Graduate Roosevelt Island | Hip & Unique Hotel

Searching for a hotel is sometimes not easy. I’m sure you ask friends & family. Then you do a Google search and read up on reviews. Maybe you even check out Tripadvisor like I do. Well, with Graduate Roosevelt Island I just happened to stumble upon it and boy are we glad we did! At first, we were looking for hotels in Manhattan and when we found this beauty, we questioned the transportation issue on how easily & fast it would be to get to Manhattan from this island. You see, this hotel is situated on Roosevelt Island. Roosevelt Island is a small island located between Manhattan and Queens.

Transportation

To our pleasant surprise, Manhattan is easily accessible via one subway stop or by using the Roosevelt Island Tramway which only takes about 7 minutes! Plus, you can’t beat the views!

The Hotel & Surroundings

Graduate Roosevelt Island is a new, and the only, hotel on Roosevelt Island right next to Cornell Tech Campus. It is a hip and trendy hotel with all the comforts of home. It opened June 1, 2021 and every room has a view of Manhattan. Every room! It also has an onsite restaurant on the ground floor and a Panorama room on the top floor. You’re also welcomed to use the Cornell Tech Campus café which is also a great option!

The island itself has restaurants and a Starbucks not far from the hotel. In fact, this island is so small that you can visit the entire island in a matter of a couple of hours. You can either walk it or take the free red bus transportation that makes several stops to wherever you want to get off. I go into detail about this awesome island on Roosevelt Island | A Historical Hidden Gem!

Arrival

Upon arrival you’ll be greeted with a valet parking attendant outside. Once you enter, the lobby is warm and inviting. We were there during Christmastime 2021 so it was even more beautifully decorated! It was an easy and fast check in which I truly loved after a long travel day from Florida.

One of the first things that you notice is the HUGE “Flyboy.” That’s what the boy with the goggles is called. It is like their signature stamp on the hotel because it is everywhere. I was told that it signifies a youthful, inquisitive, and knowledge seeking person. It makes sense since it’s basically on the tech campus of Cornell.

I found it interesting that there was another Flyboy statue at Battery Park in Manhattan. Check this big boy out!

I wish I would have taken more photos of the interior of our room, but we were arriving late and were so tired that we just wanted to go to sleep. This lobby photo is after a long day sightseeing in Manhattan. The sofa is comfortable yet modern & sleek.

The Room

This is another reason to fall in love with Graduate Roosevelt Island! When we arrived to our room, we had a wellness kit for each of us in there. They are packets with a couple of black disposable masks, wipes and a remote control sleeve. It’s nice to come to a place away from home and feel like you’ve arrived to another home. Graduate Roosevelt Island really does have you covered and makes you feel cared for!

Remember how I said that Flyboy was everywhere? I wasn’t kidding! This is the bathroom wallpaper. You would think that this might be tacky, but it’s really not. It’s tastefully placed and decorated nicely. The photos that are in the room throughout (not that many) are very….different. I’m not sure where they come from exactly, but I would guess that they come from a historical perspective based on the island’s past. I would love for Graduate Roosevelt Island to respond to the real meaning behind the unique photos!

I have left the best for last! This is the daytime view from our room! Yes, our room! That’s Cornell Tech Campus down below.

I’m posting this next photo because I wanted to show you that there is a handle to open the window. The bottom portion opens only slightly inward and there is nothing that would prevent you from dropping your cell phone, or anything else for that matter, way down below. So be careful! I do wish there was some kind of screen only on this bottom portion, but it also may detract some from the view. I’m not really sure. It was great to have this option, however, because there were some nice cool days/nights and was refreshing to get some fresh air. As you can see, the bed is right there so you can literally see the sights & lights at night right from your bed!

And here it is! The view that made it all worth it to come back to the hotel at the end of the day. We slept with the shades open to fall asleep to this!

My hope is that you would give this hotel a try and see for yourself how great this place is. Roosevelt Island has a lot to offer and this new hotel is one of their latest additions. Are you interested in learning more about the Graduate Hotels enterprise? Then check out their website for other locations. If you’ve stayed here, let me know what you thought! Also, make sure you check out my post about Free & Cheap Things to do in NYC!

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