Would it be better to grab a hotel with a view of the river or perhaps on on 5th ave, so that you can walk to Alumni Hall and get a feel for the area as you walk in?
Any recommendations if we are only spending the night and half day in the area? This is our only urban campus school, so I think part of the experience would be to show the urban benefits/downside compared to traditional campuses.
@MelioraScott We liked staying at the Wyndham right on campus, and exploring campus & beyond on foot.
Wyndham is great because of the proximity to campus. We also like to stay in Shadyside. Such a great walkable neighborhood with shops and restaurants. Shadyside Inn is nice but we’ve rented AirBNBs as well and had great luck. Super close to campus also.
Hilton Garden Inn on Forbes is good as well. It’s 5 blocks from the Cathedral of Learning, and across the street from Forbes Hall (Freshman Engineering LLC dorm). I believe there’s also a brand new Marriott property across the street that may be opened by now.
There are plenty of more expensive hotels downtown, which will give you a good feel for the city. A budget-friendly fallback if nearby hotels are sold out would be the Hilton Garden Inn on McKnight road. Not fancy by any means, but cheap and only a 15 minutes from campus.
You won’t need to rent a car if you stay downtown or in Oakland. An Uber from the airport will run ~$30. You can walk everywhere from the Oakland hotels, and downtown is a short bus ride or Uber away. Parking at the downtown or Oakland hotels will run ~$20 or more each day plus tips (valet only, at least at the Hilton Garden Inn in Oakland).
We stayed in the Residence Inn on Bigelow. They had a free shuttle.
And the hotels generally do not indicate the valet-only parking policy and costs when displaying rates. Add $20 to whatever rate you’re quoted on travel booking sites if you plan to park a car there.
We actually like to stay in the Waterfront/Homestead area because of free parking and lots of shopping. Bit you do have to account for traffic going over the bridge into.Oakland.
Re: Residence Inn at Bigelow Blvd
We called to reserve room and asked for special rates for Pitt students.
I think parking was $15 but they waived it because we had a short wait at check-in. There was a pool in the hotel, kitchenette and pull out sofa in our room.
There was free taco night the night we stayed.
We toured the nationality rooms in the Cathedral too.
ProTip: Waterfront is great for move-in because Target and other stores and Costco are right there.