Princeton, New JerseyPalmer Square
Graduate by Hilton Princeton
Collegiate Gothic clubhouse
Palmer Square Princeton, New Jersey
Opened
2024
Price
$$$
Rated for
Design Social LocalOutside the door
The house
HiltonCollegiate Gothic clubhouse
The hotel functions like a campus eating club, surrounding guests with towering bookshelves, dark woodwork, and decades of Ivy League lore.
“Guests follow orange-and-black tiles into the lobby, which is one part library, one part British pub, with a hint of Hogwarts.”
What it’s good at
Notable
Four hand-carved wooden tigers guard check-in, beside a thirty-foot library study table.
Listed
Ye Tavern serves pre-Prohibition cocktails across leather banquettes and an intricately carved bar.
Listed
Vintage alumni reunion jackets and campus traditions shape the interiors directly across from the university.
What they say
Also in Condé Nast Traveler and AFAR.
Guests are greeted by orange-and-black checkered floor tiles with complimentary old-school wallpaper. A hand-carved, wooden desk awaits at check-in, adorned with four, gigantic tigers on its top.
Right in the middle
Well-located: walkable to some things, a short ride to more.
Princeton University sits directly across Nassau Street, and Palmer Square's shops and dining are just steps away.
The rooms
Carved headboards illustrate the university's 1860s Cane Spree, flanked by lamps modeled after Nassau Hall's Revolutionary War cannon.
Restaurant
Ye Tavern
The tavern revives a 1930s local watering hole on this corner, serving American pub classics beneath Gothic lancet arches.
How it began
The 1926 building once housed student dormitories, and its debut marked the town's first new hotel in nearly ninety years.
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Our shorthand
How we rate hotels.
The medals
Gold
Extremely rare. Sets the global standard.
Silver
Brilliant execution. And we’re picky.
Bronze
They did this well. You’ll notice.
Listed
A defining trait. Makes the hotel what it is.
The eight vibes
Design
Built around a vision. Even the door handles have a designer.
Luxe
Cared for at every turn. The bath is drawn before you ask.
Local
It could only be here. You wake up knowing where you are.
Social
Where the city goes out. The bar is full and the night is young.
Heritage
A building with a story. Once a palace, a monastery, a station.
Wellness
You leave feeling new. Rest, sweat, soak and sleep like a stone.
Classic
The city grew up with it. Same rituals, same regulars, same bar.
Resort
A world of its own. Something to do from breakfast to nightcap.
The scene
Lively
Where things happen: restaurants, shops, people.
Central
Well-located: walkable to some things, a short ride to more.
Quiet
Away from the crowds. Getting around takes intention.
Secluded
A place apart: the property is the destination.