Hotel Hacks (and Parking Ideas) For Reunion

Yes, it’s quaint, and a bit nostalgic, to sleep in our old rooms … on those “Yale single” bedframes that squeak when you sit on them.  But many spouses or partners are not so, um, adventurous, nor brave enough to deal with shared bathrooms, third-floor walk-ups and the other limitations of dorm living. They (or we!) want a regular hotel room, thank you very much.

This post will tell you all about hotels in the area, and how to get reservations.

This post is the first “Reunion Hack” — tips and tricks for making your reunion experience easier and more comfortable.  Future issues will deal with getting around, special dietary needs, things spouses will enjoy in Greater New Haven and Southern Connecticut, and even things like dealing with limitations on mobility (canes, wheelchairs, etc.)   But for today, it’s all about hotels near Yale for those who aren’t staying on campus.

Downtown Hotels

First, there are several “downtown” hotels within a reasonable walking distance to the Campus, all of them now more upscale — no more Hotel Taft or Hotel Duncan.  Some have room blocks associated with reunions and some don’t.

Those that offer “room blocks:”

• The Omni, 155 Temple
• The Blake Hotel, 9 High St
• The New Haven Hotel, 229 George St
• Graduate New Haven (the old Duncan), 1151 Chapel St,
• The Study At Yale, 1157 Chapel St.
• The Cambria Hotel, 20 Dwight St.
• The Marcel, 500 Sargent Dr/

Those that DO NOT OFFER “room blocks:”

• New Haven Stays, 139 Orange St,
• ARTlab Living, 280 Crown St.
• The Courtyard by Marriott, 30 Whalley Ave.

These hotels will probably sell out quickly, and they are not shy about high rates and tough terms like full prepayment, two-night minimums, and non-refundable reservations, So, if you want premium space where you can walk to the reunion, jump on these soon.

Or Stay A Short Drive Away

There are 42 hotels in the arc from Milford to Branford,  and you can get information about them (phone, rates, reviews, location, etc.) either on this spreadsheet or on the map below. Just click on a dot and you’ll see everything we know about the hotel. If you want to inspect it, most hotel websites have pictures of the property. And there’s always Google street view if you want an unbiased look at the property from the outside.

If you stay in a hotel far from campus, you’ll need to drive to campus during the reunion days.  Uber/Lyft are no-hassle choices.  And if you drive your own car into town, you have some parking alternatives:

Parking, Paid and Free

There are many paid lots in the downtown New Haven area.  Here’s a map for easy navigation.   The downtown hotels also offer paid parking for their guests.  There are also a limited number of on-street alternatives, if you don’t mind “feeding the meter” every few hours.

Yale has many parking lots, most of them restricted, either during the workday hours (Thursday and Friday) or all the time.

Yale offers two large FREE parking place — the Pierson-Sage Garage on Whitney and Edwards and the Prospect-Sachem Garage, which is located just north of The Whale (Ingalls Rink).

Pierson-Sage Garage

@ corner of Whitney and Edwards

This is up near Science Hill, which is about a 0.7 mile walk from Timothy Dwight, but a free Reunion Shuttle (Dattco brand) comes by every 10-15 minutes and will drop you off in front of TD.  (And vice-versa.)

Prospect-Sachem Garage

Prospect Street (n. of Ingalls Rink)

Note: Be sure to look for “Reunion Shuttles (Datto brand), not the regular Yale Shuttle that goes all around Yale, Med School, etc.

We will go into more detail about parking and shuttles in future “Reunion Hacks” articles.  But we wanted you to know about this in case you wanted to get a hotel out of the downtown area and wanted to know how to get into town and park.

Don’t forget to leave a comment below if you learn something that may help the next man trying to book a room.