Hongqiao Indigo is the third Hotel Indigo in Shanghai. Compared to Jing’an Indigo, which was converted from the executive building of InterContinental Shanghai Puxi, this property was newly designed, making it slightly more anticipated. The hotel has been open for about a year, so the facilities are very new. Although there are many hotels in this area, occupancy rates aren’t particularly high. This might be because it’s near the train station—which is relatively close to downtown—and surrounded by other five-star hotels. Rumor has it that business only picks up on days when exhibitions are held.
The hotel is located next to Longfor Paradise Walk. Coming from the Hongqiao Railway Station metro stop, you can walk through The Hub and take the skybridge to Longfor Paradise Walk, then proceed on foot to the hotel. The main entrance is a bit quirky, situated at the back of the building; it’s easy to find once you’ve been there before, but tricky on the first visit. There’s an exquisite little landscape feature in the outdoor area, but the trees are still quite small, so you’d need to be unbothered by the sun if you want to relax there.
The lobby isn’t large and features various red elements. The decor aligns perfectly with the Indigo brand identity and incorporates plenty of Instagram-worthy touches, making it great for photos. You rarely see anyone in the lobby or public areas. Overall, the hotel’s amenities are fairly simple: just over 200 rooms and a limited staff. Besides guest rooms, there’s only one all-day dining restaurant called CRAFT, an outdoor bar that opens in the evening, a gym, and a swimming pool.
Since the hotel is adjacent to Hongqiao Airport, height restrictions apply, so it only has 10 floors. Guest rooms are on the 10th floor, sharing the level with the gym, pool, and bar. The rooms feature a green and gold color scheme—almost everything that could be gold is gold, including lights, switches, faucets, trash cans, and furniture legs, giving it a very trendy, photogenic vibe. The overall style blends vintage British aesthetics with Old Shanghai charm, which is quite interesting. Room sizes are generous; even the smallest category is 41 square meters, which is spacious for an Indigo. However, there’s no bathtub, though there is a sofa well-suited for in-room dining. As for the minibar, while it includes a stylish gold teapot, unfortunately, there’s no capsule coffee machine. By the bedside sits a B&&O M3 speaker, which sounds pretty good.
Corridors and other public areas embrace an understated luxury aesthetic.
The gym isn’t big, but the advantage is that it’s never crowded. Unfortunately, there’s no barbell rack, and the cable machine only has two handle attachments. Surprisingly, though, there’s a Box Master punching bag—not sure what the reasoning behind that was. Since the gym doesn’t offer external memberships or personal training sessions and is exclusively for hotel guests, it’s almost always empty. Having it practically to yourself is delightful.
You can redeem your welcome drink voucher for Perrier at the bar, but unfortunately not for any cocktails. There were no other guests at all—it felt quite deserted. A typhoon had just passed, so the evening air was pleasantly cool, making it nice to sit outside.
Overall, this hotel offers convenient transportation, no views to speak of, and a very quiet atmosphere at night. The facilities are relatively new, and the buffet breakfast is of decent quality. With fewer guests and reasonable prices, plus thriving nearby commercial areas like The Hub and Longfor Paradise Walk offering numerous shops, it’s an excellent choice for an overnight layover at Hongqiao.
By the way, there’s a Hunan restaurant in The Hub called Fenghuang Xiangyu. I rarely eat Hunan cuisine since I don’t handle spicy food well—even in Changsha, I skipped it, and in Shanghai, I’ve basically only eaten at Shishi Xiang. This place has outstanding reviews, so I decided to give it a try. According to Dianping reviews, the portion sizes for their set menu for two are enormous—I doubt even two people could finish it normally. The ambiance is nice, mostly featuring large tables spaced well apart, and the restaurant itself is quite spacious.
Mashed Chili with Century Egg: Served with a mortar and pestle for mashing at the table. The chilies taste sweet initially, followed by a satisfying kick of heat—delicious! Legend has it that this preparation method prevents internal heat, though of course, that’s impossible.
Salt-and-Pepper Pig Trotters: Hmm, how to describe this dish? Crispy pig trotters—but they’re quite small, with little meat inside, though the skin is nicely crispy and fragrant.
Phoenix Fish Head King (with noodles): Honestly, this dish doesn’t even need noodles—the fish head alone is absolutely massive, packed with tons of flesh, and comes with handmade fish balls too. We opted for the mild-spice green version, but it was still incredibly spicy! That said, the meat was tender and delicious.
Green Beans with Shrimp Paste: Though this dish is fairly standard, I personally love green beans.
Braised Pork Tripe with Bamboo Shoots: This one was rather mediocre—felt like filler on the menu. Both the bamboo shoots and pork tripe were unremarkable.
Additionally, the set menu included Sugar Oil Baba, Red Phoenix Lotus Juice, and fruit—the portions truly are huge. Not just enough for two, but easily sufficient for four people… Overall, it’s a solid restaurant with good flavors and service, though I’d recommend ordering à la carte instead…
Photos in this post taken with SONY A5100 + 16-50mm f/3.5-5.6, edited in Lightroom.
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