Graduate New Haven

Just across the street from the Yale School of Art, a block and a half from the university’s Old Campus itself, is Graduate New Haven, the Bulldogs franchise of the rapidly blossoming Graduate hotel group. The concept is simple: college towns need convenient, stylish, and relatively affordable lodgings, and the common purpose of most visitors provides a ready-made identity for the hotel.

Here that naturally means plenty of Yale Blue in the décor, and a slightly ironic upper-class flavor to the rooms and suites themselves. At its heart, though, the Graduate New Haven is the furthest thing from formal — loaner bikes help guests get around the campus and its immediate surroundings, while a pet-friendly policy makes it the obvious choice for dog owners.

An outpost of the brand’s proudly bookish Poindexter café is present, and the Old Heidelberg bar, a local fixture from long before the Graduate took over, has been renovated and reimagined as a restaurant and bar serving an upscale take on the classic pub experience. Best of all, it’s quite a bit easier to get into the Graduate New Haven than it is to get accepted to Yale itself — graduation week aside, that is….