Fodor's Expert Review Graduate Palo Alto

There are many hotels with bland, corporate décor—and then there's the Graduate Palo Alto, where every square inch of space seems to have some form of elaborate design or decoration. With a base of very intricate Spanish Colonial architecture, the university town–focused brand completely remodeled what was the Hotel President (named for Stanford alum Herbert Hoover), a popular 20th-century hotel that had fallen into disrepair. Each room has a retro vibe (old-fashioned bed spreads and elaborate floral and bird wallpaper) and a huge amount of Stanford influence. The shower entry frame is arched like the classic campus architecture, and bed headboards are stenciled with redwood trees, a nod to the Stanford tree mascot.