<p>My son has applied to Vanderbilt RD. We don't know if he will be admitted or if he will even attend if he is admitted, but I like to be prepared. I'm making reservations for move in day and parents and family weekends at his top 3 schools. He's been accepted to one of his top 3 but we are waiting to hear from the other 2. </p>
<p>I'm finding the hotels near Vanderbilt to be full for family weekend in September, but I also noticed Vanderbilt has a travel portal for booking rooms. Do you think Vanderbilt has already reserved blocks of rooms and there are rooms available if I book through them? Do you know if you can cancel and get a refund through the booking agent? </p>
<p>I haven’t found the travel portal to help with reservations, but it won’t hurt to try. If you can’t get near campus, downtown is also close, although you would have to drive to campus or take a short cab ride, which is a bit of a pain. Not a big deal, though.</p>
<p>I just used the portal to book a spring break visit trip, they only advantage was the discount price which was very nice but I don’t believe there are blocks of rooms being held. In my experience with my S at another college those big weekends - graduation, parents etc. book a year in advance.</p>
<p>I am not familiar with the school travel portal but the Hampton Inn Green Hills is about the same distance to the school as the downtown hotels but in the opposite direction. Green Hills is more easily accessible than downtown and you probably will not be charged for parking. Lastly, you are right next to a great mall and some good restaurants.</p>
<p>I always booked directly with the hotel on the website, and I got better deals than I could get on the portal. What I found was that the hotels didn’t honor the Vandy rate for special events. I was able to get good rates at Holiday Inn and both Hamptons (West End and Elliston Place). We also stayed out near the airport a couple times - the Wingate was nice, as were the Drury Inn and the Comfort Suites. The airport isn’t all that far, and traffic is fine outside of rush hour. I wouldn’t recommend being far away for graduation (traffic is awful!!) - but we stayed at the Drury the night before move-in & it was a good choice. We saved a few dollars that way, and stayed at the pricier Hampton that night. </p>
<p>My in laws stayed at the Hampton Inn Green Hills for graduation, and it was very nice … not too far away … and near one of my favorite Nashville restaurants, Firefly.</p>
<p>D, who has graduated, stayed in Nashville recently for a work conference. They were at the Hilton Garden Inn, which she said was nice. That is not too far from campus.</p>
<p>There is a parallel discussion about Vanderbilt hotels for move-in and parents weekend here on CC under the Current Vandy Freshman thread. We have never used the portal, just book directly with the hotels. The Holiday Inn near the stadium is older but not bad and very convenient. IMO, of the two events, I think it is more important to be in a hotel closer to campus for Parents Weekend than move-in just because of the parking issue; easier to park on campus during move-in weekend than when classes are in session during parents weekend. There are lots of nice hotels near the airport that are more reasonably priced and it is not too bad of a drive on a Saturday or Sunday. If there are other parents like you who have booked before knowing for certain their children will attend Vanderbilt; there should be rooms that open up once final decisions are made. Will any of the hotels keep a waiting list?</p>
<p>Thanks everyone. I booked the Hampton Green Hills. Almost booked Embassy Suites, but it was $299/night and then they charge for parking AND wi-fi. One of my pet peeves…charging for wi-fi. Seriously? And I don’t even need the wi-fi b/c I use my phone. </p>
<p>Who knows if we’ll even be there b/c ds hasn’t been admitted yet, but at least I have a plan .</p>
<p>This thread made me curious so I went and checked when I made my reservations last year. I booked Hampton Inn West End Ave for move-in on May 12. There were still plenty of rooms available around Vanderbilt for Move-In at that time. I made a reservation for Parents Weekend the same day (May 12) but all the nearby rooms were already full! I did get a spot at the Renaissance downtown, which I later cancelled because we ended up not going.</p>
<p>Booked move in and parents weekend as soon as my D was accepted ED - at the Marriott - We were just there this weekend! Nice and close but Loews is very close as is the Holiday Inn!</p>
<p>Whenever I go to Nashville, I will always stay at the airport - the hotels there are always cheaper and not as crowded. It’s a fairly quick ride to Vandy.</p>
<p>My daughter left home in Connecticut to go to Vandy and never came back after graduation - so sad. She loves Nashville.</p>
<p>My D left Michigan to go to Vandy and never came back, either. However, she did decide she wanted a larger city - and she missed the midwest - so she moved to Chicago a year after graduation. She loved her time in Nashville, though!</p>
<p>We are local, but I think we spent more in gas going back and forth every day than we would have on a hotel! We will have 2 there next year, so we will go. We really enjoyed everything we went to! Being local, just wanted to second staying in airport area, Elm Hill pike has several “suite” style hotels, where you can have a kitchen, bedroom, and great pool. Short 20 min. Drive from Vandy. Lowes plaza is pretty expensive. Green hills is a very nice area with tons of restaurants and is just the other side of 21st avenue (across 440)</p>