Introduction

I recently had the chance to spend five nights at the Graduate Charlottesville. I was excited to try out the property since I’ve seen the outside several times during UVA visits.

Part of the larger Graduate Hotels chain, their properties are located in college towns primarily servicing students and their parents visiting the local universities.

I really enjoy visiting hotels that take the extra effort of adding local touches to their property. As such, I expected the overall ambiance to be similar to the Kimpton brand – with each hotel reflecting a curated style – but after my stay that was definitely not the case.

How To Book

Graduate Hotels does not offer a loyalty program which IMO isn’t necessarily surprising. The majority of their clientele are either college students who presumably aren’t traveling all that often and parents who aren’t traveling to Charlottesville, State College, or Annapolis regularly on business.

Regardless, I found their rates to be quite reasonable compared to other options in Charlottesville considering I stayed during UVA’s move-in weekend. For reference – the Residence Inn down the street was over $700 / night while I paid roughly $250 / night.

The Location

Charlottesville is a great weekend getaway with plenty of attractions to fill up your day – including Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello, Shenandoah National Park, and countless wineries. UVA campus is a short five-minute walk and the UVA Medical Center is directly across the street.

Relative to the city as a whole, it’s walking distance to “The Corner” – a charming stretch of bars, restaurants, and a slew of fun shops. In the opposite direction is the historic downtown mall, though it’s a brisk 20-minute walk from the hotel.

The Room

I reserved the Graduate Queen and was assigned 515 on the 5th floor.

The free wifi was speedy and I had no problem streaming content on my devices. I also really enjoyed how powerful the air conditioning was as I usually like my room to be frigid. The downside is that the unit was LOUD – which personally didn’t bother me since I like white noise. It may bother some, however.

Speaking of noise, move-in weekend meant a crowded West Main Street and all the corresponding noise. If that bothers you, request a room facing north, west, and east.

Where the hotel missed the mark was in the state of the room. This hotel isn’t particularly old but its age has started to show – particularly in the bedroom but the entire room seemed to feel a bit tired. The shower looked like it hadn’t seen a good cleaning in a while – there were stains in the grout – and there was damage on the walls. These kind of things could easily be easily addressed and give the room a more premium feeling.

Then we move onto the hallway. Is it just me, or does it feel like it’s right out of “The Shining”?

Overall, despite these dings, the room ultimately met my needs and I had no complaints otherwise!

Dining / Entertainment

The Charlottesville Graduate has three areas to grab food or a drink. On the first floor is the Poindexter Coffee shop serving baked goods and specialty drinks.

Behind the coffee shop is a lounge area perfect for studying close to the University of Virginia grounds! I love the wall art giving a nod to the area’s colonial history.

On the second floor is a game room with a bar along with an outdoor terrace overlooking West Main Street.

The top floor holds the Trophy Room which is both a rooftop bar and restaurant. I ate here on several occasions on my visit. Special shout out to my server Brandon for excellent service! The clientele were a mix of hotel guests and local college students.

Did I mention that the views are among some of the best in C-Ville? Despite not overlooking Shenandoah National Park, there are several mountains within view.

Final Thoughts

At ~$250 / night, I felt that I got a good value for my money. The close proximity to UVA can’t be beat and the rooftop restaurant/bar was a perfect place to hang out after a busy day. The quality of the room, however, left a bit to be desired and I wouldn’t pay more than $300 a night for a room here.