Graduate by Hilton Richmond

We chose The Graduate over Quirk in VA and I’m so glad we did (no disrespect to Quirk) We recently (6/11-13/25) visited VA for a small conference, and stayed at The Graduate for the weekend. We had a wonderful stay. We had a spacious corner room on the 11th floor. The bed slept well and the shower pressure was just right. The front desk staff was pleasant and efficient. The bartenders were friendly and knowledgeable about the menu, and the random staff members that we met throughout our stay were enthusiastic and enjoyable. One employee that we’d like to mention is Trent, I think she’s in the kitchen, although we met her while we were parking (on the street) she gave us a quick run down of the area, and invited us to the rooftop. Wow! The view was amazing and the food was delicious!! *One observation/suggestion…park on the street, or speak to the owner at the green convenience store across the street about parking. It’s cheaper and way more convenient. We had one unwelcome interaction and that was with Xavier, he works with the valets. Mind you we never used this service so there was really no reason for us to interact with Xavier. For some reason he felt he should be able to “relax” same as the guests, or no one should be able to “relax”. We explained to the young man that he was working and we were vacationing but he couldn’t be moved so we pulled in management. Things were resolved but we didn’t appreciate having the interaction in the first place. He may need to be reminded of his duties and work expectations. Other than that one incident our stay was wonderful and we plan to return very soon.

The room was great, we got in early and they had availability to check us in sooner. The staff was excellent. Just wanted more food and beverage options. The hotel needs fly wind screens. There were too many flies by the entrances. Slow elevators. The pool was inoperable so that made me very disappointed.

I will start by saying that everyone we interacted with that worked at this hotel was so nice. However, that was the only positive of our stay. We were there for two nights for a concert in town and there was a sports team there too (a travel soccer team maybe?). The hotel very clearly did not plan for the influx of people that they were getting. we were told they were sold out for the nights before our stay as well and couldn't guarantee a 4pm check-in. The lobby was full of people waiting to check into their hotel. No point in checking-in early on the app, that didn't help. It also appeared that they were changing out all of the mattresses of the rooms too? one elevator wasn't working, and one was being used by maintenance so you had 1.5 small elevators for the entire hotel. Lots of construction- lots of noise. Our room didn't feel overly clean either. We had a king bed with only 2 pillows. I attempted to get one extra pillow seven times and it never came. cafe/bar was closed every time I went by it as well. overall, it did the job- to have somewhere to sleep & shower, but I wouldn't recommend this stay until they've ironed everything out.