Graduate by Hilton Ann Arbor

Tiniest hotel bathrooms for the price. Usually run out of towels in the gym and don't replace them. Location is convenient and front desk staff are friendly and try to be helpful.

I booked this hotel three months in advance for my EMBA graduation and reserved above a base-level room, expecting a comfortable and quiet stay consistent with the hotel’s 4-star positioning. Unfortunately, the experience has been disappointing. Despite the advance booking and room category, we were placed directly next to the elevator during an extremely busy week. The walls are paper thin, and we can hear hallway conversations almost as clearly as if guests were inside our room. This has made it difficult to relax and enjoy what was supposed to be a special graduation stay. The room itself also fell short of expectations. The bathroom is quite small, and there is no coffee maker in the room, which was surprising for a hotel at this level. Some of the hotel’s shared spaces also feel dated, including the restaurant, which added to the sense that the property did not fully match its 4-star positioning. Guest services were kind and professional, but due to occupancy, they understandably were not able to do much. Moving rooms at this point would be too much of a hassle, so we are making the best of it. Still, given the occasion, the reservation, and the hotel’s rating, I expected a much better experience. I hope that this feedback reaches hotel leadership, as the room placement, lack of soundproofing, small bathroom, missing in-room amenities, and dated public spaces made the stay feel well below what was advertised.

The rooms were overall nice. My biggest complaints were that there were not many outlets, an entire lamp would not work while we were there (and the rooms are dark colored so it made it kind of weird with the curtain closed), the shower head was dirty as all get out, the doors to the bathroom were weird and would not shut all the way, and one of the elevators was broken so getting up and down either involved lots of stairs or a very long wait. I think the building is due for heavy overall maintenance as it’s nice so it’s being used at a higher rate. It’s right in downtown A2 so it’s got a fantastic location. The staff are incredible. All very nice and attentive. Poindexter coffee inside was also great. The staff and coffee being excellent and higher quality than I could have hoped for. It was weird however that they would let you order a sandwich on a bagel, but if you just wanted a bagel they were apparently out. That’s just strange. I guess that is just their procedure.

We really enjoy the Graduate hotels in general, but there was one minor issue on this stay in Ann Arbor. The thermostat was set at 68 degrees and in "cool" mode, but the temperature in the room was 74 degrees which was too warm.

Just a charming place to stay. The only disappointment was I was not able to stay longer.