Graduate by Hilton Knoxville

No showers available. This is my third stay at The Graduate, a Hilton property. During the entire weekend, the boiler was having issues which translated to NO SHOWERS for the entire stay. I was brought to UTK to lead a workshop, and personal hygiene is crucial to professionalism. Showers are the primary way to prepare for the day or unwind after a long day of leading wonderfully engaging learning. Leadership of the hotel has not reached out. The poor front desk staff offered me a complimentary breakfast, which is not helpful because I don't eat breakfast, and that offer is not comparable to offset a primary reason people stay at hotels. If you are coming to town, I encourage you to confirm the boiler is working. There are mini fridges in the intimately sized rooms and the style is kitchy. Update: Leadership reached out to offer an amenable reparation for the disappointing stay. It's not always the bad experience that is most important, but how people make it up to you that matters.

I wanted to like this hotel, but honestly it was a huge disappointment. Pros: The valet drivers were friendly and prompt. The location is good—walking distance to restaurants and the university. The decorations are nice, but that’s about the only charm this place has. Cons: Valet parking is mandatory and costs $45/day. The staff have no idea what their doing and has a hard time answering my questions. The hotel smelled like cat pee, mold, and mildew the entire stay. Furniture in the room stunk, the AC barely worked, and the air quality made it hard to breathe (I have asthma). The bathroom was a nightmare: no fan, slick floors, a toilet that barely flushed (and kept running unless you jiggled the handle), and a flimsy sliding door that didn’t fully close, leaving gaps for zero privacy. Rooms are tiny and I purchased the larger room option. Curtains don’t close all the way, so you can’t sleep in. TV had very few channels and the screen-mirroring feature they advertise doesn’t actually work. Overall, ridiculously expensive for what you get. This hotel charges luxury prices but feels cheap and poorly maintained. Between the smells, broken amenities, and lack of comfort, I would not recommend staying here.

Have always heard great things about Graduate hotels and so happy I got to stay here. I booked the hotel back in the spring for parents weekend (fall) with Hilton points and cash. Was really expensive even doing it that way (over $500 per night + a lot of points). From the friendly staff at the front desk (all students from what I understand) to the really really cute, UTK themed lobby to beautifully appointed rooms (Smokey wallpaper in the bathroom, beautiful UTK prints over the beds), it was a great stay. Very convenient location to the campus (10 minute walk to the Student Union) as well as all of Cumberland, lots of food choices close by and great for a football weekend as you can walk everywhere and not have to worry about parking. Great, comfortable beds, nice shower and well lit bathroom (the hotel however should think about putting exhaust fans in the bathroom, very steamy and it will eventually ruin the wallpaper). Rooms are a little snug for 4 people as the beds are really oversized, but we definitely managed. Cute coffee bar in the lobby. Definitely want to stay again, if I can afford it!

A great hotel! It is decorated to look old and 100% University of TN themed. It may look "old" but perfectly maintained. It's almost like stepping back in time, and the hotel is brand new, and you're it's first guest. The rooms are that well maintained. It's almost located "on campus", so visiting kids and grandkids is so convenient. I would definitely stay here again.

This is the most disgusting hotel I’ve been to. 4 star property? Really? Is that a joke? They should shutdown this place until they get rid of the leaking ceilings and intolerable musty smell from moisture. As soon as you enter, you can smell it in the lobby. The ceiling in the lobby was leaking. They had a bucket placed there to contain water. The smell gets worse in the room. We asked for room freshener. It was of no use. Smell was so strong. Person at the reception (don’t want to name her) suggested we buy a strong room freshener. We showed her pictures of their stained furniture. She gave us a business card of room division manager. She said leave a review to get the needle moving in the right direction and told us the smell and dirty furniture is an ongoing problem. She is aware of this from last 1 year. In the elevator, someone told us they had to switch rooms due to smell. We checked out from this property on the same day and went to a different hotel. And I forgot to mention. They don’t have self parking. And they will charge you $40 for valet parking for a day.

We are die hard Vols fans and have always wanted to try this place out. Staff was very friendly and the decor definitely did not disappoint. When you stay here, you are paying for the Volunteer theme and that is it. The rooms are decorated lovely in Tennessee themes. We stayed in a king size room and was plenty big for us but was a little tight moving around the bed and tv. We did notice a few stains on the bed, like others had noted, but nothing we couldn’t deal with. Also read in other reviews about the showers being slippery and ours was also slippery and almost had an accident in the shower. FYI Parking is not free and is $45 a night. It was worth staying here if you are a Vol fan.

Interesting hotel. Very clean, the lobby is fantastic, staff is excellent, remembered our names throughout the stay! We went for our daughter's UT orientation. ||Three stars because of a couple of things:|1. Room size. Very small, esp for the price. By trying to be kitzchy they ended up crowding the room and there was barely space to walk. Two large queen beds, with a ton of unnecessary old-themy furniture in the room. Recommendation: you can still be fun and not crowded. It made being in the room uncomfortable.|2. Valet - very fast service, but $40 a night in Knoxville? Valet at a place like this shouldn't be more than $25 a night. Think we paid $20 at the nicer, bigger Marriott less than a half mile away. And the city lots were basically free all week. Knock the price down to $20 and night and you have a winner!|3. Restaurant/saloon. Fun 70's country vibe, drinks were good, but again, way too expensive for what it was. Bartenders and staff were great but the food, so so at best, esp for the price.||Rooms need a modern, well though out reno. Next time we'll probably just stay at the Marriott or Tennessean, which isn't as good a location but has many more amenities.

I was expecting so much more. It definitely was not an upscale hotel. Very disappointed in the price we paid. Parking is not included, you must pay a $40 a day for valet parking. It did have a very large sitting area in the lobby but the chairs appeared old and very uncomfortable, and there was only 1 television at the bar area. On our first night there, I stepped in the shower and slipped and fell barely missing my head on the tile wall. I am thankful for ibuprofen. When my husband mentioned it to the front desk the next morning, they didn't seem very concerned or apologetic for what had happened. It did appear that they had cleaned the shower with some sort of cleaning solution that left the floor very slick. One of the other members in our group stated that he almost lost his footing as well. I am so glad that it wasn't worse than it was. I will say that the beds were very comfortable. We did sleep very well. The location was great. We walked almost 20,000 steps. We were all over the campus I can now say that we have stayed at the Graduate but will never stay there again. There are much nicer, more affordable places to stay in Knoxville.

We came in for one night to tour UTK with our daughter! The location was great, within walking distance to the University. Our room was small, quaint and clean! There was a very small fitness center with 2 treadmills, (which we used) some weights and a few other things. Other people have mentioned it feeling cramped, no parking. It is valet because yes, in kind of sits in the middle amongst other buildings so it is not in a wide, spacious area. We went downtown to the market square (5 minutes from hotel) where the cute restaurants and shops are. There were some hotels there and for a moment I wished we were more in the heart of things there but when we got up this am, left our car at the hotel and walked to campus I really appreciated the location. With a lot of construction going on it was nice to not have to worry about driving and parking our car on campus. I also noticed people say they have stayed out 4 and 5 star hotels and could not believe the high ratings here. There is no comparison... this is a boutique hotel not a 5 star resort. For what it is I'd give it a 3.5/4. It is small in the rooms but if you are only really using it to sleep like we did, it is perfect?

What an amazing location and love the decor - Orange, Vols and Manning - however, the rooms are dirty. Having upholstery that cannot wiped down is a no no in a hotel. I had to stay on top of my 1 year old so she wasn't touching stains on the chairs or bed frame and headboard. This place needs a deep clean.

Cute hotel in the heart of Knoxville and down the street from The University of Tennessee. College town with lots of shops and chain restaurants. Hotel has a theme. I believe it's Dolly Parton. Clean and quiet. If ever in the area, give it a try.

Short trip to Knoxville, Tennessee. Stayed at the Graduate by Hilton. A small boutique University of Tennessee sports them throughout the hotel. Everyone in Knoxville is beyoud friendly and welcoming... The hotel is nice and conveniently located close to the university... Lot's of amenities around the hotel... Highly recommend a stay if you are in need of a hotel close to the university of Tennessee....

By far one the worst hotels I have ever stayed during past year. I am sure all staff intentions is to make guests happy. It just they don't know how to communicate! We arrived and few minutes later later house keeping asking if we are checking out!! The free breakfast don't exist ! Staff telling you THE CHEF is coming !! And no ! He or she won't show up!! Music is the lobby was too loud ( hard rock playing ) that guests need to speak extremely loud so they can hear each other. Parking/ valet staff are so helpful and polite. Room was dirty as you see in pictures with extremely noisy AC unit. Do not !! I repeat Do not get the room next to elevator, otherwise you will go up and down every single time the elevator moves. Bed is so high so if you are older or any back problem you need to reconsider going on and off the bed. I suggest a new management take over since clearly the current management are not doing a great job

I love the Graduate hotels. Every location is very unique and are usually in college towns. I love how much effort they put in the decorating. The beds are comfortable and rooms clean. Supper modern and cute. The staff is always friendly and helpful. A lot of young people around but super fun.

Cute hotel, love the theme and not a detail missed with VOL decor. Great location. Pretty much forced to use Valet. Terrible service-Valet hardly greeted us multiple times, did not help my daughters and I load the luggage cart that he did not bring to us. Front desk charged for water instead of letting us know there was also an option to fill bottles right around the corner, front desk also unhelpful when we called to figure out how to view Netflix on the TV stating "engineers were not on property". In addition the coffee barista area is super cute, service not good-tipped the girl working there, we were the only people in the area and the employee could not even bring us our drinks and food when it was ready. Restaurant service was also SLOW. Hotel was only at 40% capacity the week after graduation. Suggestion that the staff be required to take Ritz Carlton customer service class. It makes me hesitant to visit another Graduate.

What qualifies this place as a 4-Star hotel? Do you get to claim that yourself?? I've stayed in legit 4-stars and this MIGHT qualify as a low 3. I suppose the location is good if you're looking to be near the campus and all the bars, otherwise you arrive to a cramped parking lot with no self-parking option. Only a $35 a day valet fee! The front desk employee did not greet us, just asked for credit card and driver's license. The room we stayed in was incredibly tacky. Nothing matches and the place looks like it was decorated from leftovers at a flea market. Maybe that's the gimmick they're going for, but a coffee kettle and nasty instant coffee? At this price? No breakfast is included and the place looks worn and tired. I guess if you're a Vols fan you might enjoy the decor, but we found it overdone. Upside? The young lady in the bar was wonderful, even as she apologized for not having the first two very common liquors we asked for. Obviously, we cannot recommend this hotel. The value for the obscene price just isn't there.

They advertise that the supply dog water bowls. They were out of them.. I asked to buy a toothbrush at the front desk. They were out of then. In the hotel restaurant, I ordered shrimp grilled without any spices. The shrimp came and were so spicy they were inedible. In our room, there was a coffee maker, cups, creamer and sugar. No coffee. We wish this cleverly-themed and decorate hotel would get their excrement in close proxitmity.

Do not stay at this Hotel! I had a severe case of Covid and the Third Party I booked for was very understanding and offered to cancel my reservation . But the Graduate Knoxville made it impossible by enforcing a fee to the Third Party so they couldn't honor the cancellation. I have stayed there before and I am a very loyal Hilton Himors member and rarely book through a third party, so it was surprising to say the least that it was actually the Hotel rather than the 3rd party that caused me nor to be able cancel despite how ill I was and that i would be a health hazard to their other guests

What an experience! This was such a great hotel for graduation weekend. It is right on campus so no need for Ubers (but if you are up for it, there are plenty of LINK electric scooters to ride around town). The hotel was decorated with UT memorabilia without there being a graduation weekend, but because of graduation there were balloon arches, flower trucks, and 'Congratulations' board all over the hotel. It really got everyone in the spirit. Even the key card were student ID card from previous UT alumni. We got the conjoining room package, so one room was a normal bed size and the one I slept in was bunk bed! Yes, I am 24 and I slept in a bunk bed! It really wasn't that bad, I just wasn't a huge fan of the climb up there. We also decorated the bunk bed room with our own decorations (the room didn't come with balloons). Both rooms had plenty of space. Parking was valet, and valet was open 24/7. Tere was an underground parking garage that you could park your car in for free ( didn't know this until the last day), but valet was much more convient and they were quick to get our cars.

Very unique place to stay. Close to hospital. Very kind staff. Late night arrival not recommended. Valet Parking is required.

My girlfriend and I stayed at The Graduate in Knoxville in mid-March. She was partaking in a seminar held at the University to get a certification, while I was there for moral support. The hotel is unique with its own eclectic charm and kitschy flair. They put a lot of effort into decorating both the common areas and the rooms, and it makes for a very different experience as opposed to most standard hotels. The location was perfect as it was just minutes from the University and a lot of other fun things to do like the Sunsphere and local breweries. Reception was a highlight of the stay; Kenzie made my girlfriend and I feel very welcome, especially as we were New Yorkers that were very far from home. She was extremely personable, accommodating, and fun to talk to. She even made sure to ship something out for me that didn't fit in my luggage. All in all the stay was very comfortable and pleasant!

This hotel is disgusting. Looks like someone went to a flea market and bought whatever they could to furnish it. This is my second time here in a week and both rooms have disgusting air conditioning vents. Moldy, corroded and who knows what else.,the room just feels old and dirty. There's a hot water kettle in the room with instant coffee which is absolutely disgusting. They can't even give you a coffee maker. Themis hotel chain tries to go off the theme of cutesy college mascots, etc, but they're all dirty and thrown together. No business center/guest computer to use, laughable gym. They need to rebrand themselves with cleaner interiors, modern, not where we feel like we are staying in our 90 year old great grandmas house. How disgusting. Not to mention a massive spider bite on my foot, obviously from the lack of cleanliness.. Of course no shuttle service to the airport..

I am absolutely obsessed with this hotel. I have never stayed at a graduate hotel before, but let me tell you- I've been missing out!! You HAVE to stay in this hotel at least once when you come to Knoxville. Everyone that I interacted with at the front desk were incredibly sweet and answered any and every one of my questions. I do hate that you have to valet your car, which is $35 per day when I believe the website says that you can park in the back for free. The hotel itself does a good job of combining the comfortable southern roots of Knoxville, whilst still maintaining an air of class. The beds and pillows were extremely comfortable. The shower also had great water pressure with complimentary shampoo and body gel that exceeded my expectations. I do wish that the bathroom had a fan, however, because it got very steamy after a hot shower. I really loved all of the small details that were put into this hotel. The Smokey wallpaper in the bathroom, the "I'm studying" do not disturb pennant, the scantron notepad, and even the student ID room cards. We loved that the room cards gave a nod to notable Tennessee alumni. We received the ID of Philip Fulmer and Peyton Manning to enter our room.

What a cute and charming hotel. Located right in downtown Knoxville with plenty of food options nearby. Room is comfy and extremely clean. Staff I found to be very kind and pleasant. Can't wait to go back

The whimsical decor alone deserves the 5 stars, but I also want to mention the friendly and helpful greeting from the front desk staff upon arrival. Being road-weary after traveling in a crowded car all day, you really need that warm welcome when you arrive to your hotel. It was nice to be greeted right away and helped with our bags and parking our car. The check-in was quick and painless and with a REAL person! We chose this hotel because it is pet friendly, reasonably priced, and didn't look like a dump. So glad we spent a few extra dollars to stay here at the Graduate. Even though we know nothing about football, I could still appreciate all the effort that went into decorating for the theme. Almost made me want to watch a game and cheer for the Big Orange(?)! The only negative we experienced was the Saloon 16 restaurant/bar that is in the lobby. We didn't have the best experience (I wrote a separate review for them) and I wouldn't go back to eat or drink there during our next visit. Not terrible, but disappointing considering the rest of our hotel experience was so great.

Man I tell you some places should not be allowed to name their own rating. This place is far from 4 stars. Let's start with the sewer smell in my room that hits you the second you walk into your room. The staff here seems laxidaisy and not attentive. I called down to the front desk my first night at 9pm, for almost a hour I got zero response. House cleaning takes things that are not theirs. I bring my own toiletries but for some reason house keeping took my toilet paper I bring with me. This hotels toilet paper is ranked 2 on the list of worst I've experienced in a "4 star" hotel. The internet is horrible here and the front desk has zero interest in fixing the issue simply stating "sorry engineering isn't here". Sad but this hotel really sucks. Coming from someone who travels 6 months out of the year. I've been everywhere in this great country. If you earned a review from me you really earned it! I had to add to this: the restaurant and bar are not much better. Came in sat down and 15 minutes later someone finally said oh do you need a menu. I orders a beer and she asked if I wanted a glass I say yea and get nothing. Then Morgan says" if you want to order something come get me". Wtf.... There is 2 tables with people mine and one other and she can't make rounds. Service and good employees must be in high demand in this hotel. It's like this place hired the cheapest labor possible and now the customers get this horrible experience.

Doesn't live up to the hype. I thought the cool "retro" vibe and restaurant would be a plus. But it's really just an old hotel. The rooms were ok, very small--like maybe 2 feet between the end of the bed and the TV. It is pet friendly and I could hear them in the hallway, but not in the room. The hotel restaurant was so bad, the smell was so bad. I can't believe that Peyton Manning has his name on this place.

Absolutely PRECIOUS boutique hotel. The staff was super friendly. The rooms were clean, comfortable and very inviting. Love the entire vibe that this hotel puts off and can't wait to check out other Graduate Hotels around the country. The beds are extremely comfortable and the sheets are silky smooth. Don't forget to try out the bathrooms products, they rock! The gym was an added bonus! They have a rowing machine, weights, treadmills and even a peloton bike! I didn't plan on making use of the gym but since we woke up to snow, I was able to do my run indoors. Win!

Friendly front desk and guys at the door. Small gym on the ground floor. Comfortable beds. Gramma's house decor. Weak water pressure. Weak wifi and data connection. College noise on weekend nights. In walking distance to food and downtown.

I was here for a week for my daughters camp. The bed was comfortable and the room was a decent size. The run by students part means depending on who you talk to, you can get a different answer. From just one water per stay to the cool cleaning people who get to know you (we had the sign of no housekeeping/privacy the entire time ). You can only valet park - with a bunch of students. So my car got scratched up- it's not a new car but it was very obvious when i went to put gas in the car. The adult guy in charge told me they were good kids that make mistakes. I submitted a claim, rather quickly they stated that because I didnt report it when i got the car from the valet they cannot attribute it to them. However, i can see the same explanation had i seen it when I got it from the valet- that happened the night before so we didn't see it but you did it. Can't win. So no more "run by students " hotels for me going forward! The restaurant there was meh - i was there for a week, went to the bar, got a drink and got a salad. The bar person told me she could pack it up so i can take it to my room! I mean, i was sitting there just tapping away on my phone not even talking to anyone. Wow. The staff at the restaurant really didnt want to be bothered. And we went there individually or as a group 3 times in that week.

The valet hit something with my car, leaving about a thousand dollars worth of damage. We were told we would be contacted by the claims company within a business week- never heard from them. We called the number on the report sheet the valet manager had given us when we reported the incident, they never answer or return messages. We even tried emailing them, and never received any messages back. I just want to get my car back to the condition it was before our stay at The Graduate Knoxville.

Ben Weprin certainly oversold the charm and value of the Graduate Hotel in Knoxville and we won't be taking a chance on any other Graduate Hotels - probably ever. Where do I start? Day one. The TV was broken and we could not cast/steam to it. After wasting at least two hours of our vacation and hotel staff coming into and out of our room, there was no fix except for us to pack up again and move to another room. Later, someone knocked on our door and said, "housekeeping." I answered the door to find a young woman who apparently did not understand any English. I held up my index finger and said, "One hour. Please come back in one hour." She answered, "No English," then held her phone up to my face presumably to get an English to Spanish translation. It was an awkward moment and she never understood what I was asking. So, we told the man at the front desk that we would like our linens refreshed since we could not communicate with the housekeeping staff. We returned later that evening and realized our room had not been touched. We called the front desk and the same man told us that he is not responsible for the housekeeping staff and there was nothing he could do. Wow, who trains these people? Day two. We opened the shower door on our first morning and it made this awful screeching noise, like opening up an old school ironing board. It was loud and really annoying. After using the shower this first morning, it was obvious that this shower has been making this noise for some time. At the very least, the housekeeping staff had known about this and done nothing. And that red makeup looking stain on the bed's white comforter - gross! We had to valet our car for $30/night because, we were told, that was the only overnight parking in this college town. When we got our car, there was some kind of powder all over it on the outside. Since we just had the car washed the day before, we asked where they had parked it and what happened. The valet driver apologized, explained that someone was replacing the garage gate and sawing concrete, and proceeded to tell me where a car wash was so I could go have it washed again. Day three. We asked to speak to a manager since it seemed like nobody else knew what they were doing. We were told that the manager was out of town - shocker! When we pressed the issue and asked how we could get in touch with the manager, we were told that this was not possible. Period. No other alternative or explanation was given. We also found sunflower seed shells on the floor (not ours) and a broken, clear plastic knife. Nope, never again.

REVISED REVIEW! Even though we did not have the best experience last week, we already had reservations for graduation. OUR STAY WAS PERFECT THIS TIME. All problems of our last stay did not exist. Room smelled clean and was clean. Very thankful.

in town for family medical reasons at two different hospitals. All of the staff went above and beyond to help me in my sleep deprived state at check in. the compassion and kindness shown is 10+ stars. I had a two queen room and loved it. The bed was very comfortable, clean and the decor made it feel more like home than hotel. Highly recommend if you want to stay near any of the hospitals nearby or just for pleasure. Big thank you to Diana, Cody, McKenzie and Kirk! All contributed to my positive stay here.

Amazing to me how this hotel has so many high reviews. Apparently they haven't stayed at 3,4 or 5 star. To be fair, if looks were the most important part of a review they would be a 3 star. But......... I certainly will not be staying there again. Lipstick on a pig. You can smell and tell they literally took the old run down hotel and added silly stuff to take away from the pig. It's more than obvious what they did. Terrible customer service. No one answered the in house phone and when I went down there the front desk staff they were literally clueless, I'll go as far as feckless. I paid $600 for one night and didn't even get a "Continental breakfast". What a joke!

There are some cool things about this place. Location is right at the UT campus. The lobby has a ton of UT and Peyton Manning memorabilia. Rooms are crowded. Too much furniture in medium sized room. Bathroom fixtures showed their age. Beds were reasonably comfortable but very tall. Parking is valet only and not cheap. Room cost is rather high. No breakfast available and the coffee shop was absurdly priced. $7 for a medium latte of decent but unremarkable quality. Also on weekends (Thursday evening stay for us) there is quite a lot of street noise.

My husband and I got this hotel as a surprise through hotwire on our way to Virginia. We were very pleased! The guy at the front desk was super pleasant and accommodating during check in. Our room was very clean and cute! The entire place is VOLS themed and located near campus which was fine with us because GO VOLS! The room keys are even made to look like student ids, we had Peyton Manning! We only stayed one night. For dinner we walked through town and ate at Fieldhouse Social and in the morning we walked to the local coffee shop around the corner. So many places to eat in a short walking distance! We will be staying here again- DEFINITELY during football season!

Very cute hotel! Although, I left a dress in the closet and called the day I checked out to see if anyone found it, and turns out someone stole it. I know it's my fault for leaving it, but it's disappointing that someone who works at the hotel or another patron would steal something that wasn't their's.

Staff has no idea what they are doing. On my first stay, I asked for a bill when I checked out, and never received it until I physically came back the next month to personally request. This is despite the 2 phone calls and messages I left the staffs voicemail. When I took a look at my bill, they charged me an extra valet charge that belonged to another car. On my following visit, I noticed another charge for almost $300. When I called the hotel I was told this was for a smoking fee and that cigarette butts were found. Mind you, I have never smoked a cigarette a day in my life! They said a picture was taken and I requested to see but the manager, Ian refused to send it to me. To be falsely accused is the worse feeling in the world. I will make sure I let people know the way this hotel operates on any and all platforms I can leave a review on. I visit KNOXVILLE once a month for business and I will definitely pick a different hotel from now on. In addition, my room had the toilet seat handle broken.

Wrapper in my room and door opened. Those were the two downfalls. Besides that it's a place for anyone who is a fan of the cold or Peyton manning! The decor, coffee shop, and room keys were a prime example of small detail as having a large impact. I loved it!

Changed it up on this trip to Knoxville to visit our daughter and stayed at the Graduate instead of our usual place over near Market Square. Really enjoyed it! Very cute decor and the rooms are super clean and quaint. Really loved it! My only comment would be that because it is right on the strip it's a bit noisier at night than staying on the other side of town, but that is to be expected since it is kind of in the middle of the action. Just stating that in case peace and quiet is what you are seeking - it may not be the best option. If you want a fun, happening kind of place that's really cute and close to campus then the graduate is a great option.

Wow! My new favorite getaway! The Graduate Knoxville is definitely a luxury hotel. The decor is fabulously chic! My husband and I went here while celebrating our anniversary and we plan to go back soon. Highl

This is a fun hotel. It is decorated with UT memorabilia. The staff were so friendly and helpful. The beds were comfy. They have complimentary coffee in the mornings which was excellent! If you are a Peyton Manning fan you have to stay here.

We enjoy this hotel! As other reviewers have mentioned, it is on the University of TN campus, within walking distance of restaurants and the campus. First and foremost we met Cori at the front desk. She was so friendly and welcoming! I requested a room with a tub which she worked hard to provide. The hotel was full and it was not easy. Plus she made us feel like welcomed and important guests. It is so rare to find and unfortunately in the time of COVID we have so lowered our expectations for great service. Valet parking at $26.00 a day was a bargain and the valets delivered out car like lightning when we needed it. There is a coffee shop onsite with good coffee. There are 2 elevators and they are a bit slow. Our room was great! The decorations are fun and the platform beds are comfortable with plentiful pillows. Good lighting in the room and HVAC was perfect! Nice amenities in bathrooms. Our only complaint was about the water in the tub/shower. It was just lukewarm. After an engineer came up he told us it tested at 117 degrees. The water was not hot enough to have a good shower or most important bath. Our expectations as based on staying in hotels over 100 times last year. Also, there was no coffee or a microwave in the room. There was no room service. Again cudos to who ever hired Cori! She is amazing and works so hard !

As someone who works in the travel industry, I had such high hopes for the Graduate. I love the quirky nature of the brand and the fact that it incorporates the local university scene, plus the mastermind behind the brand went to school at the University of Tennessee. And as a fellow UT grad, I'd been eager to check out the Graduate Knoxville since it opened last summer, so my husband and I planned a trip up to Knoxville just to do so. Sadly, it did not live up to expectations. Prior to arrival, I called multiple times to ask about the parking situation. It's decidedly vague on the website, only talking about a Park It package option that includes "free valet parking" (which I later found out upon arrival is $25 a night). As an alum who knows that area well and also prefers to use her car to get around, I did not want to be beholden to the valet service. Alas, I could never get a hold of anyone at the hotel to inquire about self-parking. I found out upon arrival that there is no self-parking. I did, however, luck out and get a metered space (8am to 6pm) on Lake Avenue, a block from Cumberland. I doubt I'd get so lucky on a weekend or a time when students are everywhere. I went in, and there was a lone employee inside. I asked her if she could change out two dollars for quarters so I could pay the meter since the credit card machine was broken and it was still within the pay-window hours. She didn't have any change. How are you a hotel who doesn't have 8 quarters in your register or anywhere else for that matter? I decided to risk it. I continued the check-in process. She checked me in, but said nothing about the package I booked, which included a $25 credit for the bar and restaurant, Saloon 16. When I asked her about it, she said, "oh yeah, you just charge it to the room and it will come off your bill." So I asked her when the bar and restaurant opened. "Oh, it's closed on Monday and Tuesday because we're so slow," she told me. Excuse me? I had booked, on the Graduate Knoxville website less than a week prior, a Monday check-in with a Tuesday check-out--why did it prompt me to book an F&B package if, in fact, the F&B options were closed? I was annoyed, but whatever, I'd deal with getting a refund later. Instead, we went out to eat near the Old City at A Dopo (highly recommend!), then came back and went to bed. The Graduate had texted me a survey earlier asking me to rate the hotel and the service (within an hour of arriving? seemed odd, but OK); I waited until that night and wrote back: "5 [out of 10]." They asked what they could do better, and this was my response verbatim: "I bought an F&B package, and the bar and restaurant is closed," to which they responded almost immediately at 9pm: "I'm so sorry! I have a fridge downstairs with drinks and some snacks as well if you wanted to use your voucher for that, I can charge it to the room and your credits will cover up to $25." $25 for goldfish and bottled water? Naw, I'm good, bruh. The rooms themselves were fine; they were cute, if small (less than 300 square feet), but well appointed and kitschy with the Smokey and UT paraphernalia, however you could tell they were making use of an old space that maybe wasn't quite up to snuff. Our bathroom, for example, did not close. The door wouldn't shut, period. My husband and I have been together for 16 years, so whatever, but perhaps not super comfortable for others staying together. In terms of COVID compliance, they didn't have the seals on the doors we'd seen elsewhere. The only sign of acknowledging the virus was hand sanitizer stations, a mask sign at check in, and the remote control in a plastic bag (odd, yes?). The hotel seemed severely understaffed--I never saw more than two employees, max--and in a pandemic I get it, but that doesn't make up for not answering guest calls or emails, ever. After I left, I contacted the hotel over email (both the main Graduate Hotels account and the local chapter), as well as social media, asking to refund the difference between my $119 F&B package and the $74 room. At this time, no one has even acknowledged my emails. Once again, I tried calling, but the local line goes to voicemail. I get it's a pandemic, but geez! Don't operate a hotel if you aren't equipped to run one. Maybe it's best they shut down in the meantime and revisit customer service once things normalize a bit. I can't imagine trying to stay here on a game weekend.

The Graduate Knoxville has everything you want in a boutique hotel and more. Covered from foor to ceiling in a fun retro-modern vibe, you first question whether it all matches, then realize it infact does and their interior designer is a genius. The whole experience begins when you arrive at the hotel. Instead of searching for parking, let Josh or one of the other great guys park your car with the valet service. They are extremely kind and polite and very quick to have your car ready when you need it. The front of house staff are always there to offer a friendly word or help with any questions you may have. Once you are checked in, grab a cup of coffee from Rebecca at the Poindexter Cafe, right there in the lobby. She will make you a delicious customized latte, or set you up with a smooth cup of black coffee. They also offer a variety of breakfast items and a smashburger for lunch with a yummy signature sauce. Whether you are staying in the hotel, or just need a quiet, but cool spot to get work done, the culture champion of the hotel, another Rebecca, told me, "we want the lobby to feel like the community's living room." The Graduate is my top pick for a truly Knoxville experience. If you are around for dinner, you have to check out their restaurant, Saloon 16, for a full bar and even more yummy foods!

This was our first trip to Knoxville and we specifically came to see the campus in November. The hotel was easy to find in fact it's perfect if you are staying for a University of Tennessee event. The rooms are very well arranged, decorated and detailed. Loved the fact that we could walk to everything we needed, only a mile away from Market Square which was an amazing place to see, dinner was amazing there. We will definitely come back!!

This hotel is so cute! I loved my stay. My only complaint is that the room I stayed in (704) shares a wall with the elevator. You could hear the elevator going up and down all night long. The rest of my stay was perfect. The employees were fantastic. I hope to be back

The hotel was beautifully appointed and the young male concierge was superb! Our check in was seamless even though we had just booked the room on hotels.com. You do have to pay for Valet parking, but it was worth it to me as I had to access our vehicle twice and was accommodated promptly. Extremely nice people made our stay very pleasant.

Great one night stay while we toured UT and explored downtown Knoxville. Super clean, quiet, and within walking distance of campus and good restaurants. Would definitely make it our go to hotel if she attends UT in the fall.

DO NOT ATTENDED THIS HOTEL!!!!!!!!! I stayed there last night with my fiancé for a nice night in Knoxville. The place is pretty but that's all. First, I couldn't check in for AN HOUR after check in time because they didn't have the rooms ready, as well as many other guests. The rooms are pretty but the shower defiantly could of been cleaned more. AND I had to manually flush the toilet many times because it wouldn't flush! But whatever, not going to let little things bother me. After I leave the hotel, I'm granted with a $380 SMOKING CHARGE. I called in to discuss this and find out why I'm getting charged. I get told TWICE a manager would return my call in a moment and no one called for an hour so I decided to show back up to find out there is no manager there.. This is where I meet the "housekeeping manager" Donny. He proceeds to tell me my fiancé left cigars in the trash. Then Donny made hilarious claims that he saw "clouds of smoke in the room" and many others so conclude with "well it may of been from the room beside it, we had problems with them smoking before" He even accused us of smoking marijuana!!! Like come on? The claims were absolutely ridiculous!! He then tells me he can't do anything that I will have to call the next day to speak with a higher manager. This is where I speak with Karen. She calls and tells me pretty much it's there word against mine and they are not doing anything about it. She even tells me that Donny isn't even a manager and shouldn't of been handling my situation at all. I'm honestly so disappointed, angry, offended by this company and their employees. They SCAMMED me out of money and are not taking responsibility.