Graduate by Hilton Columbia SC

This is a fabulous boutique hotel! The decor, rooms, comfy beds, wonderful staff, great food, etc. make this a perfect stopover on the way to Florida. Don’t miss the morning lattes. The food is also great. Staff is exceptional and we love the room amenities, I.e., tea, coffee, mini fridge, etc.

I've been a regular guest at the Graduate Hotel in Columbia, SC, visiting several times over the past year for work. Unfortunately, I've noticed a decline in both service and upkeep recently. The hotel appears rundown, with carpets in need of replacement or at least a thorough cleaning. The shower curtains were covered in mildew, and many of the doors were visibly dirty. I even had to clean the bathroom door handle myself with a washcloth, revealing just how grimy it was. Moreover, the cleaning service did not address basic cleanliness issues; there were empty fast food boxes left on the desk from previous guests when I arrived. It’s evident that management changes have shifted the hotel's focus. It now caters heavily to students, promoting it as a hangout spot, which has led to crowded and uncomfortable conditions for paying guests. The common bathrooms were also dirty and frequently used by students between classes, which detracted from the boutique hotel experience one would expect. Overall, this recent experience has been disappointing, especially given my previous positive stays.

This place took me back to the 70’s - pure fun - tons of vintage artwork and furniture with pops of color everywhere. The hotel provided me with a burst of happy in a drear, cold January. Spacious room but bathrooms are small. Front desk gals were so welcoming! A great experience!

This is a classy boutique hotel which lives up to all is expectations. We picked this hotel as being an ideal choice for a few nights stay whilst settling in a child for university We were not let down as the hotel catered for all our needs and was clean comfortable d tv staff were attentive, kind and extremely hospitable Hats off to Victoria in receiving and Miss Power in the hotel bar - Their service was impeccable and first class and mornings as too much trouble My rating for this establishment is top notch

I never write reviews but feel compelled to share my experience to spare others a similar experience. I chose The Graduate because of the reviews here and elsewhere as I am very picky about cleanliness and quality of hotel. On surface it is a very attractive hotel with cute eclectic charm. I will start with the worst. We were staying at The Graduate for USC Orientation and had the horrific experience of having bed bugs. If you’ve never experienced this be grateful. The bites are painful/blistering and incredibly itchy not to mention just plain gross. Upon returning home and realizing what had happened it took days of wash and fastidious cleaning to ensure they had not come home with us. Thankfully it worked. The hotel manager did reimburse my stay but no one ever called to follow up or check in. The weeks that followed were uncomfortable and embarrassing having visible bite marks in excess of 50. I spend days and lots of expense cleaning and will remain unable to wrap my brain around ever staying in a hotel again. Looking back I remember saying to my daughter that the hotel was charming but if you looked closely did not seem clean to me. Little did I know how right I would be. My bed was made but no vacuuming was done. Corners of room were visibly dirty. They were doing construction and workers had propped outside doors open. Not the caliber of safety, comfort and cleanliness for a hotel with that price point. I felt responsible to share to spare others this experience.

I stayed at the Graduate while attending UofSC orientation with my son and had an excellent experience all around.

Our room was great, I love the decor and especially the Rooster Lamp in the bedroom! Everything was clean and in order. It was also very quiet, there was a thunder storm happening outside during my stay and I barely heard the thunder. It was very relaxing.

Love this hotel, just wish it wasn’t so pricey! Location is great Very eclectic fun decor, good bar and good food.

We came down to stay for our daughter orientation. Perfect location, could walk to a few events, and you felt like you were becoming a Gamecock as soon as you get in the room.