A Guide to Booking Indianapolis, Indiana Lodging

Visiting a new city without knowing safe areas from sketchy neighborhoods can be frightening. A hotel might seem like a deal, but could be located in an unsafe area while sometimes the most expensive doesn't mean the best option. Before booking Indianapolis, Indiana lodging, read this article about the advantages and drawbacks of booking lodging in different areas of Indianapolis.

Downtown Indianapolis

On sites like Priceline, usually any of the hotels that fall in the downtown area will be physically safe with on-site security. However, they are much more expensive on average than other Indianapolis hotels. Some of the hotels are also older so they might have shabbier interiors and accommodations. Most of the city's most decorated lodging options are located in downtown. The Conrad, located in the heart of downtown Indianapolis is known as the city's most plush and extravagant hotel.

Many of the downtown hotels also have added surcharges. Several of the hotels charge for parking, and the fees can be enough to add up at anywhere from $10 to $20 a day. Other hotels charge for wireless connections and breakfast buffets. This is enough to make downtown Indianapolis lodging options by far the most expensive in the city on average.

On the plus side, most of the attractions drawing people to the city are downtown. Meaning that rather in town for a convention or a NCAA event, most likely downtown Indianapolis is where the event will be held. With a plethora of shopping and dining options located downtown, guests booking downtown hotels will most likely not need to use a car for every destination.

West Indianapolis

The other big draw to Indianapolis is the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Technically, the racetrack isn't located in the city limits of Indianapolis, but in the town of Speedway, Indiana. During the summer months, two big races, the Indianapolis 500 and the Brickyard draw many fans to town. During these weekends hotels all over the city are quite expensive. So, if you aren't going to the races, try to visit Indy during a different weekend.

If in town for the race, consider staying at hotels further away from the race track. West Indianapolis isn't the best neighborhood. While some of the hotels might be fine, others could be slightly scary. The crazy party scene atmosphere would also be heaviest in close proximity to the track.

North Indianapolis

Both Northeast and Northwest Indianapolis are safe neighborhoods. This part of Indianapolis has several business offices and hotels are set up to accommodate business travels. Several chain hotels are located near Interstate 465 in north Indianapolis.

While crime can happen anywhere, crime wouldn't be a huge concern in this part of Indianapolis.

The rest

The far South side is another safe area, however this is far from any of the main attractions drawing visitors to Indianapolis. These hotels are less expensive than the hotels located nearer the action in downtown and on the North side, so they might be worth the extra commute to events.

In general, the East side of Indianapolis is expensive and booking lodging should be avoided. While some of the hotels can be safe, weeding them out and dealing with surrounding crime wouldn't be worth the hassle.