<p>Looking ahead!! My son will be graduating in 2016. Any advice on how much in advance to book a hotel and where is a decent place to stay?</p>
<p>I’m sure others who have experienced it can comment better but from what I have read in years past it seems you book a year in advance (or as soon as the hotel’s system can make the reservation for you if it can even be sooner than a year). It seems like the same local hotels you stay at for parent’s weekend work nicely for graduation as well. </p>
<p>I called last May and confirmed that 12 months out is the maximum early reservation for the place I have in mind. Got a reminder in my phone for this May. \m/ </p>
<p>Bad parent that I am ( just kidding he’s my third child, been there done that) , we didn’t go to any parent weekend. Any hotel recommendations would be appreciated.</p>
<p>There are at least several hotels on South College Ave. almost right across from the stadium where the main graduation ceremony is held. You can just cross the street and go into the stadium. They are all major hotel chains so I suspect one would not be significantly better than the others. You can find out the names by going to UD’s visitor website which can direct you to a UD site for all the hotels in the area. Unfortunately all the hotels in the area raise their prices significantly for the graduation weekend (as you might expect). Good luck.</p>
<p>also as a back up in case the prices are too high or they are booked… I really like the Holiday Inn Express on Christiana Drive right near I-95. The price is usually lower and it’s only 5 years old. Super clean and gives you a basic breakfast. If you need to stay there during non UD weekends (other than parents weekends and graduations) you can call and they have a “UD” rate that’s often better than any AAA discounted rate. I’ve stayed there about 5 times now over the last 3 years and they’ve been great everytime. Staying there parents weekend this year again as well. @stressedx3 I didn’t attend my first child’s first parent weekend… how bad am I? lol! Made it up going sophomore year and now this year too… then I’m probably done. My sis in law and family come with us too since my niece is sandwiched between my two kids so it’s fun for us but if not for this situation I’d be skipping them all. :)</p>
<p>My D graduated this year (!) and I was a week late from making a reservation a year in advance and couldn’t get anything decent in newark. We ended up staying at a gorgeous hotel in wilmington and parking at my daughter’s apartment before walking to the stadium. Even though the security was insane for joe Biden, this turned out perfectly for us. We ate at a beautiful restaurant away from the craziness and, since UD organizes graduation very well, it couldn’t have gone more smoothly. Here’s a tip: read the seating plan for graduates, get to the stadium early and sit in one of the boxes closest to your graduate’s department. We had front row seats right next to her. It was truly magical.</p>