Jane O
Google
In late October of 2024, my boyfriend and I had to make an unexpected cross-country trip to Indiana due to a family member being hospitalized at IU Health in Bloomington. From the moment I made the reservation; to the day we checked out of The Graduate Hotel, I cannot tell you what a great experience we had at this establishment during this very difficult time. ||Each and every person that I interacted with at the hotel were so kind and helpful, and they made our experience coming back from long days and nights at the hospital so comforting. ||Here is a (long) summary of what our stay was like:||ROOM/AMENITIES|1) Unlike a traditional hotel, the room had such as warm, cozy, and comforting feeling. Not only was it very clean, but it had this home-like feeling that made coming back from long and odd hours at the hospital feel so good. ||I didn't use the amenities at this hotel, but I was able to do a quick walk-through/search one very late evening and it all looked so clean and cool. I even discovered a room that had a "Stranger Things" theme and a room (for kids next to an adjoining room) that was race car themed. I would classify this hotel as a fun, boutique-like hotel.||STAFF|Above all, what made our stay here so incredible were the staff, who I learned were mostly current students at Indiana University just down the street. I would have never known other than the fact they all looked very young. Here is a list of the amazing staff that I had interacted with that I hope receive special recognition for their outstanding customer service, but above all, for just being incredible human beings and great representatives of this amazing establishment:||FRONT DESK|1) Jacob (last name: Marshall?) - The professionalism, kindness, and empathy he showed us while we were there confirmed that we chose the right place for our stay in town. As one of the faces of the hotel (since he is at the front desk when you check you in), he is a wonderful representation of the kind of people you should expect while staying at this establishment. I truly cannot thank Jacob enough for all of his help getting our reservations made and helping us to get settled-in for the nearly one week we stayed. He even touched base with me during the duration of our trip to see how we were doing, which was very touching to know he cared.||2) Kimberly and Emily - Both were so sweet and kind in answering the many questions I had about parking and the hotel. Their patience and the time they took to help me understand the ins-and-outs of the hotel and city was very much appreciated.||3) Sabastian and Kayce (spelling)? - Both were so helpful and friendly in helping me check-out on my last day. Because a note was made in the system by Jacob about the reason we were here, both expressed their sympathy and empathy. Since this place felt like home, I felt very comfortable in sharing our very sad and heartbreaking story/situation instead of trying to always put on a brave face and smile because you never want people to see you in a sad and vulnerable state.||HOUSEKEEPING|4) Joiell (spelling?) and Jasmine - Their friendly and happy disposition while helping me with housekeeping needs was certainly welcomed and much needed. You can tell both had positive attitudes and were happy to be of service. ||5) Ryan - I got confused at one point and while mumbling to myself what an idiot I was for trying to open the wrong door (on the wrong floor!), Ryan overheard me talking to myself as I walked by and he was so sweet to tell me that it happens and tried to make me feel better after a long and exhausting day. He was so friendly and sweet. He helped to put a smile on my face and showed me that there truly are just kind, friendly, and helpful people out there whether or not they know you.||POINDEXTER|6) Itamar, Ian (spelling ?), and Lucy (spelling ?) - I loved how all three of the servers I interacted with were so friendly, social, and knowledgeable. Itamar was great in recommending these little hashbrowns which were so delicious when I couldn't decide if that was a side I wanted. Ian and Lucy spent some time talking to me while I was waiting for my order to explain to me (when I asked) why the water in Bloomington tastes like sulfur. Hearing how the water system works in this town was so interesting. It was also nice to learn a little bit about what brought them to Indiana from Mississippi and Washington. I loved the personal interaction because it didn't make the experience being there feel solely transactional. They actually cared about the patrons.||VALET|7) Last, but certainly not least, is Kelson. While standing outside of the hotel trying to figure out on our phone where we were going to have dinner, Kelson took the initiative to come up to us and ask us if we needed help. We told him we were trying to figure out where to eat. He asked if he could make a recommendation, which we were happy to hear. Turns out, he recommended his favorite Thai restaurant just a few blocks down and it was absolutely delicious. If it were not for him, we probably wouldn't have had such a great meal on our last night, which was much needed since we had crappy hospital food and fast food the entire time we were there.||CONCLUSION|This is one of, if not, the best hotels I have ever stayed in...and I am an extremely picky person when it comes to hotels and airlines. Cleanliness, location, and name brand are important to me. I had never heard of The Graduate Hotels (apparently there are no locations on the West Coast), but now that I know of it, you better believe that if I travel and there is one, I will be staying at one.||If I had to say anything negative about this place, though I am not sure if they can do anything about this, would be about parking. Being in a downtown area, parking is a commodity and can be limiting. There were a couple of nights were I came back around midnight and I was so lucky to get one of the last two spots in the overflow lot outside. I am not sure if the number of rooms is the same as the number of spaces available, but if it is the same, then perhaps limit parking to one per hotel room? If there is no way for the hotel to expand their parking (which would be great!), perhaps they can have a map available for nearby city lots that would be safe and affordable for guests to park in. Being unfamiliar of the city, and it being downtown, I'd feel better if the hotel could list parking lots that are close by and safe for me to park in and walk to and from the hotel, if I had to.||Also, I just learned that The Hilton purchased The Graduate Hotels. While I LOVE The Hilton Hotels, I really hope they don't change this place. Both are exceptional places to stay at, but both are special and different in their own ways. There is no need to make this place be more like a "corporate" hotel like the others (if that makes sense).||Overall, this small and unique hotel is truly special. I cannot say enough great things about this place and why one should stay here, but if I am being honest, I really didn't want to because I worry that if I ever come back, there may not be a room available for me ;P.||Thank you again to the entire team at The Graduate, Bloomington for everything. We very much appreciated it.