Indianapolis Roadtrip + Travel Guide

Hi loves!

Just this Monday my mom and I took a little roadtrip to Indianapolis and had the best time! I was so thankful to be able to partner with Le Méridien Hotels, specifically Le Méridien Indianapolis for our trip and tell you all about our stay as well as put together a little travel guide!

First of all, the best part of this whole trip had to have been the gorgeous weather. We literally had a snowstorm in Milwaukee on Sunday night prior to us leaving. It's spring - why are we still getting snow?! I have honestly always thought that Indiana had basically the same weather as us, and for the most part they do. However, to our surprise, as we left our 30 degree, snow on the ground 'spring' - we were delighted to arrive to Indianapolis completely green and blooming with 75 degree weather! In Milwaukee, there is not a blooming tree in sight, but somehow, just 4 hours South, the weather was the complete opposite. I can't even begin to explain how happy I was to instantly see greenery and flowers blossoming after our awful snowstorm the night before. It was such a simple source of happiness, but it made the whole trip even better.

We arrived in the later afternoon with just enough time to unwind a bit, explore the hotel and the city, and grab some dinner!

The staff at Le Meridien was so welcoming and accommodating from the moment we arrived. The hotel is located in the perfect location, central in the city within walking distance to all of the main attractions, as well as connected to the mall!

The room was so nice and we had such a pretty view of the city. I absolutely adored this gorgeous wallpaper which was a map of the city streets!

After we checked in and freshened up in the room for a minute, we got a tour of the hotel and all of the amenities that they offer to their guests.

The photos below are the common areas for guests to lounge, mingle, and work as they please. The atmosphere of the entire hotel was so modern and beautiful! They truly paid attention to every little detail in each room. There are also a couple of spaces that you can reserve for gatherings!

Now this part of the hotel was one of the coolest and most unique details.

First off, the abstract sculpture in the center of the hallway is actually a design based off of the racing tracks used for the Indy 500! There are a few details throughout the hotel that are related to the races, which Indianapolis is most known for.

Secondly, if you go to the door to the right of the hallway, you will enter the 'barrel room' which is a room guests (or locals) can rent out to create their own formula of old-fashions, which are barrel aged and then given back to the creators to enjoy! Companies or guests can engrave their name or logo into the barrel to personalize it!

This whole room had such a unique feel to it. It felt like a little speakeasy! The barrels are stored in the room to age or displayed in the lobby hallway.

Also attached to the lobby is the hotel's own restaurant, Spoke and Steele. This space was designed so beautifully! If I could have my house designed any way I wanted, the atmosphere of this restaurant would be exactly what I would want!

Though we didn't get the chance to have a full meal in the restaurant, we did grab drinks and dessert later in the night, which was wonderful!

After we explored the hotel for a bit, we decided to rent electric scooters to ride around the city. We rode through the streets and down to the canal, which was such a beautiful walk! I seriously felt like we were somewhere in Europe! If you ever visit Indy, the canal walk is a must see.

After exploring until sunset, we decided that a big juicy steak was calling our names! St. Elmo's Steak House was highly recommended by all of the locals, as well as my step dad. The restaurant is also conveniently located directly next to our hotel.

The food was absolutely phenomenal! Now we know why it was so highly recommended by everyone in the area. Though, I would definitely suggest making a reservation if you do decide to eat here, as it was clearly a city favorite and completely packed (even on a Monday night!)

The next morning we decided to explore a different part of the city and tried locally recommended breakfast spot called The Garden Table! This place was so cute and the food was amazing too!

They make their own fresh pressed juices, so naturally I had to try one. I got the Tropic Tonic (Pineapple, Kale, Spinach, Parsley, Lemon, Aloe, and Mint) with an acai bowl to eat, and my mom got a BLT with coffee. Both of us were blown away with how good our breakfast was!

After visiting Indianapolis, we headed to a little town called Nashville, Indiana, otherwise known as 'little Nashville.' We went here to visit my great aunt and great grandma, who is 95 years old! We don't get to see this side of the family very often, so it was nice to be able to visit.

The town was so cute! It reminded me a lot of Cedarburg or Lake Geveva (for my fellow Wisconsinites). It was full of cute antique shops, local makers, boutiques, and everything you could imagine in an adorable small town.

We couldn't have asked for better weather or a more perfect trip! We had so much fun exploring both Indianapolis and Nashville, and we are already planning our next trip back!

If you live in the midwest, or even if you don't, I would highly suggest taking a weekend trip to Indy to explore all of these cute spots!

I hope you enjoyed this post! As always, be sure to subscribe to keep up and follow along on instagram!

xo