Hot New Design Hotels in U.S. College Towns
Going to visit college students, or dropping them off as the school year begins, has often meant needing to crash in less than ideal hotels and motels. Even if the place is nice-ish and vaguely tidy, the aesthetics can be less than stellar, and the food often isn't much better than that at the campus cafeteria. At last, hospitality leaders seem to be catching on to this marketplace void. Case in point: the recent slate of design-minded hotels opening up in college towns across the U.S.
AD spoke to developer Randy Salvatore about what inspired him to develop the Blake in New Haven, Connecticut. “I have built a variety of projects in New Haven, and the longer I am there, the more I see what a rich cultural landscape the town has—it is a real hidden gem,” he says. Salvatore has two children in college, so he spends a good amount of time staying in small-town hotels, noting long ago the need for a different product. “Sometimes these hotels feel like a ‘school’ hotel," he notes, "and we really want to feel more like a community center where you can hear local musicians, see local art, and welcome not just hotel guests but the community.”
Graduate Hotels is the first brand to focus solely on university-anchored cities, with 13 hotels currently open and 20 more in the pipeline. As Julie Saunders, CMO of Graduate Hotels, says, “Proximity to the university is key, as our hotels not only drive consistent business from visiting athletes, professors, parents, and alumni, but they also become an integral part of the community and a hub for students, local businesses, and vibrant cultural institutions.”
As back-to-school season begins, AD visited eight new design hotels in some of our favorite university towns around the country.
Roost East Market, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
The recently opened Roost East Market feels like a home away from home. Call a room your own for a week or longer at this 60-room extended-stay hotel, which features full kitchens, laundry, and king-size beds in each of its luxe rooms, which range from one to two bedrooms. Steps from Jefferson Station, the brand’s third Philadelphia outpost is equal parts inviting and aspirational—with a pool to die for. The space includes its share of bells and whistles—landscaped terraces, a communal vegetable garden, a tricked-out fitness center, and a private screening room—but the glam add-ons don’t upstage function. Each apartment’s cozy interiors, by Morris Adjmi, who was also the building’s architect, mix custom furnishings with vintage rugs, room-specific art, and even live plants. (True design nerds will take note of covetable pieces by Workstead, Gubi, and Chelsea Textiles.) And a kitchen chock-full of top-quality tools presents the perfect occasion to prep your college student a rare home-cooked meal. myroost.com/philadelphia/east-market/
The Blake, New Haven, Connecticut
The recently opened Blake is New Haven’s first high-end boutique hotel and one of the few in New England. Named after the first female graduate of Yale, Alice Blake, the 108-room hotel is within walking distance of the university and is surrounded by a growing cultural scene of new restaurants and retail. The restaurant, Hamilton Park, and rooftop bar (debuting in the spring) are run by Matt Lambert of New York City’s acclaimed Musket Room. This will make the Blake the first hotel in the area with a culinary program by a Michelin-starred chef. Acclaimed mixologist Eben Freeman (formerly of wd~50 in NYC) created the cocktail program. Developed and owned by RMS Companies, the Blake was designed as a collaboration between HVS Design of Rockville, Maryland, and London-based Alexander Waterworth Interiors. theblakenewhaven.com
The Clifton, Charlottesville, Virginia
When visiting the University of Virginia, treat yourself to a stay at this historic estate cum boutique hotel. Tucked away on 100 acres of Virginia’s idyllic countryside, the Clifton is a 20-room historic estate only 15 minutes away from UVA, originally constructed in 1799 as a classic Colonial-style home for Thomas Jefferson’s daughter and husband. The interiors were reimagined by the acclaimed Blackberry Farm Design (known for Tennessee’s Blackberry Farm Resort). Treat the hard-studying kids to dinner at the inn's 1799 restaurant, helmed by Michelin-starred chef Matthew Bousquet serving a seasonal menu of mid-Atlantic, hyper-local dishes. Guests also have access to Common House, a social club located in downtown Charlottesville where patrons can dine or enjoy workshops, talks, and billiards. the-clifton.com
The Dean, Providence, Rhode Island
Housed in an early-20th-century brick building (that may have once been a brothel) carefully restored by Brooklyn-based ASH NYC, this 52-room hotel is filled with custom furniture and fixtures as well as just the right amount of antiques from around the globe. Added bonus: Most of the art in the hotel is from graduates of nearby Rhode Island School of Design. Hit the Bolt coffee bar in the morning and the Dean Bar for cocktail hour, and dine at North, where everything is sourced locally. If you get carried away, embarrass your kids with a song or two at Boombox, its karaoke lounge. thedeanhotel.com
The Line Hotel, Austin, Texas
As Austin continues to flourish, the Line couldn’t have opened at a better time. Located in the middle of all the action, this revamped midcentury-modernist building (built in 1965) incorporates fresh design by Austin-based architect Michael Hsu and interiors by Los Angeles–based designer Sean Knibb, who is also responsible for the Line in L.A.’s Koreatown. Top Chef season ten winner Kristen Kish runs the lakeside restaurant, Arlo Grey, while matcha is the signature offering at Alfred, an L.A.-based purveyor of coffee and tea. While the kids are studying hard at UT Austin, you can be lounging by the infinity pool on the edge of Town Lake cocktailing and feasting on disco fries from the hotel’s burger joint, Dean’s One Trick Pony. thelinehotel.com
Nobu Hotel Epiphany, Palo Alto, California
Nobu Hospitality, a company founded by chef Nobu Matsuhisa, actor Robert De Niro, and Hollywood producer Meir Teper recently took over managing the hotel, which is owned by Oracle founder Larry Ellison, and is rebranding it through the year (grand opening in 2020). Guest rooms and suites in the hotel, designed by L.A.-based Montalba Architects, are well loved for their balcony views of Palo Alto and the Santa Cruz mountains as well as the Stanford University Hoover Tower and stadium scoreboard. Naturally, there is a Nobu on the premises (guests get priority reservations), so get ready for your Stanford student to butter you up for dinner with their roommates. lhw.com
The Graduate Hotel, Lincoln, Nebraska
Per all Graduate hotels, this one near the University of Nebraska (a 15-minute walk away) is chock-full of local ephemera, from old maps above the beds to cowhides on the floor as well as abundant horse-and-cowboy decor. The Americana theme even stretches to the entertainment; there's arcade games, foosball, and table tennis to distract the conversation from football and final exams. The tiki bar in the hotel is an amusing place for a nightcap, especially in the middle of a winter blizzard. graduatehotels.com
Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest
