Graduate by Hilton, the university-anchored hotel brand recently acquired by Hilton, has arrived in Princeton, N.J. with the opening of Graduate Princeton. Located on Nassau Street in the downtown, the hotel sits directly outside the campus. This is the first Graduate Hotel opening since Hilton acquired the brand.
A historic, 1918-era student dormitory has been transformed into a 180-key boutique hotel with 6,000 square feet of public space and a signature bar and restaurant. AJ Capital Partners collaborated with architecture firm Stonehill Taylor to restore, modernize and expand the Colonial Revival-style building and showcase Graduate Hotels’ hyper-local, vibrant features.
Princeton has been at the top of the Graduate Hotels’ list since the brand launched 10 years ago, said Ben Weprin, Graduate Hotels’ founder and CEO of AJ Capital Partners. “The history, the heritage, the backdrop, the charm, the sophistication — it’s just the idea of what somebody envisions college looks like in America.”
Graduate Princeton is the first new hotel to open in Princeton in almost 90 years and only the second hotel in the downtown, Hilton said in a statement.
The hotel’s interiors have subtle references to the Princeton University and the town’s 275-year history, with nods to influential alumni, local architecture and traditions synonymous with the Princeton student experience.
The Gothic-inspired lobby welcomes guests with a hand-carved wooden reception desk flanked by four wooden statues of the university’s mascot, the Tiger. The floor tiles bear Princeton’s signature orange and black anchorage. The two-story library-like lobby has thousands of books and a collection of vintage Reunions Jackets.
Ye Tavern, the signature bar and restaurant, sits on the opposite end of the lobby. Named after a 1930s-era bar which was earlier located at the site, the dining venue’s design is inspired by the former bar and features a carved wooden bar.
The guestrooms also have references to the university’s emblematic color palette, with the wood-carved bed frames featuring hand-drawn illustrations referencing Princeton’s annual Cane Spree — the school’s first organized intramural event dating back to the 1860s. The wallpaper inside guest bathrooms is inspired by the campus’ arboretum, along with framed sketch by Albert Einstein, a reference to his time working for Princeton’s Institute for Advanced Study.
Earlier this year, Hilton agreed to pay $210 million to AJ Capital Partners for the rights to Graduate Hotels. According to the terms of the deal, AJ Capital will continue to own the current and pipeline Graduate properties, each of which will be operated under long-term Hilton franchise agreements. Graduate Hotels has more than 35 hotels open or in the pipeline near college markets in the U.S. and the U.K.
