Stony Brook University’s Hilton Garden Inn will begin checking in guests Thursday, Feb. 21.
The hotel, located on 3.7 acres of land east of the administration building’s parking garage, is designed to provide overnight accommodation for the more than 500,000 guests that visit Stony Brook throughout the year.
“The concept for a campus hotel has been under consideration for more than 20 years, and I am very excited to say that we will soon be able to offer this overnight guest accommodation service to the University community,” said President Samuel L. Stanley in a press release. “Our goal is to offer a comfortable accommodation to the many thousands of visitors we invite to and host at Stony Brook every year, and it will soon be a reality.”
Construction of the hotel began in 2009 through an agreement made between the university and SBHC Private Equity IV, LLC, a local development company headed by Dr. Robert J. Frey, an SBU alumnus from the class of 1987. The hotel is operated by Hilton Garden Inn Franchise and under the management of Crescent Hotels & Resorts, LLC.
SBHC, Hilton and Crescent did not return requests for comments.
The structure is five stories high and contains 135 rooms: four presidential suites along with king, double queen and junior suites. Many rooms are equipped with features, such as a shower chair, to help people with physical handicaps.
The hotel is also environmentally friendly, as it is certified under the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Development, which constructs buildings that conserve more energy and operate at lower costs. Furniture and artwork are provided by Hilton through a program called Project Grow, which manufactures accessories with nature-like designs and auras to provide a peaceful and sustainable environment for its guests. The hotel is the first in the Hilton franchise to be built from the ground-up under Project Grow.
Adorned with fireplaces, flat screen TVs and wooden chairs, the hotel lobby includes a board room for SBU officials and business guests, a meeting room that can be divided into three smaller ones, and a restaurant and bar that are open to everyone.
“It’s open to the public. We serve breakfast, lunch and dinner,” said Jeannine Lang, director of sales, who added with a laugh, “You have to be 21 to drink, as we all know.”
The gym and indoor swimming pool, however, are off-limits to anyone who is not a guest. All non-guests are also prohibited from using the hotel parking lot, as only those with a room key will be able to leave through the hotel gates. Anyone caught violating this regulation will be ticketed by the university police.
Guests are encouraged to use the main entrance to the university at all times when returning to the hotel due to its location and the fact that the north and south entrances close at midnight. The hotel does not expect the influx of guests to disrupt campus transportation.
“They tell everyone to come through the main entrance because that’s where the hotel is located,” said Lang. “I don’t think there will be a lot of traffic.”
While many students say they do not know much about the hotel, some, such as Saara Jessani, welcome it, saying it will allow families and friends to have a place nearby if they want to stay overnight.
“I am from out-of-state,” said Jessani, a sophomore psychology major from Arizona. “It makes the school more inviting. Now, my family can come here. It’s more convenient.”
