<p>FYI, looked into hotels near Bard, mainly looked in Kingston and already a number of them are showing no rooms available at least on Saturday, August 7th (which I think is move-in day for freshman students). My husband & I ended up booking a hotel room in Poughkeepsie which is about 20 miles away.</p>
<p>There are still a few rooms available at the quality inn in Kingston. I had to search, and was sad to find out that the Marriott was booked, (we have points at marriott) and the Hampton Inn also was booked…I think we will be stopping at a Target for bedding etc closer to NYC, since I think this will mean that Kingston will be void of all the things a freshman needs to move into a dorm…thanks for the heads-up Irvinemom!</p>
<p>Yes, we too had hotel (Hilton) points to cash in, and decided the 20 mi drive from Poughkeepsie was within reason for us. Good tip on shopping further away from Bard for bedding and the like. With about 400 freshman arriving on campus, it’s probably a good bet that pickings will be slim in Kingston!</p>
<p>We ordered most everything from amazon and had it shipped for free - then picked it up at Bard when we arrived - including a keyboard, speakers, and sub-woofer! Let alone all the bedding. Now I/we need to figure out where he’ll be storing it all (self-storage rental) over the summer. I think we had seven boxes waiting for us - but we were by no means the champion.</p>
<p>I’ve heard Kingston is…eh. Likewise the hotels.</p>
<p>Great B & Bs in Tivoli and Rhinebeck. Tivoli is more funky, Rhinebeck is upper-crust. Tivoli is 5 minutes away, Rhinebeck is 10. Look for B & Bs.</p>
<p>It’s a great time for you! D is finishing up her freshman year, and she cannot imagine being anywhere else. It’s been a great year, and I will always fondly remember dropping her off last year for L&T. The weather was beautiful, the campus looked great. Ah, good times, good times…</p>
<p>My husband and I are planning to spend Saturday, Aug 7th helping our daughter move in and do any runs to the local stores that day. But we were thinking of staying at the hotel thru Sunday, then leave to go home on Monday morning.</p>
<p>But do most parents of freshman students remain on campus on Saturday to help move in, then scatter and dissapear after that?</p>
<p>Our daughter definitely does not want us to cramp her style by hanging out too long, but I’m curious on the correct “protocol” for freshman parents on when to stay, and when it’s time to go. 
Or does Bard even have any activities for new parents that weekend?</p>
<p>There are scheduled events for freshmen parents throughout the afternoon on Saturday. By Saturday night most parents have left the campus, but I believe some go back on Sunday morning for a last brunch or store run. There was nothing scheduled for parents on Sunday that I remember.</p>
<p>Thank you SpiritManager! Good info to know. It would be a big “faux pas” if my husband & I over-extended our stay. :-)</p>
<p>When we dropped D off as a freshperson, we had to pick up her younger sister at a summer program the same day. We arrived early in the morning and did all of the registration/checkin things, moved her into her room and attended some of the sessions, but left in mid-afternoon, which seemed to be fine.</p>
<p>The line for dorm keys gets longer and longer in the morning, so I’d recommend showing up either quite early or in the afternoon.</p>