Where in the World: Ironworks Hotel, Indianapolis, Indiana
About two weeks ago, a couple friends and I were FINALLY able to celebrate a December birthday. We originally planned to get together in December, but it got rescheduled twice due to illnesses (thumbs down). We always get together for a meal to celebrate birthdays, but for this outing we planned much more than that since it was also close to Christmas! In the end, it was closer to Valentine’s Day…but we still had a great time.
We spent the day shopping on the north side of Indianapolis, and then we headed to the Ironworks Hotel. We considered several locations for our overnight, but we decided this was the best choice for restaurants, shopping, and accommodations.
If you are looking for a staycation or want to visit Indianapolis for business or pleasure, the Ironworks Hotel might be a good fit for you. Read on to find out!
Location
The Ironworks hotel is located on the far northside of Indianapolis off of E 86th Street. It is only ½ a mile to the Keystone Fashion Mall, less than 5 miles to Castleton Square Mall, and close to several delicious restaurants.
It is located in close proximity to nearby northern cities, such as Noblesville, Fishers, Carmel, Westfield, and Zionsville. Therefore, it is a great location if you need to frequent those places for business or to see friends/family. While it is north of downtown Indianapolis, it is located very close to 465 for access to other parts of the City. It will take about 35 minutes to reach the airport from this location. It will take about the same amount of time to reach downtown.
If your itinerary keeps you downtown, a hotel in that area is probably best. However, if you have some flexibility and want to be outside of the City, this is a great option.
First Impression
The Ironworks hotel is a large and beautiful building with an industrial aesthetic. My first impression was that it had an inviting entrance, was surrounded by restaurants, and it had free parking. My friends and I actually met here before we went shopping so we could take one car out and about. The free parking was a huge plus since we came from different places and each had a car. The hotel also has free valet parking. The lobby for the hotel is on the second floor. When you walk in, there is an entrance to Rize (restaurant), a stairway to the second floor, the elevators, and a fun photo booth.
Design
This hotel features a dark color scheme, metal centric décor, dark lighting, exposed elements, and leather accents. These design choices are in the lobby, as well as the rooms. The lobby has lots of comfy seating and great natural light. My friends (affectionally) referred to the design style as “man cave”. My favorite design element in the lobby might be the dog station since I’m a dog lover! I love that this hotel is dog friendly.
Accommodations & Cost
There are five room types available at this 4-star hotel. The most affordable rooms are the traditional and heritage rooms. There are also three suite style rooms, the legacy suite, legacy terrace, and founder’s suite. The terraces on the legacy and founder’s suites look amazing!
The traditional rooms typically cost $229-$359 per night. There are a few outlier evenings that are much more expensive due to area events and holidays. The other rooms increase in price from that range. Each room contains luxury bedding, a flat screen television, a mini bar, showers with rainfall showerheads, and more. The items in the mini bar were very reasonably priced and there were a wide range of options.
Amenities & Restaurants
During the day the lobby has a water station, and in the morning, there is a coffee station. The hotel has thoughtful touches throughout, such as the dog water/treat station, headphones in the gym, and a photo booth at the entrance. It also had typical amenities, such as cozy bathrobes and bathroom toiletries. The hotel staff is also willing to arrange for special touches, such as chocolate, champagne, etc. for your room. The free parking mentioned above is also a huge bonus!
The gym contains several pieces of workout equipment, plus mats, balls, and resistance bands. There were treadmills, a weight bench and free weights, ellipticals, a rowing machine, and stationary bikes.
The hotel itself has four restaurants. Provision is located off the lobby and it features an upscale dinner experience. Rize is located on the first floor of the building. It serves light, organic food for breakfast and lunch. Vegetarian, vegan, and gluten free options are clearly marked on both of their menus. Blue Sushi Sake Grill is located on the first floor of the building as well (right of the entrance). It specializes in creative and fresh sushi and similar fusion dishes. It has dedicated vegan and gluten free menus, delicious drinks, and a daily happy hour with reduced prices. Pro tip: happy hour is ALL day (for dine-in) on Sundays! Lastly, Daredevil Hall is located on the west end of the hotel. It is an all-ages restaurant serving all your favorite taproom foods, such as burgers, pizza, pretzels, and sandwiches.
In addition to the restaurants located in the hotel building, the Ironworks Hotel is located in the Ironworks Keystone Campus, with additional restaurants just across the road. You can find Verde (authentic Mexican cuisine), Ruth’s Chris Steak House, Sangiovese Ristorante (Italian), and Yolk (breakfast and lunch).
Service
Everyone we encountered at the hotel was very kind and helpful. We chatted with the individual working at the valet stand several times throughout our stay. He expressed interest in our activities and offered suggestions for where we should go. The folks at the reception desk and the housekeeping staff were very friendly.
In the morning, I wanted to go to the gym for a run, but I wasn’t sure where it was located. The hotel had previously contacted me by text message about our check-in. The message indicated that I could reply with questions. I texted asking about the location of the gym and I received a response right away with the brief directions. I loved being able to communicate with the staff with a quick text.
Overall Experience
Overall, we had a great stay at the Ironworks Hotel. The staff was friendly, the property was clean, the design was beautiful and the location was outstanding. You could certainly spend a weekend in this area without any specific big plans. There is plenty of shopping and dining nearby, plus movie theaters and arcade style entertainment.
We only noted a few minor negatives during our stay. First, the room did not have any overhead lights, so it was very dark when we got back to the room for the evening. We were trying to exchange gifts, so we needed the light, but it would have been fine for lounging around the room. Second, the bathroom had a sliding barn style door, but it didn’t latch into anything. It bounced off the wall so the bathroom door was always cracked a few inches which is not great if you need privacy.
Third, the shower was open to the room through a glass panel. There was a shade you could pull down to block it, but it would have been more streamlined to have a darkening glass like I have seen at other nice hotels. Lastly, the next morning, they were shoveling some snow from their nearby garage storage building and the scraping woke us all up about 6AM. It stopped shortly thereafter, but it was certainly disruptive. We did not experience any other noise issues during our stay.
The Ironworks Hotel is a great value. It will not break the bank like some upscale five-star hotels, especially those in larger cities. If you are used to that level of service and amenities, you will likely notice some differences since this hotel does not contain a spa, pool, or other amenities like turndown service, libraries, a pillow menu, or a concierge. However, it is still a wonderful option for a getaway. The hotel and location make it nice enough to be a destination, with a sleek design and cozy atmosphere. It is perfect for a special occasion, especially in the higher-level rooms, and the staff is attentive and friendly. The rooms were very clean and the beds were comfortable.
Our Evening
My friends and I had an amazing time. Once we got back to the hotel in the early evening, we dropped our things in our room and got ready for dinner. We walked to Verde, the nearby Mexican restaurant, and enjoyed chips, salsa, queso, guacamole, esquite, and delicious drinks. I had the ¡Ay mi cielo! (let me know if I’m not the only person who loves Mezcal…) and then we shared a margarita trio. The (unexpected) winner of the margarita trio was the cucumber margarita. It was light, refreshing, and delicious. It was so good that we had to order another one! I was also inspired to make my own version at home. Check out my social media feed from yesterday for my recipe.
After we finished our time at Verde, we walked to Blue Sushi Sake grill for some desserts and cocktails. We ordered several desserts to share and really indulged. I definitely recommend the raspberry mojito; it was top notch. Restaurant hopping was so fun, but Daredevil Hall was closed by the time we finished at the sushi restaurant. If we had to do it again…we’d definitely do it again! A progressive dinner, food road trip, bar hopping (whatever moniker you prefer) is super fun and easy if you stay at the Ironworks Hotel.
The beds were comfortable and we did not experience any issues during the night. There were plenty of towels in the bathroom and the pressure on the shower head was AMAZING. The hotel had a nice, later check-out time of noon.
Does this sound like a place you would like to stay?
Katie G.