When we travel – when we can – we do like to find unique places to stay. Nothing wrong with normal hotels – they’re just all the same and they’re pretty boring. If you’re visiting Austin, why would you want to stay at a Holiday Inn when you can stay someplace like The Driskill.
We made a quick, overnight trip to Indy and I can tell you, having lived there on a couple of occasions, they have some pretty interesting options when it comes to lodging. We tried The Columbia Club this time around and really enjoyed it.
Here’s an extract from their Wikipedia Page for anyone interested in the history:
The Columbia Club was originally formed on February 13, 1889, by a group of prominent local Republicans as the Harrison Marching Society to support the presidential campaign of Benjamin Harrison.[2] After the election, the society acquired a clubhouse on Monument Circle and changed its name to the Columbia Club to continue operation as a private club. Quickly growing its membership, the club evolved into the premier private club in Indianapolis. The club is no longer partisan and now numbers in its ranks Democrats and members of other parties.[3] According to the club, the founders of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway (home of the Indianapolis 500) met there to discuss its construction. In 1984, secret meetings were held there to negotiate the move of the Baltimore Colts to Indianapolis.[4]
Although now non-partisan, the club has hosted every Republican president since Benjamin Harrison while in office or as a candidate and serves as temporary living quarters for many Indiana state legislators during the legislative session. In addition to the thousands of business leaders and politicians who have been members, the club has also included many artists and musicians including Hoagy Carmichael and T.C. Steele.[2][5][6] It is located in the Washington Street-Monument Circle Historic District.
It’s a beautiful old building with some great, unique spaces. The rooms are a little dated but that kind of comes with the historical nature of the place. Non-members can only get a room when they have vacancies, so we just happened to be lucky on this trip. It’s also surprisingly affordable and prices out lower than most of the other downtown hotels. If you have the chance, give it a try – it’s just very cool.
P.S. They also have a decent scotch menu at the Grille.
Cheers