POV
30
SEPTEMBER2015
AMERICANWAY
PHOTOS
RAYMOND WATT; NBCUNIVERSAL
GradPads
Boutiquehotels incollege townsare
thebest treat forparentssince tailgating
IDON’TREMEMBER
if itwasmy
daughter’sfirstorsecondphone
call fromcollegewhenIrealized
howmuchworkhereducation
wasgoing tobe. “I’vegotmy
schedule,Daddy. I’mnotsure
ifyouneed tocomeseeme two
or threeweekendsyet.There’s
Parent’sDay, and then there’s
Homecoming, and then there’s… .”
Istopped listeningabout then.
Mego there?Between tuitionand
housingand foodand textbooks
andnewclothesanduniversity-
approvedbaubles,wasn’t this
costingmeenoughmoneyalready?
Theanswer, asyoumay
imagine,wasno. Iwasexpected
to travel toOxford (OleMiss)and
thenStillwater (OklahomaState)
often toseemydaughter.Which
wouldn’thavebeensobad if the
hoteloptions insmallcollege
townsweren’tsouniversally lousy.
Lucky foryou, fellowparentof
acollegestudent, that’schanging
thanks toanewcropofboutique
hotels incollege townsacross
America.GraduateHotelsare
poppingup inplaces likeMadison,
Wisconsin;Athens,Georgia; and,
yes, evenOxford,Mississippi.
Theboutiquesare trying tooffer
modernamenitieswhilegiving
smalldesignnods to the traditions
and thecolleges thatdefine
these towns. “AGraduateHotel
isnot justaplace tosleep, it’san
experience,”saysBenWeprin,
CEOofAJCapitalPartners/
GraduateHotels.
—
ERICCELESTE
EXAMPLE:
Graduate
Athens,Georgia, showcases
locally sourcedvintage
and contemporaryart that
references the community
anduniversity. “We spend
anextraordinaryamount of
timemeetingwith locals and
learningaboutwhatmakes
each community special.We
thenweave those stories into
thehotel’sDNA,”Weprin says.
CheckGraduatehotels.com for
moreopenings scheduled this
year and in2016.
Hot-airballoonsarepretty
frombelow,butnothingbeats
a2,000-foot-highview.The
AlbuquerqueInternational
BalloonFiestatakesplace
nextmonth,Oct.3-11.
HopIna
Hot-Air
Balloon
Riding inahot-airballoon
should topyourbucket list
