Graduate Hotels is set to open a new hotel in Princeton, N.J., in spring 2024. This launch will be the 34th hotel in the brand’s portfolio of properties university towns across the U.S. and U.K. Graduate Princeton will have 180 guestrooms on Nassau Street, the city's main avenue, as well as food and beverage options and nearly 6,000 square feet of public space.
Graduate Princeton is a hybrid adaptive-reuse and new-build project, restoring and expanding a 1918 building formerly used as a dormitory for university students that later was used as office and retail space. Design throughout the hotel will focus on intentional storytelling with textures, colors and tributes to the building’s original Gothic architecture.
A focal point of the interior design will be a two-story library lounge, lined with a collection of embroidered Senior Jackets (a token received by students upon graduating), with a 30-foot custom carved wooden communal table that guests and visitors can use.
“We’ve had our eyes on Princeton since the very beginning. This historic, idyllic town is the perfect backdrop for a Graduate,” Ben Weprin, founder and CEO, Graduate Hotels, said in a statement. “Our approach with this adaptive reuse project was to emulate as many of the original details as possible and pay homage to the incredible heritage of the place with interesting and subtle design details—like our custom lamps inspired by Revolutionary-War era cannons that were found buried behind the University’s Nassau Hall.”
“The hotel’s location in the heart of Princeton’s historic district is unbeatable,” Kevin Osterhaus, president, Graduate Hotels, added. “The building’s architecture and history make it a landmark in the community and we are thrilled to have had the opportunity to restore and adapt it to welcome travelers and locals.”
When it opens, the Graduate Princeton will be directly opposite the Princeton University campus and will double the number of available accommodations in the town.