Graduate by Hilton Chapel Hill — Hotel in Chapel Hill

WOW! Amazingly fun, eclectic, unique hotel!!! What a surprise. This was my first visit to Chapel Hill and the Graduate Hotel. Although I researched the hotel's website prior to arrival, I didn't expect to have such a pleasant and fun one night stay. Upon arrival, once you enter the lobby, you will have an instant smile develop. Although a small lobby, the decor, furnishings, art work, fireplace and the many interesting items make for the most unique arrival/registration experience. Where else will you find an actual scoreboard (lights included, look for my photo!) being used as the front desk?? Naturally, with the hotel's location so close to the university campus, the hotel has a distinctive sports theme throughout. In fact, in the middle of a small atrium is a cute basketball court for kids with soft, fabric balls for use (see my photos!) All areas of the hotel were immaculate and well maintained. My guestroom was spacious, cozy, comfortable and clean. Comfy queen bed, large flat screen TV, mini refrigerator, safe, pencil, and old fashioned rotary telephone (really fun! If under 30 years of age, you won't recognize it!) The bath was large with pretty retro wallpapers and wonderful, large, glass, walk in shower. The restaurant was not open when I visited, but I did manage to take a look and snap photos. It looked like a really cool place to meet and have a bit to eat. Hopefully, I can experience the hotel's restaurant on my next visit?!?! No need to worry about food here, even if the hotel's restaurant is not open, as there are numerous restaurants and dining options, all within a short walk. The hotel's location is superb, located directly on Franklin Street. Literally, just about any type of food or beverage you desire is close at hand. Of course, there is shopping too! There is a very nice Target, just a few blocks from the hotel. Finally, I totally loved the hotel, amenities and unique decor (I don't know a name to call this type of decor, you must see it yourself!!). On top of all the fun and unique experiences here, once again it's this hotel's staff that ensures a solid 5 star rating! The staff associates here are simply amazing; courteous, helpful, professional and caring! Every single staff associate I encountered was friendly, smiled and spoke to me. From the front desk staff to the housekeeping associates, kudos for making my stay so pleasant!! Without a doubt, the Graduate Hotel has my full recommendation. I can't imagine anyone leaving the hotel without a smile!! Check it...

This hotel really surprised us and made our trip to Chapel Hill so much fun. The staff are incredibly kind and helpful. The entire hotel is beautiful. The rooms are so comfortable,, and really quite beautiful. And the beds put our swanky memory foam at home to shame.

I've read that someone else said the rooms were very small. Totally not the case with our room. While I didn't take pictures of the entire room, our bathroom was large and spacious, had a huge corner shower, large vanity--you'd be able to roll around in a wheel chair in the bathroom we had There was a separate lighted vanity alcove area outside the bathroom, and a huge dresser complete with a mini fridge and safe. Wish I have gotten pics of it all to show, but it was a very spacious, comfortable room. It was also an outside-facing room, so maybe those are the ones to request.

This hotel also understands the importance of small touches. For example, though the beds come with four or five pillows each already, they also have a "pillow menu"--don't know what else to call it--with various types of pillows you can request (like orthopedic, body pillows, etc.). And it's brought to you right away.

One of my favorite things about the Franklin is the app ALICE. You can download it to your phone and it becomes a gateway to anything you need from the hotel. You can order room service (from an EXTENSIVE menu of both food AND cocktails), set wake-up calls, request other services, send messages to both the on-call staff and general manager, etc. There are even little buttons on the walls next to the nightstand to set "do not disturb"or "maid service" indicators outside. No more having to put the little hanging signs on door knobs.

The hotel is also in a perfect location for walking around the central Chapel Hill area. Very close to the campus, with tons of neat little restaurants and shops to keep your interest.

The Franklin rivals any 4-star hotel I've ever been to--but with 3-star...

I didn’t end up staying here due to an incident on-campus that cancelled my event, but I had a negative enough experience with this hotel even prior to staying to feel justified in leaving this review.

Long story short, I was travelling for work and booked a room here, over $200 for the night after taxes and fees on a random Wednesday. My trip coordinator lets me know a couple hours later that their official site is offering a promo rate and I'd knock about $50 off by booking with the promo code. So naturally, I call them the same day of booking to sort it out, since they're offering a lower price for the exact same room on the exact same night. Was going into Labor Day weekend, so they told me to call back after the weekend. Meanwhile, my card gets charged for the full amount including taxes and fees.

So I call back the next week, and they seem to think I haven't been charged at all, which I verified with my bank as incorrect. They send me a form to complete so they can price match for me. I filled it out and called them back to hopefully fully clear up the situation, only to be informed that because I booked an "advanced rate" that's non-refundable, not only will they not refund me for the original booking, they won't honor the promo code that THEY THEMSELVES are offering. They proceeded to give me radio silence over the phone for a full minute, offering no way to fix this or any potential solutions, before I hung up. So because I didn't find the deal BEFORE actually booking the room, they can just magically not honor the offer? Either way, I was stuck with the rate.

It's a good thing my company is reimbursing expenses, but I'll definitely make it a point of emphasis to avoid this place next time I'm looking for a place to stay in Chapel Hill. Absolutely ridiculous policy, and even more ridiculous to offer ZERO solutions for my given situation. It's not that they couldn't fix this, they were just unwilling to, and that to me is...