However this is where the old world feeling stops. As you move towards the back of the hotel and the check in you move past hundreds (or feels like hundreds) of dinning tables into the reception area. This is where you start to get the first glimpse of the wonderful styling that's gone into the hotel. As I said above Stratford was Shakespeare's home town and the designer has really gone to town on this. There are theatrical references everywhere. From bit's of rope and drapes to look like theatre curtains, too quotes from plays. If you know the plays he wrote or work in theatre (like I have) these take on another level of detail that might pass some by.
Little touches like rather than a normal "do not disturb" signs have been altered with Shakespeares face going shhhhh. The fire emergency plans rather than being in a boring frame are on a cloth scroll. Now don't get me wrong the styling of the Indigo brand is usually more quirky than most but this hotel takes it to another level. And I just love it.
I was greeted with a warm welcome by the staff, asking how my day was, why I was in town, and really appearing to care about my time at the hotel. My room was on the first floor in the modern part of the hotel. There are older rooms in other parts of the hotel. It had a large comfortable double bed, desk, chair with standard lamp behind for reading. It also had a nice big wardrobe containing ironing board, fridge etc... And then a really really beautiful bathroom.