About Westin Indianapolis

Westin Indianapolis is located in downtown Indianapolis, very close to the government buildings, convention center, and the stadiums (home of the Pacers and the NFL team). A taxi to the airport takes about 20 minutes. There are also a lot of other hotels nearby. JW Marriott Indianapolis (Cat5) looked pretty good and seemed newer than the Westin; Hyatt Regency Indianapolis and Conrad Indianapolis are also solid options, depending on which brand you prefer.

Redemption

Since I was there for a conference, I just paid cash, around $170+. If redeeming points, this property was Cat4, with a standard redemption rate of 25,000 points, which did not seem like a great value. Two days before check-in, you can find a button in the app to chat with the hotel. I used it to message the hotel, and as usual, I was pretty straightforward. Even though I only had Gold status, the treatment was excellent: I was upgraded to a King Plaza Suite and also given Club Lounge access.

That said, I do not really recommend being as hands-off about this as I was. It is usually better to reach out through the app, email, or phone, mention your elite status, and make a personal request. For example, you could say it is your first stay at the hotel (a weaker reason), or mention a birthday, wedding anniversary, engagement anniversary, or some other special occasion (stronger reasons). In addition to a room upgrade, you might sometimes receive a small surprise gift, such as cake or a little plush toy. In popular beach destinations like Cancun, some travelers also try tipping at check-in to ask for a better room.

Hotel Entrance and Lobby

Given my less-than-stellar photography skills, I’ll combine my own photos with the official images to share the property with everyone.

I also took a quick photo of the Hyatt Regency Indianapolis across the street.

Check-in is on the first floor, but the front desk did not seem very well organized. They did not properly handle my request to combine reservations, and the promised club lounge access was only added after I brought it up. There were also various issues when I asked for the final bill, and I was given 1500 points as compensation.

Lounge

The Club Lounge is tucked behind an inconspicuous little door off the lobby. It is not very large, and during the day it only had soft drinks, coffee, yogurt, and bananas.

Breakfast was available in the lounge, but there were only three hot items: potatoes, eggs, and sausage. One day the sausage was replaced with bacon, but it was still not very good.

At 5 PM they put out a few snacks. The salmon was actually pretty good, but cucumber slices topped with cream was just not for me.

Guest Room

My room was on the 6th floor. It was fairly spacious and had a nice view, but the hardware and furnishings were quite average.

In addition, if you are staying multiple nights, you can choose Make a Green Choice, which means no housekeeping in exchange for 500 points or a $5 dining voucher.

Delta Sky Club (IND)

On the way out I was flying Delta, so I stopped by the lounge. The lounge itself was quite small, and lunch was basically not worth eating: chicken soup, cold chicken salad, and very hard fried rice. I’ll skip the food photos.

There probably are not that many Delta flights here. When I arrived at 11, no one was there, but as more people gradually came in, the lounge started to feel crowded very quickly.