Checking In: A Review of Graduate Chapel Hill

Sharing an unsponsored review of Graduate Hotel, and why its Chapel Hill location is incredibly unique

While I didn’t attend the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (I’m a Florida gal – Go Gators!), the college nostalgia hit hard on a recent trip to its namesake city. Not just because of the brick buildings on the university campus, bustling college bars, and the overarching theme of Carolina blue (which I promise I’ll share more about in my next post!), but because of where we stayed: Graduate Chapel Hill.

Welcome to Checking In, a series of posts dedicated to the places we stay when we travel.

I’d previously looked into staying at some of the hotel chain’s locations on past trips, but those stays never materialized (although, the hotel we stayed at during our trip to Providence, Rhode Island a few years ago is now a Graduate Hotel). Our day finally came when Graduate Hotels announced a $30 flash sale, and I managed to snag a reservation on Memorial Day weekend, of all weekends.

I’m finding myself choosing hotels more frequently these days – for our usual short stays, they offer a few more conveniences at around the same price (or frankly, even cheaper) than most Airbnbs these days. And boutique hotels are typically oozing with charm and personality – and that’s certainly the case at Graduate Hotels. Let’s check-in, shall we?

ABOUT GRADUATE HOTELS

Graduate Hotels is a collection of boutique hotels with 31 locations across the U.S., and two in the U.K. As you might gather from the name, Graduate Hotels are university-themed and located in close proximity to campuses in college towns. Each location is entirely unique and decorated in local school spirit (sometimes subtle – sometimes not!). Their motto? We are all students.

ABOUT GRADUATE CHAPEL HILL

Graduate Chapel Hill is located right in the heart of Franklin Street – what is essentially the main street of Chapel Hill – about a five-minute walk from the edge of The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s campus. You can watch a recent episode of Magnolia Network’s Handcrafted Hotels for a behind-the-scenes look at Graduate Chapel Hill (I don’t have a subscription, but perhaps you can tell me about it!).

From the moment you walk in the lobby, there’s no question you’re in a hotel in a university town. Sure, the lobby feels very much like a well-to-do Southerner’s living room, with books, seascape paintings, and antique knick-knacks displayed amongst the floral, plaid, and dark leather furniture. That is, until you turn to face the check-in counter with its bright neon clock forever honoring Michael Jordan’s game-winning shot. Or look down to read the “we are all students” tilework on the floor. Or head up to your room to find a mini basketball court just steps away.

While I don’t have the data to back it up, my theory is that a large portion of their customers are parents in town to visit their kids at college, or former students returning to live their glory days (or perhaps both!).

GRADUATE CHAPEL HILL’s KING ROOM

I joked that the decor of the King Room at Graduate Chapel Hill (and really, the hotel as a whole) was half Greek Revival, half Michael Jordan. But both of those seemingly different decor styles somehow work together in a fun way, despite the incongruity. Our King Room with wooden court floors featured a plush king bed with argyle bedding (capped with a soft basketball hoop backboard), a desk and chair (for coursework, perhaps?), vintage nightstands, and a sofa.

Looking beyond the furniture, the room also included a kettle and pour-over coffee pouches, a small open wardrobe, an iron and ironing board, a full-length mirror (yay!), and C.O. Bigelow toiletries (not Malin + Goetz as stated all over the website). It had everything we needed for our overnight stay, but I might consider upgrading if we planned to stay any longer. And certainly, if we were staying more than one night, I would have requested a room change; unfortunately, both shower heads were broken and it was difficult to bathe.

AMENITIES AND EXTRAS AT GRADUATE CHAPEL HILL

A combination of a lack of time on our part and limited operating hours meant that we didn’t have a chance to check out all of the amenities at Graduate Chapel Hill. Our visit was too brief to take advantage of the fitness center or loaner bicycles. And Trophy Room, the stunning lobby bar and restaurant, was closed during the course of our visit (though we slipped in to grab a quick photo).

We did, however, have time to shoot some hoops on the indoor basketball court in the center of the hotel (I’m still basking in the glory of beating Michael – my boyfriend, not Michael Jordan). Rounding the corner to find this large space was quite a delight. I am a little grateful that our room was further down the hall, as a group started a game right before my bedtime. The basketballs are plush and the floor is carpeted, but that does only so much to quell loud voices – thankfully they wrapped it up before it got too late.

It would be hard to miss the basketball court, but one easy-to-miss feature of the Graduate Chapel Hill is a replica of Michael Jordan’s dorm room. Every detail was considered when recreating His Airness’ home-away-from-home, from the posters on the wall to the clothing and accessories displayed. Unfortunately, the room is not available to book for overnight stays, but you can pop in and take a look around. Just ask the friendly front desk staff for the key (you’ll need to leave your ID as collateral). Can’t make it? I shared a video tour of the room on TikTok.

FINAL THOUGHTS ON GRADUATE CHAPEL HILL

Ready to book your stay? A few final things you should know before you do: check-in is at 4 p.m., and check-out is at 11 a.m. We managed to bypass the parking charge by parking in the city-owned lot behind the hotel (parking in city decks is free all day on Sundays and select holidays), but if you’re not so lucky, self-parking is $25 per day. There is no breakfast or room service, but there are so many great restaurants nearby. You’ll just have to read my Chapel Hill guide to learn more!

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Which Graduate Hotel location are you most excited to visit?