Graduate Richmond

This review is based upon the free observation deck on the roof top overlooking Richmond City. We were in town and took advantage of the beautiful views. Staff was super friendly. I was impressed!

UPDATE: A gentleman from PMC Parking Service reached out to me and not only apologized for the experience, but also refunded my full valet service. Hats off to PMC for taking action immediately. I want to be fair with this review as I understand this was Memorial Day Weekend. Here's the TLDR: Cute hotel, good location, terrible service and severely understaffed. Here's the good: Our room was very nice, bigger than expected. No complaints about the room at all. Location of the hotel is good. Walkable areas all around. While the upstairs bar was closed Saturday night, that was due to weather and we were informed by the front desk agent upon check-in. She was very good. Here's the rest: Valet service - awful. From the second we pulled up I attempted to make conversation with the valet attendant who was visibly overwhelmed and did not mind sharing how unhappy he was with the level of cars awaiting service. We chose to Uber most places as i suspected getting my car in and out was not going to be an enjoyable experience. This morning while checking out (around 6:45am) there was a single valet attendant who also was visibly unhappy with the situation as she dug through an unorganized cabinet full of keys to find mine. She found it, handed it to me, and sent me to retrieve my own car - which incidentally was not parked in the area that was notated on my valet ticket. Lucky for me, I ran into a gentleman who was just coming to work at the hotel and he offered to go get my car and bring it around front. I hope they ended up giving him the tip I left on the app. At $37 a day for valet, this is highway robbery. Food and Beverage - We went to the downstairs bar for a nightcap Saturday evening. Drinks were good. We ordered strawberry shortcake for dessert. Took 30 minutes for it to be brought out and it was in a to-go container. No big deal. But very mediocre. Sunday evening nightcap at the rooftop bar. Great view. Again, ordered dessert, but this time they were out of dessert except ice cream. We passed on that. Staff - Really hit and miss. It would be in your best interest to train your team to remain professional in every customer interaction. I heard a bartender tell a customer that certain items on the menu are "mediocre, at best" - I'm paraphrasing. And, the complete meltdown of the valet team is very damaging to your brand. I overheard at least two customers outside saying what a terrible experience they had at this hotel and will never stay here or at another Hilton property. That is not what you want. Lastly, we are early risers. I have never stayed at a hotel where hot coffee wasn't available in the lobby by 6am. Every day. This is nitpicking and personal preference, but come on. It's a shame. I work with hoteliers every day and it seems to me that someone didn't staff or order for occupancy. I hope you'll take this feedback seriously. The Jefferson is right around the corner and I'd rather pay an extra $100/night for a world class experience.

So it’s rare to find a hotel that has staff that really care. But from top to bottom they were excellent, especially Ras, the Valet, I left something in my car and he accompanied me down to retrieve it and each time I saw him afterwards he remembered my name and was super friendly. Honestly, a true asset to the hotel.

The roof top view was simply amazing

Really nice place to stay, such a different experience from general hotels

Free rooftop views of RVA

We just stayed at the Graduate last night because we were going to see '& Juliet' at the Altria Theater. The Graduate is in an awesome location, within walking distance of the theater and lots of eateries and shopping. The room was clean and the bed was very comfortable, which is a rarity these days. The bathroom was small and the water pressure in the shower was barely there. I wouldn't call this a 4 star hotel (in hotel ratings), though, because neither the rooftop bar or the 'restaurant' on the lobby level are full service. It's counter service only. One thing I would advise, unless noise does not bother you, is to request a room away from the elevators and ice machines. When we checked in, we were initially given a room right at the elevator and within 5 minutes we knew we would not get any sleep or peace if we had to keep that room. I went down to the front desk and thankfully they were able to move us and the new room was well away from the elevator and we both slept quite well.

I think the room was fine but it is crazy that there is no smart TV, instead there is a really old cable tv. The hair dryer was not working and the room was still being made up when I reached at 530 in the evening. Front desk was nice and welcoming

Very nice hotel in a decent area of Richmond. Walking distance from the Jefferson hotel where other members of our group are staying. I arrived early and although I was denied early check-in online beforehand, the front desk was able to accommodate me for no extra cost! I would highly recommend this hotel.

Great hotel in a great location. Very welcoming at the front desk and the valet parking is useful if you are a tourist. You get used to the lift!