New hotels in Indianapolis

New Hotels tracks one verified new hotel opening in Indianapolis since 2020: InterContinental Indianapolis, which opened in February 2025 inside the restored Illinois Building on Monument Circle in Downtown/Mile Square. First-time visitors and business travelers do best downtown, within walking distance of the Indiana Statehouse and the convention district; arts- and food-focused stays point to Massachusetts Avenue; nightlife-first visitors should look at Fountain Square or Broad Ripple. This guide covers all four areas plus Irvington and the Speedway district.

What to do

A weekend in Indianapolis

Two days is enough to cover Indianapolis's compact core. Start on Monument Circle at the Soldiers and Sailors Monument and the Indiana Statehouse, then walk the Indianapolis Cultural Trail west into White River State Park for the Indianapolis Zoo, the Eiteljorg Museum of American Indian and Western Art, and the Indiana State Museum. Reserve one evening for dinner and a show on Massachusetts Avenue, the city's official arts and theater district, and a second for Fountain Square's live-music venues and the restored 1928 Fountain Square Theatre. Downtown hotels put all of this within walking distance, so a weekend rarely needs a car; the Cultural Trail and the IndyGo Red Line bus rapid-transit line cover the gaps between neighborhoods.

A full week

A full week adds the neighborhoods a weekend skips. Ride the Monon Trail — a rail-trail running north from downtown — up to Broad Ripple for a day of boutique shopping, coffee shops and a livelier bar scene after dark, about six miles from Monument Circle. Give a morning to the Children's Museum of Indianapolis, the world's largest children's museum, and an afternoon to Irvington, a historic streetcar suburb five miles east known for restored early-1900s homes and a slower pace. If your trip falls around Memorial Day weekend in late May, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in the neighboring town of Speedway hosts the Indianapolis 500, and its on-site museum and Hall of Fame stay open to visitors year-round; book any downtown hotel well ahead of race week, since rooms sell out fast citywide.

Neighborhoods

Downtown / Mile Square

Indianapolis's downtown core is known as the Mile Square, the original one-square-mile grid platted in 1821 around Monument Circle, and it remains the default base for first-time visitors and business travelers. The Indiana Statehouse, the Indiana Convention Center, Lucas Oil Stadium and the Wholesale District's restaurants and bars all sit within walking distance, and White River State Park's museums anchor the western edge. This is also where the only new hotel on this guide opened: InterContinental Indianapolis debuted in February 2025 inside the restored, century-old Illinois Building directly on Monument Circle, the first new luxury hotel brand to arrive in Indianapolis in nearly two decades. Its 170 rooms and suites, rooftop bar and roughly 5,000 square feet of meeting space suit a downtown business trip as easily as a landmark-hotel stay. Expect the city's highest concentration of hotel rates here, though still moderate next to larger US downtowns.

Massachusetts Avenue

Massachusetts Avenue — Mass Ave to locals — cuts diagonally across the northeast edge of downtown and carries the city's official Arts and Theater District designation, with independent galleries, locally owned shops and restaurants lining several blocks. At its northern end, the Bottleworks District has converted a 1930s Coca-Cola bottling plant into a food hall, a movie theater and a hotel of its own, adding a newer dining and entertainment anchor to the strip. It suits couples and design-focused travelers who want walkable access to downtown without staying inside the Mile Square itself — a 10 to 15 minute walk covers the distance to Monument Circle. No hotel on this guide's tracked list has opened directly on Mass Ave yet.

Fountain Square & Fletcher Place

About 1.5 miles southeast of downtown, Fountain Square built its name as the city's entertainment district in the early 20th century, when it held as many as seven theaters; the restored 1928 Fountain Square Theatre Building anchors a revival that earned the neighborhood a cultural-district designation in 1999. Today it mixes vintage and antique shops with live-music venues and a denser, more independent restaurant scene than downtown, reachable from the Mile Square via the Indianapolis Cultural Trail or the IndyGo Red Line. Neighboring Fletcher Place shares the same walkable, gallery-and-restaurant character. It suits visitors prioritizing nightlife and an artsier feel over proximity to convention-center meetings, though no new hotel on this guide's list has opened here.

Broad Ripple

Six miles north of downtown and linked by the Monon Trail — a rail-trail popular with cyclists and runners — Broad Ripple keeps the village feel of the streetcar suburb it once was, with boutique retail and coffee shops by day and one of the city's busiest concentrations of bars and restaurants after dark. It draws a younger, college-town crowd more than a downtown-convention one, and rates tend to run lower than the Mile Square for comparable quality. No new hotel from our tracked list has opened in Broad Ripple.

Irvington

Five miles east of downtown, Irvington is one of Indianapolis's oldest streetcar suburbs, its blocks of restored late-19th and early-20th-century homes protected as a historic district and its small commercial strip built around local shops and restaurants rather than chains. It's a quieter, more residential choice for a longer stay or a repeat visit, better suited to travelers with a rental car than to a car-free downtown itinerary. No new hotel from our tracked list is located in Irvington.

Indianapolis Motor Speedway & Speedway, Indiana

The Indianapolis Motor Speedway sits in Speedway, Indiana, an independent town that incorporated around the track in 1926 and keeps its own Main Street of restaurants and shops. The Speedway hosts the Indianapolis 500 over Memorial Day weekend in late May, drawing permanent-seating crowds of roughly 235,000 plus infield fans, and its on-site museum and Hall of Fame — open to visitors outside race week too — are a reason on their own to visit. It's a short drive from downtown rather than a walkable neighborhood, so most visitors still base themselves in the Mile Square or on Mass Ave and drive out for race day or a museum visit; downtown hotel rooms, including InterContinental Indianapolis, sell out well in advance of race week.

Which hotel for your trip

Business & convention travelers

Downtown Indianapolis is built for this kind of trip: the Indiana Convention Center and Lucas Oil Stadium sit inside the Mile Square, a few blocks from Monument Circle. InterContinental Indianapolis adds roughly 5,000 square feet of meeting and event space, including a ballroom, to that walkable core, making it a workable choice for a corporate stay that also wants a landmark address rather than a standard convention hotel.

Couples & special-occasion stays

InterContinental Indianapolis pairs a historic setting — the restored 1925 Illinois Building on Monument Circle — with Astrea, described as the city's first rooftop bar, and Serliana, a second-floor restaurant from chef Craig Baker. Its private-floor Penthouse Suite is the largest and most expensive room category in the hotel, geared toward a milestone trip rather than a one-night stopover.

First-time sightseers

Basing yourself downtown, in the Mile Square, keeps Monument Circle, the Indiana Statehouse and the museums of White River State Park within walking distance of each other. InterContinental Indianapolis sits at the center of that grid, and the Indianapolis Cultural Trail runs from its doorstep out to Fountain Square and Massachusetts Avenue for anyone extending the day on foot.

Race weekend & motorsports fans

Anyone visiting for the Indianapolis 500, held over Memorial Day weekend in late May, should book downtown or in Speedway itself well ahead of race week, since citywide rooms — including InterContinental Indianapolis on Monument Circle — sell out fast. The Speedway's own museum and Hall of Fame stay open outside race week for a shorter visit any other time of year.

Frequently asked questions

How many new hotels does this guide track in Indianapolis?

One so far: InterContinental Indianapolis, which opened in February 2025 on Monument Circle inside the restored Illinois Building. It's the first new luxury hotel brand to debut in the city in nearly two decades. This list will expand as new Indianapolis openings are verified.

What is the newest hotel to open in Indianapolis?

InterContinental Indianapolis, which opened on February 20, 2025, is both the newest and the only hotel on this guide's tracked list for the city. It occupies the restored, century-old Illinois Building on Monument Circle, in the Mile Square, downtown Indianapolis's original one-square-mile grid.

Which Indianapolis hotel has a rooftop bar?

InterContinental Indianapolis operates Astrea, which its owners describe as the city's first rooftop bar, with views over Monument Circle. It sits alongside Serliana, a second-floor restaurant from chef Craig Baker, inside the same downtown property. Confirm current hours directly with the hotel before visiting.

Does the new InterContinental Indianapolis have meeting or event space?

Yes. The hotel includes roughly 5,000 square feet of meeting and event space, among it a ballroom of about 2,500 square feet, positioned for the corporate and convention business downtown Indianapolis draws. Its Monument Circle address is a short walk from the Indiana Convention Center.

Where should I stay for the Indianapolis 500 race weekend?

Downtown Indianapolis or Speedway, Indiana — the independent town surrounding the track — are the two practical bases, and both fill up well ahead of the Memorial Day weekend race. Downtown hotels, including InterContinental Indianapolis, put you closer to restaurants and the Mile Square but require a drive out to the Speedway itself.

Is there a pet-friendly new hotel in Indianapolis?

Pet policies vary by property and change without much notice, so confirm directly with the hotel before booking with an animal. This guide doesn't currently have a confirmed pet policy on file for InterContinental Indianapolis or any other tracked Indianapolis opening.