Name: Graduate by Hilton Richmond
Address: 301 West Franklin Street, Richmond, 23220, US

6/10

Pleasant

18 Jul 2026

Thomas

The Staff was great - valet team, front desk and counter servers. All were engaging and helpful. The issue we experienced was that only one of the three elevators was operating which resulted in ridiculously long waits. On Friday morning the wait resulted in us being late for an important meeting. These need to be fixed.

Family_with_children

8/10

Excellent

17 Jul 2026

Holly

I felt like some of the fixtures were dated. Like the shower floor was painted over. Not much in the way of tv channels. The food was okay at the restaurants. My only real aggravation was we had to wait an hour for our room to be ready, but they were very nice about it. Valet parking services were excellent, although pricey.

Friends_and_family Family

8/10

Excellent

17 Jul 2026

MICHAEL

I enjoyed my short stay here, friendly staff. I have been trying out different hotel near VA Hospital, for about 2 years since I have to stay overnight due to the new Amtrak schedule.

Self

6/10

Pleasant

16 Jul 2026

David

There was a clump of hair in the sink when we entered the room. The toilet handle was broken causing the water to continue running and not filling the bowl. Only one of three elevators were working.

Family

10/10

Exceptional

15 Jul 2026

Benjamin

Pretty nice

6/10

Pleasant

14 Jul 2026

Elizabeth

Room, location and check in were good. I stayed over the 4th of July weekend and one reason I booked was for the rooftop bar to see the fireworks displays. The whole 3 nights myself and others tried to access the rooftop bar but were told it was too hot or elevator was not working all the way up. Also on 4th of July only 1 elevator working out of 3 and it was a busy day.

Self

2/10

Poor

13 Jul 2026

Earl

bathroom would not work right and no one ever showed up to help I was told at front desk I coud have just called from room to report this but phone didnot have a cord attached to phone

Family

10/10

Exceptional

11 Jul 2026

VINCENT

Thank you!

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

08 Jul 2026

maria

Very nice!

Pet

4/10

Poor

08 Jul 2026

Al

Air conditioning didn't work had to move to a different room and the restaurants serve lousy food

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

08 Jul 2026

Anne-Elizabeth

Favorite hotel in Richmond!

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

07 Jul 2026

Jonathan

Great staff!

Self

8/10

Excellent

07 Jul 2026

Adrienne

Room reeked of weed but was very clean. Would have been nice if the ac was on prior to arrival. Very friendly staff. Great location!

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

07 Jul 2026

Denise

Cool hotel, nice rooms, amenities. Roof top bar was nice st night. Would stay here again.

Partner

6/10

Pleasant

06 Jul 2026

Mudita

Not a 4 star hotel. Got a family room and beds were not even made. Then, the hot water ran out. Quality has been deteriorating steadily. Unfortunately, not too many good options around VCU. Sub par.

Friends_and_family Family

10/10

Exceptional

06 Jul 2026

Theresa

Amazing visit as usual. Just a bit disappointed that the pool is gone and they only take credit cards for everything you need. Other than those 2 items we’ll be visiting again. Love the rooftop bar. Chris and Mark are great bartenders. ❤️

Partner

4/10

Poor

05 Jul 2026

Minahil

‘no breakfast’ included was a surprise since I bought it through Expedia with breakfast included.

10/10

Exceptional

05 Jul 2026

Jacqueline

I loved the look of the hotel staff was great very very long wait for the elevators and two broke down lots of people waiting for one elevator. It was a long wait. We

Family

6/10

Pleasant

05 Jul 2026

Syed

Need improvement breakfast

Friends

10/10

Exceptional

05 Jul 2026

Daliya

There should be free parking available in premises for the guest ,although they had concierge services separate with cash or card payment.

Partner

4/10

Poor

03 Jul 2026

Joseph

Due to significantly delayed flights, I arrived at the hotel at 3:15am. The front desk attendant had a seriously bad attitude, treated me like an inconvenience, and told me I'd have to wait 20 minutes before she could check me in. I was exhausted from a full day in three airports and two flights, but posted up on a couch in the cafe area by the front desk and waited patiently. I kept an eye on the clock, and lo and behold, precisely 20 minutes later, she called me over to the desk and said I could check in, and I finally got to my room at 3:45am. The whole thing amounted to an arbitrary 20-minute delay, and maybe they are not equipped to check people in that late, but travelers sometimes get delayed by things that are completely out of their control, like I did with the storms over Chicago that day. After spending 15 hours between airports and planes, all I wanted to do was get to a room and rest. I've never been treated like that at any hotel, it's completely inexcusable. The room was not very clean either, a lot of dust on everything and there was a clump of hair stuck to the switch on the lamp by the bed. Really poor experience overall.

Self

10/10

Exceptional

02 Jul 2026

Jamel

Worth the stay, rooftop has amazing voews

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

29 Jun 2026

bryan

The room was very clean the staff was very friendly and helpful

Partner

6/10

Pleasant

27 Jun 2026

Ali

Location is great. Rooftop bar was closed during my stay and I wonder if they don’t open it in late JUNE, then when do they open their rooftop bar.
Overall, not bad. Richmond is such a sleepy town though.

Self

10/10

Exceptional

27 Jun 2026

Tammy

This was a gem we booked at the last minute, and I can’t say enough positive things about it. The property is immaculate, and the rooms are spacious and modern. The staff was so friendly and helpful (and I love that they are college students). The room cards are such a great touch! Parking was convenient on the property, and the area has great restaurants in walking distance.

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

26 Jun 2026

maryanne

Elevators were interesting.

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

26 Jun 2026

Alex

Love this hotel!

10/10

Exceptional

25 Jun 2026

Meredith

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Family_with_children

10/10

Exceptional

25 Jun 2026

William

Bathroom Fan was on the fritz... I alerted staff... they w

6/10

Pleasant

25 Jun 2026

Christian

The room a/c didn’t work and hotel staff couldn’t answer my questions.

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

24 Jun 2026

Christiane

Valet parking can get backed but is reasonably priced. Restaurant and bar on premises is convenient. A park to walk a dog is nearby for daytime walks.

Pet

2/10

Poor

24 Jun 2026

AnnJnai

The property is not truthful and honest about how clean the rooms are on pictures, as well as the fact that they do not accommodate you once they’re a fault and liable for their actions of not keeping a clean facility in Rome and the staff is not honest about the actions they’re gonna take further as well as communication is horrible with the property

Self

6/10

Pleasant

24 Jun 2026

Rosette

Check out time is 11AM At 9 AM after breakfast in the lobby, I found the maid had already stripped and changed my bed and cleaned the bathroom. My suitcase was on her cart as she was told the room was vacant. I had not checked out and was planning to take a shower before departing.

Friends

10/10

Exceptional

23 Jun 2026

Ping

Location is great. Very close to VCU. quiet environment

Self

8/10

Excellent

23 Jun 2026

Kaitlyn

Staff was extremely helpful. Rooms were on the small side, but very comfortable. A block or two over from the hotel seemed a little iffy at night, but immediate vicinity was fine. Nice-ish neighborhood overall and very close to VCU. Overall, would stay again.

Self

10/10

Exceptional

23 Jun 2026

Erika

The stay was great and the staff was really nice!

Family_with_children

6/10

Pleasant

22 Jun 2026

Maria Fernanda

Our stay had a couple of frustrating issues. The AC was set to 64°F but the room never got below 72°F, so it felt uncomfortably warm overnight with no way to cool it down. The fire alarm also went off for no apparent reason before 5 AM, forcing an evacuation. I reached out via the Hilton/Graduate text messaging line that's meant for exactly these situations and never heard back. To top it off, we later discovered the hotel had offered complimentary breakfast to make up for the disruption—but this was never communicated to us directly, so we found out too late to actually use it.

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

21 Jun 2026

Joel

Valet staff was excellent!

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

21 Jun 2026

George

Very nice and staff was friendly

10/10

Exceptional

21 Jun 2026

Shondrel

Everything was amazing, a cute little staycation for my birthday. The staff was so nice and accommodating.

Self

10/10

Exceptional

20 Jun 2026

Michael

I really appreciated Michaelle. She was extremely helpful in. Helping us get our rooms setup. Please let her know we loved her service at the desk.

2/10

Poor

20 Jun 2026

JEEAE

This is the first time I've experienced hotel service like this. During our three-night stay, we never received housekeeping service. Even after reporting it to the front desk, nothing was done.
We also had to go back to the front desk to request towels because they were never delivered. When the towels finally arrived, the set was incomplete—the hand towels were missing.
Although the front desk staff were friendly and polite, the overall service was very disappointing. There was also a lot of dust on top of the headboard, which made the room feel poorly maintained.

Friends

8/10

Excellent

19 Jun 2026

Maria

Our stay was fine no major concerns

Family

10/10

Exceptional

16 Jun 2026

Dianne

Gods location. Very helpful staff

Family

8/10

Excellent

14 Jun 2026

Margaret

Overall, fine. Parking is an issue, with your only choices being paid parking on the street or in nearby lots, or $37 a night hotel valet parking. In room amenities (coffee, water, toiletries, etc.) were the weakest I have seen similar hotels. Felt a bit nickel-and-dimey, especially considering the room rate.

Self

10/10

Exceptional

14 Jun 2026

John

Front desk staff are great

10/10

Exceptional

13 Jun 2026

Janay

Very clean hotel, really enjoyed my birthday stay! Will definitely book again! Valet parking is definitely worth it due to location and limited street parking.

Friends_and_family Friends

8/10

Excellent

13 Jun 2026

Jason

The rooms were clean and staff very friendly. The elevators were slow as expected with an older hotel. Bed could use to be changed out and shower could use a deep clean but all in all it was a good deal for the price.

10/10

Exceptional

12 Jun 2026

Cerise

Everything

Friends

6/10

Pleasant

12 Jun 2026

Sean

I only have a couple complaints about this hotel. The first one is the False Advertising on the site for a 2 bedroom suite. I book a 2 bedroom suite, since I was traveling with family. But, when we go to the room, it ended up being a bunkbeds in the living room and a king size bed in the bedroom. Not exactly what I would call a 2 bedroom suite. The staff were very helpful in helping me get another room, at a reasonable price, and that room was pretty nice. My other complaint is how slow the elevators move, and that one elevator was out of service. There were many times where the line for the elevators would back up into the lobby, and take a good 15-20 min to catch an elevator to your floor. Otherwise, it was nice place with amazing staff. Good location between downtown Richmond and VCU's campus.

Family

6/10

Pleasant

11 Jun 2026

Julie

I was a little disappointed with this Hotel. The staff was wonderful and the lobby was very clean and presentable, but the room itself was lackluster. The shower had a huge crack in it, the door frame around the bathroom had rust on it, and the room itself was just mediocre. There was nothing specifically well designed about the room which you’d expect based on the rest of the hotel. Maybe one or two basic cheap picture frames with print art and that’s it. Additionally house cleaning tried to come in our room to clean before check out time which made us feel rushed. There was a fire alarm at 12am which is no one’s fault but the hotel offered no explanation afterward. Overall it’s just okay, nothing particularly special about the hotel.

Friends_and_family Friends

10/10

Exceptional

11 Jun 2026

Shelby

The staff is really helpful and dedicated to providing stellar service. Check in/out was seamless and the valet was very prompt.

Pet

10/10

Exceptional

10 Jun 2026

Jason

Great Experience

6/10

Pleasant

09 Jun 2026

Elizabeth

Needs to be updated

Family

6/10

Pleasant

09 Jun 2026

Merissa

The theming and downstairs is fun and cute. The staff is young and tries hard. The parking situation is pretty dire, with self parking being a block away and requiring regularly renewing/paying for more time, but valet is slow and not great if you’re in and out a lot.

The food is sllloooowwww (Ramsey Kitchen Nightmares-level slow: 40 minutes at 9:30 pm when there was no one else ordering food for a flatbread pizza) because the kitchen is on a different floor, and the elevators are the slowest I’ve ever encountered, and I travel a lot. 20 minutes waiting for an elevator is a lot.

The room was tired, lots of scuffs and signs of age, and the beds were worse than a motel 6. The headboard/head of the bed was downhill from the feet, so as I was sleeping I kept waking up because it was such an uncomfortable situation, and the mattress was quite lumpy.

I was there to see a show at the incredibly poorly designed/run Allianz Amphitheatre, which was too far to walk, but also didn’t really have any parking, especially for early VIP entry. If I was ever there again, I’d stay somewhere else and uber.

Partner

6/10

Pleasant

08 Jun 2026

Cheryl

Be prepared to pay for parking. Worse, you have to pay for coffee in the morning.

Family

10/10

Exceptional

08 Jun 2026

Jeffrey

Great hotel and staff

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

08 Jun 2026

Kathryn

This is a very nice refurbished hotel property within walking distance of VCU. Beautiful rooftop bar area. The hotel is well decorated with nice amenities. Parking was slim on street, so we opted for valet. $37 plus tax per day, but nice attendants and fast retrieval of the vehicle when requested. Being a refurbished property, there were a few things which could have been a little better, i.e. elevators are very small, popcorn ceilings, tubs showers instead of the newer walk-ins, etc., but overall I would recommend it. We were able to walk to/from dinner, however a lyft/uber would probably be safer after dark. We had no issues walking, though, since it was daylight. Very nice bar in the hotel lobby with an exceptionally nice and helpful bartender made the end of the evening highly enjoyable for my husband and me.

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

08 Jun 2026

Douglas

Great place

10/10

Exceptional

08 Jun 2026

Tina

The only issue I had was every time I went to use the elevator, it was always full with the cleaners and their carts. Outside of that, the place was wonderful! The rooftop bar was on point especially as the sun was setting. The bed was very comfortable and I felt very safe at this hotel. I would definitely stay again.

Friends

8/10

Excellent

07 Jun 2026

John

The basics are fine. Room was clean. Staff was friendly. Breakfast options, especially coffee, are overpriced (we walked to nearby cafes). We did not look at the gym or pool so we can't comment on that. The rooftop bar is nice and gives you wonderful views of the somewhat dull skyline and surface parking lots of the city.

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

05 Jun 2026

tanya

Great location

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

01 Jun 2026

Patricia

Wish there was parking without Valet services. That took a little long each time I needed my car. I would rather self park.

Self

10/10

Exceptional

31 May 2026

Lynn

Great staff. Great valet service all online so makes easy to call up car when needed. Great bar and food available.

Self

10/10

Exceptional

31 May 2026

Cynthia

Great location. Near VCU, Altria Theatre. Within walking distance of downtown and Convention Center. Lots of great restaurants also within walking distance. Beautiful property. Big rooms, clean, great mattress. Shower has great water pressure.

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

31 May 2026

Tessa

Quiet room and excellent service!

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

31 May 2026

Amy

Great stay, awesome staff , beautiful room

Friends_and_family Family

10/10

Exceptional

31 May 2026

Jana

A wonderful hotel and pleasant staff!

Friends

8/10

Excellent

30 May 2026

Jubal

Our first time staying here for an overnight trip and we loved it! The theme and decoration of the hotel was super cute, from the key cards designed to look like student IDs, to the stand in the room that looked like stacked books, to the Richmond based artwork. The front staff, Michaelle, who checked us in was friendly and played along with our humor.

The bartender, Macy, offered us her personal Tides pen to help with a grease stain on my husband’s pants. She may have saved them from being tossed!

The only reason we didn’t give it 5 stars is because of the bathroom. Although cute, the sink is too small. It’s almost impossible to wash your hands and brush your teeth without splashing water on the floor, plus there is zero counter space. The shower was awkward and the water pressure was way too low. Other than those design flaws it was perfect. We’ll definitely stay here again.

Partner

6/10

Pleasant

30 May 2026

Gabriel

I loved the historic feel about the hotel.

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

30 May 2026

Patricia

I had a great stay at The Graduate. The staff were great and very attentive. Location was perfect and walkable to VCU campus.

10/10

Exceptional

29 May 2026

Arthur

Staff was helpful and pro active

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

29 May 2026

Jeanne

.

Family

6/10

Pleasant

27 May 2026

John

Had a fire alarm and had to wait outside in the cold. Also my room was not ready when I arrived. Love this property but was a little disappointed this time.

Self

10/10

Exceptional

26 May 2026

Michelle

Amazing
Everything was perfect

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

25 May 2026

Nicole

Really nice hotel in Richmond. The staff were very.nice and helpful. Our room definitely exceeded expectations from the huge sectional and super comfy king sized bed, to the 2 full bathrooms and really nice wall art. And they let us choose anything we wanted on the menu for our included breakfast.

Partner

4/10

Poor

25 May 2026

Kendra

Towels were dirty. Replacement towels were dirty. They have a dirty towel problem.

8/10

Excellent

23 May 2026

Becky

Clean room. I felt incredibly safe with the badging in the elevator and such. Shower faucet was pretty loose, parking was non existent, they served instant coffee in the rooms, and water tasted like algae. Other than that it was great. Neat room.

Staff were wonderfully helpful. I didn't eat there so I cant speak on the food.

Business Family

6/10

Pleasant

22 May 2026

Paul

No bottled water No coffee machine the ac unit kept us up all night making noise

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

20 May 2026

Douglas

Super good service from the first valet to the last front desk agent who checked us out. The suite was huge and ideal for a family with children as there was a bunk bed in the living room. WiFi and TV were both excellent and we felt very much at home.

Partner

6/10

Pleasant

17 May 2026

John

Staff was great! From the valet to the cleaning team, everyone was helpful! The only thing was this Graduate is a bit run down. Paint splashes on bathroom floor, towels that are a bit old. Elevators broken or scratched up. I have been to the Graduate in other cities and they were a bit more polished still.
Also, my 84 year old mom had to leave her room at 1 am bc the fire alarm was going off! No fire, no one knowing what was going on.

Friends_and_family Family

6/10

Pleasant

16 May 2026

Dar

Room did not have the beds made. Hot water ran out one day. We have stayed here a lot and will look for alternatives next time.

Friends_and_family Family

10/10

Exceptional

13 May 2026

Michael

Great breakfast, easy street parking…friendly staff

Partner

6/10

Pleasant

12 May 2026

Kristal

I checked in around 8 PM to a corner room and the bathroom was very dirty - hair in shower, thick pink mold along slider door, and bottom of shower was super scraped. It almost looked like it hadn't been cleaned. Told hotel staff (3 folks there) and 2 of them seemed annoyed (which I assume was more toward the cleaning crew, but less than professional). They switched my room and again, it was not very clean (again hair on the floor and in sink, pink mold but far less, very scratched shower). I was too tired at this point to bother changing rooms, though in retrospect I should have asked. The hotel staff is hit and miss in terms of customer service and friendliness. Woman working at bar was super nice and friendly. Amenities are great too. Overall I would not stay here again for the cleanliness alone.

Business

10/10

Exceptional

12 May 2026

Tammy

We would go and stay again. The staff was very nice and helpful and very clean and had a food area you could get breakfast lunch and dinner. Or just coffee.

Friends_and_family Family

10/10

Exceptional

12 May 2026

Rebecca

Great location. Nice rooms. Fantastic rooftop bar. Slow elevators!

10/10

Exceptional

12 May 2026

Wesley

The room was very clean and spacious, and the staff was extremely friendly and welcoming. They made check-in quick and easy, and always greeted us whenever we came in or out. Street parking was convenient with plenty of close spots available, and the valet team was very helpful and attentive while we unloaded our luggage. Overall, it was a great stay and I would definitely recommend this property to other travelers.

Partner

8/10

Excellent

11 May 2026

Cirlene

Nothing we couldn’t handle but there was one time that the lady cleans the room do not knocked the door just opened it. And my husband and I were just getting out the shower. Plus on 5/8/26 our second day there they changed the bed take out the trash but didn’t clean the bathroom. Not even changed the trash from that. It’s not complaint we’re just fine about it. It’s just to make sure other people not going to have the same experience.

Family

2/10

Poor

11 May 2026

Anna

I made my reservation thru Expedia. Read the fine print!! Turns out... It was non refundable. I paid for the insurance and couldn't use it. I was called into work at the last minute and tried to change the reservation. Couldn't get any one to answer the phone at the hotel. I called the corporate 800. Spoke to a rep. She said sorry can't help you. Sorry, not able to transfer me to get anyone at the property. You are out of luck. No credit or offer to change the dates. Hilton customer service was horrible!! I will never stay with them.
I was there for my son's graduation from vcu and wanted to stay for mother's day night. what a disgrace ...

Family

8/10

Excellent

11 May 2026

Michael

Hotel towels were an issue.

Friends_and_family Family

8/10

Excellent

11 May 2026

dina

There was only 3 sets of towels, for a room with two queens. When the towels were replaced a bath mat was not provided so we used one of our bath towels which left us with even fewer after our showers. For the most part the hotel was friendly.

Friends_and_family Family

4/10

Poor

11 May 2026

Georgette

Everything just looked old and for the amount of money it was highly disappointing

Family_with_children

2/10

Poor

11 May 2026

Jane

Walking into the room we were hit with a very strong air freshener smell. It was strong enough to spark a headache and was possibly so strong to cover up a hint of cigerette smoke. The air conditioner was not working properly-had to keep turning it off wait a few minutes to turn it back on. The bathroom door wouldn't shut but the worst thing ?
THE FIRE ALARM STARTED GOING OFF AROUND MIDNIGHT AND KEPT GOING OFF!!!
We made it down from the 7th floor, Firetrucks showed up and gave the all clear-only 2 of 3 elevators were working so we walked back up to the 7th floor. Settled back into bed and THE SMOKE ALARM STARTED AGAIN!! We waited it kept randomly going off so we packed up all our stuff and left.
I feel we should be reimbursed from the hotel because this ruined our nieces graduation weekend memories as we didn't get to celebrate Sunday with family.

Friends_and_family Family

4/10

Poor

10 May 2026

Nathan

Poor check in. Had to wait for hours. Fire alarm went off from 12 am - 2 am.

Self

10/10

Exceptional

10 May 2026

Jennifer

Great staff, great property, and lovely bars.

Partner

8/10

Excellent

08 May 2026

Jeffrey

Great downtown RVA location. Very “college” vibe look and feel.

Limited street parking, so be ready for extra cost for parking/ valet.

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

08 May 2026

Francis

Nice location just north of downtown, close to VCU. Excellent bar and restaurant.

Self

2/10

Poor

07 May 2026

Eboni

Still waiting for my $50 incidental deposit to be refunded and the valet parking overcharged me for an overnight is 38 and some change when I looked at my bank account they had charged me $75 and some change for just one overnight stay.

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

06 May 2026

Andrea

Perfect

10/10

Exceptional

05 May 2026

Jeremy

Elvira was very helpful and friendly at the front desk. Every employee we met was really nice. The expensive valet was the only real downside.

Partner