Yes, from its name and folded-eyeglasses logo to being booked up years in advance for graduation weekends, The Study in New Haven is proud of its proximity to Yale University. In fact, the full name of the light-infused hotel, which you’ll find in the heart of an urban-chic downtown and toward the southern end of campus, is The Study at Yale. Despite its Ivy League cachet, though, the 70,000-square-foot Study, which opened in 2008 after development by a former W Hotels design executive, is a hip yet homey hotel with a smart/fun vibe all its own.
Take the loaner iPads for your stay; imported coffee and wine in the lobby; soft distressed-leather reading chairs in every room; and oversized windows looking out over Yale’s Hogwarts-like buildings. It’s right in the sweet spot between the steel and glass of contemporary urban architecture and the classic elegance you expect of a destination hotel.
Your trip begins in the lobby, which is meant to be the hotel’s “living room.” There, you’ll find up-to-date periodicals on a variety of subjects and class books on the bookshelves—and you can read them while sipping an illy or munching on organic baked goods from the Lobby Café.
Up in your room, you’ll find Grohe bathroom fixtures (with relaxation-inspiring shower settings like “Champagne” and “rain”), a big flat-screen HDTV, pillow-top mattresses, and free WiFi and ethernet. Plus, there’s a fitness room and a few Mac workstations scattered throughout the hotel.
Explore: From there, New Haven is yours to explore. It has gone from the grime of the 1970s and 1980s to a revitalized gem. Like a lot of cities surrounded by good land and filled with smart, young, cosmopolitan people, New Haven has quite a few foodie destinations along with a vibrant arts scene, and the kinds of bars and clubs that draw students and professionals alike. Don’t miss the Yale University
Art Gallery (www.artgallery.yale.edu). Louis Kahn designed the original space, and aside from its startling African, Asian, and Greek and Roman galleries, the Gallery is the surprising home to a number of masterpieces from the Post-Impressionist (and post-post-) pantheon, including works by van Gogh, Cézanne, Picasso, Kandinsky, Pollock, Rothko, Lichtenstein, and more. Also, The Yale Center for British Art (www.britishart.yale.edu) is right across the street.
Dine: New Haven is home to the pizzerias that claim to have invented American pizza: Wooster Street favorites Sally’s Apizza (www.sallysapizza.com) and The Original Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana (www.pepespizzeria.com). Chapel Street is known for its Thai restaurants, plus the vegetarian Claire’s Corner Copia (www.clairescornercopia.com) with its famous Lithuanian coffee cake. Barcelona New Haven (www.barcelonawinebar.com/newhaven.htm) is doing killer tapas, cheese plates, and wine pairings.
Insider’s Tip: In the fall, the best hiking and viewing (of leaves, the city itself, and even the Sound) is at East Rock Park, way up Whitney Avenue. Also, since The Study sponsors the Yale Repertory Theatre (www.yalerep.org), which brings in a number of acting heavyweights, they can often get guests last-minute tickets.
The Details
The Study at Yale
1157 Chapel St, New Haven, CT (203) 503-3900; www.studyatyale.com
Distance from White Plains: 1 hour Details: Standard rooms begin at $169/night, $189 in fall. There are other accommodations, like Premier King Rooms (which begin at $259), King Study Suites ($289), and a Presidential Suite.
