When Tyler needed to take a board exam for dental school at VCU, I jumped at the opportunity to book a stay for us at The Graduate Hotel in Richmond. The Graduate hotel chain is impeccably branded and is an experience as much as it is a nice place to lay your head. There is nothing better than a business that creates and intentional and well thought out experience for their guests.
BONUS: The Graduate Hotels are pet-friendly. How pet-friendly you might ask? Well they have no dog weight limit, offer you a dog mat, a bowl and a perfectly branded pennant banner for your room at check-in. AND they give each dog a free BarkBox at check-in. You did read that correctly, I said a free BarkBox. Caswell was so excited to dive into the BarkBox and was notttt a happy camper when I had her wait so that I could get a picture of her with it, ha!
Luckily, it was a rainy day which gave me even more of an excuse to spend the day lounging in my pjs watching the Royal wedding coverage while Tyler took his exam at VCU. Caswell and I ventured out a few times, (because.. doggy business) and loved meandering around the quaint, historic city blocks close to the hotel. Case and point, the historic Jefferson Hotel is only one block over from The Graduate.
The hotel offers two in house restaurants as well, one in the lobby Brookfield and one on the roof with great views and a pool for guests, Byrd House. While we did grab a quick breakfast at the Brookfield, we also wanted to try a few different places around Richmond to get a fuller view of the city.
We enjoyed Salt & Forge for lunch, I highly recommend the Turkey and Blackberry sandwich, and then we finished our day over in Carytown, after driving Momument Avenue, at Burger Bach and Carytown Cupcakes.
VCU in Richmond is one of the many programs we are looking into for Tyler’s residency program after dental school. While we truly only got a glimpse into RVA, we are looking forward to returning to explore this historic city again soon!
The Graduate Richmond
301 West Franklin Street
Richmond, VA 23220
Instagram @gradrichmond
Facebook @graduatehotelrichmond
Twitter @GraduateHotel
