Hotel Indigo di Gulf Shores

Beautifully decorated and landscaped; the clean, newly modern style hotel had super friendly and helpful front desk staff. The indoor/ outdoor pool was awesome, comfy cozy lobby and sitting areas inside and outdoors. Southern grinds coffee shop is connected to the building, offering delicious breakfast and lunch items as well as tasty coffees, teas, and scooped ice cream. The coffee shop has one of the best coastal gift shops I've ever seen in the area. We were offered 500 bonus IHG points if we spent $50 in food/drink in the bar, but the menu didn't look that great, and we had our heart set on Cobalts anyway. The room was very spacious with wood like floors and modern marine decor, a very comfy bed. The bathroom and shower were also modern, with glass doors and optional spray wand. It felt like coastal luxury. It's further down from the busier ***** area, but that's not a bad thing. The only inconvenience is that you can not walk or cross the busy road to access the beach because there are private rentals that don't allow pass through pedestrians. You will actually have to initial an agreement that you will not do so or be fined? If you are a smoker, they have orange Adirondack chairs in the back parking area where you can puff. Other than that, smoking is not allowed anywhere on the property, not even in front or at the coffee shop outdoor tables. They say there is a shuttle that takes you to the public beach entrance less than a mile down the road. It's a nice Pavillion and showers/bathrooms, BUT parking is $10 a day! We didn't see a shuttle but then we didn't ask. We drove there with our beach gear and paid the $10! I suppose you could walk a mile if you had a wagon to haul your stuff to avoid paying the $10 beach access lot parking fee, but who wants to do that on a hot summer day. If staying at Indigo, I would inquire exactly what does using the beach shuttle entail? Anyhow, we usually use IHG points to stay at HI on the beach but it's ridiculously expensive between Labor and Memorial day (the high season), but if your looking for a nice place to stay that's away from the hustle bustle traffic in orange beach, Indigo is great if you can make arrangements for a ride to the beach access at a time suitable for your party (or just cough up the $10 for parking at the beach)!