InterContinental Hotel Group’s boutique offshoot, Hotel Indigo, has just launched an experiential, art- and culture-driven guest experience at two of its properties — Stratford-upon-Avon and Berlin — designed to immerse visitors in local culture and offer exposure to unique artifacts curated in partnership with historians, creative directors, and artists, presented as art installations integrated into each hotel’s design. The “clues” guide guests through an exploration of under-the-radar experiences, like a special view they wouldn’t otherwise know about or an antique object with a hyper-local backstory connected to the place.
For example, at the Stratford-upon-Avon property, musical bookends are a “clue” to “Rebel Rebel,” Orchestra of the Swan’s concert that examines the visionary legacies of Beethoven and Bowie.
Musical bookends as a “clue” to a concert examining the legacies of Beethoven and Bowie.
Adrian Pope
And beautiful wind-up wooden dancers lead guests to an exhibition called Touch and Identity that explores how clothing and textiles relate to art, design, fashion, film and dance.
At Hotel Indigo Berlin, guests are introduced to artist René Koch’s Lipstick Museum, a fascinating look at lipstick before it was made from artificial colors and fats. Here. visitors can view up close more than 150 kiss prints, some of which are with lipstick made from plant extracts or lice blood.
The Lipstick Museum at Hotel Indigo Berlin.
Timotheus Theisen
The “Clues to the Neighbourhood Concept” was developed by Mercury Prize-nominated singer and songwriter Laura Mvula and Berlin–based digital creative and tastemaker Cloudy Zakrocki after months of research into unique local storytelling angles for each hotel.
Mvula, who composed the music for Anthony and Cleopatra for the Royal Shakespeare Company, said: “My Clues to the Neighbourhood aren’t things that you’ll find in the guide book — which is exactly what I look for when I travel. My clues capture the pace of the town and that real sense of calm and pensiveness, as well as some of its most unique experiences. I love how the clues, which range from antique coins to contemporary art prints help guests to discover Stratford-upon-Avon in a multi-dimensional way.”
Meredith Latham, Vice President of Global Hotel Indigo at IHG, added, “It is the neighbourhood that inspires the features of each Hotel Indigo. From the design of the space to the flavours of our restaurant menus, we bring local stories to our guests in a unique way. Our hotels provide a gateway to discover some of the most vivid locations in the world. With this project, our guests have a new way to unlock curiosity in the local area.”
Clues to the Neighbourhood evolved out of the wildly successful “Shop the Neighbourhood, a shoppable hotel room at Hotel Indigo Lower East Side New York. Now that the Clues program is fully underway at the Berlin and Stratford-upon-Avon Hotel Indigo properties, the Brussels location will be next in line for the experiential immersion upgrade.
Zakrocki sums it up well: “Have you ever done something that is so unique that it’s hard to explain to your friends? Well, trust me, Clues to the Neighbourhood for Berlin are something few people know about. One of my clues, which can be found in Berlin’s Schöneberg district, reveals that you can climb the world’s only open-air gasometer to an altitude of almost 80 meters. It truly is a one of a kind — as you watch the sunset whilst feeling free as a bird and having an eye-opening view of the world’s most loved cities.”
