best especially for those who want to attend to their faces in the mirror.

There is one large mirror and sink, and unfortunately my sink drained extremely slowly, but it wasn’t something I noticed until the next morning.

I’ve actually never seen this before but both the shower area and toilet share the same sliding door, so if you’re sharing the room with someone else and want to use the toilet, the shower area has to be open, and vice versa. I get that space is limited, but it’s not the most convenient design either. So I guess you and your partner will just have to time toilet and bath times to avoid a conflict.

I like that the bath area itself has a bit of mood lighting in the back, and there is the usual soap, shampoo and conditioner line-up. Not that I needed it, but there wasn’t a blow dryer either, so if you need it for your hair, you’ll have to walk with one.

Finally, there is the balcony which offers a 180-degree view of the ocean. There are also two chairs and a small table. I think this is the one of the nicer features where every single room has an ocean view regardless of room type. Unfortunately, the view wasn’t the best given that it was sargassum season, and it just so happened that a tropical depression passed over the island that evening.

Even though the seaweed wasn’t so bad in the evening, quite a bit washed up the next morning. It seems to affect the east and south coast mainly, as I did not see any on the west coast of the island. I’d also say that if you want to avoid seaweed during your stay, visiting between December and March are safe periods.

Food and Drinks

There are two main restaurants at this Hotel Indigo. Vintage Café serves a mix of breakfast and light snacks through out the day, while Compass Restaurant also serves breakfast, as well as full lunch and dinner.

I tried Compass Restaurant for dinner, ordering linguine with chicken strips. The prices were pretty affordable for what they were, but I’d say my meal was alright at best. The full menu can be viewed on Open Table. Service was good, but I can’t really make a true assessment as I was literally the only person in the restaurant that evening (around 6:30 p.m). Nonetheless, the wait staff were friendly and prompt, so nothing to complain about.

There are also three bars, one on the rooftop, one near the ground level pool area and one in the lobby.

Pool

The hotel has two pool areas. The ground level has an infinity pool just off the patio overlooking the south coast, with sun deck chairs and umbrellas. There are two smaller pools on the rooftop that require you to climb up a few steps to get into. There are also various seating options and cabanas near the frontside of the hotel.

Again, due to the very long profile of the hotel, everything feels jumbled and a bit in your face.

Beach

All of Barbados’ beaches are public access, and there is actually a boardwalk running from Naru Restaurant, all the way down to The Soco Hotel, separating the hotel from the beach itself. As the hotel is on edge of the shoreline, there isn’t that much of a beach area itself, and with so much seaweed washing in, it was a no-go for me.

I also did not like that the beach was very rocky in some areas, but I could understand the need for it given that they have to deal with the ocean waves in a very small space. The waters here are generally on the rough side, and in previous stays along the south coast, I wouldn’t recommend this beach particular.

Rockley or Dover Beach are better options as they’re much larger, and the waters aren’t that rough. Otherwise, definitely head to the west coast instead.

Gym

This is the one area I always seem to fall short on and I’ll do better to cover these in future reviews. There’s a small fitness area on the ground level with elliptical machines, free weights, stationary bicycles and treadmills. The gym offers a great view of the ocean as well.

Service

Staff were generally friendly, and I was surprised that someone actually took me up to my room and gave me a tour of everything. Given that a Hotel Indigo is more upscale that full out luxury, I really did not expect that, so it’s a nice touch.

The front desk staff, while very helpful, seemed like they were constantly dealing with a lot every time I passed by. This isn’t a complaint as it didn’t affect my quality of service, but they did look visibly overwhelmed.

Conclusion

The Hotel Indigo Bridgetown Barbados delivers pretty much what you’d expect from this class of hotel. They are located in a very convenient part of town near the beaches and city center, have beautiful décor and designs throughout the entire property, and offer restaurants and amenities that line up with the Indigo brand. I also liked that all rooms have a great ocean view, so you end up with a pretty good deal even with the most basic room type.

However, they did fall short in some minor areas. For instance, the storage area felt very bare bones with just a luggage rack and additional bedding. At least provide an ironing board?

I also felt the rooftop was a bit crowded, and I think that was mainly due to them trying to squeeze in too many chairs in such a finite space. With the two pools being elevated, it does block a little bit of line of site, and honestly reminds me of those intex pools rather than something you’d see at a fancy hotel.   

The ocean front side on the ground level also feels a bit busy as the outdoor restaurant seating area is very close to the sun deck chairs.

Pricing is really subjective as the off-peak periods seem to be priced decently, but winter bookings were a bit on the steep side. If you were willing to spend just a little more for an all-inclusive, I think you’d get way more value there than staying at the Indigo during peak season. However, there is always very high demand for rooms in the December-March period, so I wouldn’t doubt that this hotel will be fully booked around that time.  

Would I stay here again? Most likely yes, but it really comes down to pricing.

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