Two weeks ago I headed to Tucson, Arizona for my first work trip since October, 2021. If you missed my recap from my trip to LA in October, I changed teams last August and the new role requires more travel. Due to COVID, in-person events were picking back up and then after my trip to LA, everything went back to virtual. Thankfully, things are looking up and I have a few more work trips on the calendar to Salt Lake City, Minneapolis, and Portland in the coming months. I mentioned in my October post that I thought it would be a fun series to recap my work travels. Six months later, I am back with my Tucson, Arizona recap and review of my stay at the Graduate Hotel. Side note, I don’t plan on reviewing every trip.. no one cares about my stay at a chain Hyatt Hotel. Any time I stay in a Boutique hotel or do something worth blogging, I will post.
Please note, I did not pay for this room with my own money. Because it was a work trip, my expenses were covered by my company.
I booked the Graduate Hotel because it was recommended by the event I was attending for work. Situated on the University of Arizona campus, it was a short 2 block walk to the event. The travel portal my company uses for employees to book accommodations had a ton of hotel options. Not only was The Graduate close in proximity, but I loved the boutique look to it. The downside was it is not affiliated with any of the major hotel chains so if you are adamant about earning points/status, this place isn’t for you.
It wasn’t until I was browsing the Graduate Hotel’s Instagram page when I realized Tucson isn’t their only location. The brand has hotels in the many university towns across the world. Each of their 30+ locations is decorated with local charm and nostalgic accents to collegiate culture. To be honest, I was drawn to the pool. I was super excited to sit by the roof top pool when I wasn’t at my work event. It definitely did not disappoint, but to warn you the pool and seating area is 10x smaller than it appears in pictures. I was traveling alone so I had no problem finding a chair both times I went up there to read in the sun.
The hotel is pretty much on campus at U of A and let me tell you, I felt old. I’m 27 but I feel like I have aged 15 years in the past 2 years. I am such a grandma that not only did being surrounded by people 8 years younger than me make me feel elderly, but I was so ready to have quiet time in the hotel room after the work event that my view looked like this (above) all three nights I was in town. Also, I went to school in Portland, Oregon and we definitely did not have student housing with roof top decks. The Graduate is across the street from two student buildings and there was a pool party each night. I cannot relate to that college experience at all.
The room decor was different and definitely had a collegiate vibe to it. I will say the old pictures above the desk freaked me out a bit when I was trying to sleep. The ladies in the photos were staring right at me. Regardless, the desk was great to get work done and the room also had a mini fridge which I kept my huge jug of water that I Door Dashed on the first day. Not only did the hotel charge for bottled water, but you had to call the front desk if you wanted ice.
The bathroom was nice and stocked with clean towels each day. I’m curious if anyone else has the same issue with hotel showers making their hair unmanageable. I washed my hair on day two and when I tried to style it the next morning, I looked absolutely nuts. I ended up having to wear it in a bun because it was not cooperating. I think it has something to do with the shower having very hard water, which isn’t the best for your hair.
I was feeling pretty lazy and antisocial for dinners, so I had many solo-meals. On night one, I grabbed a burger from the rooftop restaurant. I was a little worried the food would be meh because there weren’t many options, but it was actually delicious. On the second night in Tucson, I skipped the conference social event and Door Dashed a poke bowl from next door. You read that correctly, next door. I didn’t realize how close the restaurant was until my order was picked up and my Dasher was 1 minute away. Oops. I will say Door Dashing at hotels is a breeze. I left instructions in the app to leave it at the front desk and each time (2 in total) I ordered something, it was sitting there when I got down to the lobby. On the final night, I ventured to the on-campus Panera with all the college guys and gals. I brought it back to my room to eat only to find out I didn’t have a fork. But don’t worry, my parents raised me right and I ate my salad using my baguette as a fork.
Overall, my stay was quite lovely and I will definitely keep an eye out for other Graduate Hotels in college towns during my future travels. I haven’t decided if my SLC trip at the end of April will be worth posting about, but we did just get back from Vegas for fun and I have some pictures I will try and share in a post soon.
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xoxo Olivia
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