http://www.azcentral.com/story/money...-asu/14711827/
New Tempe hotel reflects the spirit of ASU
Laurie Merrill, The Republic | azcentral.com 8:04 p.m. MST August 27, 2014
Developers of Tempe's newest boutique hotel want to pick up the spirit of the city and nearby Arizona State University in their decor.
Optimistic. Intellectual. Science-inspired.
The Graduate Tempe hotel, the Normal diner and Tapacubo Mexican eatery are rising from the gutted hulks of the former Twin Palms Hotel and IHOP restaurant that for decades occupied the site across from the campus, near ASU Gammage.
The hotel is scheduled to open Sept. 23.
If it sounds more like a college than a lodge, that may be because the 141-room hotel has partnered with ASU's School of Life Sciences Social Insect Research Department and the ASU Art Department for decorations.
Guests will see a front desk created from a digital print of Charles Darwin's "Origin of the Species," an enormous ant farm in the lobby and Native American art work, said Christian Strobel, Graduate Hotels president.
"At Graduate, we are looking to create an experience where you wake up feeling the vibrancy and energy of the town you are staying in," Strobel said. "Our goal is to capture Tempe's unique spirit throughout the hotel."
Graduate Tempe is one of at least seven Graduate hotels that AJ Capital Partners plans to open in the next year, all in college cities, Strobel said.
Graduate Tempe will be the first to open and will do so in time to capture some of the business the Super Bowl at University of Phoenix Stadium will bring next year.
The partnership paid about $5.88 million for the Twin Palms Hotel, which shut its doors in May, according to published reports.
Room rates will average about $159 a night, Strobel said.
"This particular location is plagued by under-investment," Strobel said of the site.
Hotel General Manager Jeremy Dougherty said the location is ideal for capitalizing on the influx of new businesses in the area as well as ASU's visiting alumni, parents and educators.
USA Basketball is moving to University Drive and Mill Avenue, and the Marina Heights project, anchored by an 18-story local State Farm insurance company headquarters, is under construction at Tempe Town Lake.
"We want people to say, 'This is really different, this is really cool,'" Dougherty said.
The hotel has views of nearly every mountain range in the area.
It will have an outdoor space conducive to tailgating and a 90-inch TV by the pool.
The idea is for the hotel to appeal to the traveler who now does business in Tempe or Chandler but spends the evenings in Scottsdale or elsewhere.
Developers also want the hotel and its restaurants to be a gathering place for the community, a place that feels wide open and inviting, where people can sit down at the diner counter or grab a quick cup of coffee on the run.
The hotel will feature the Normal, a "diner-chic" restaurant that will serve breakfast all day in addition to salads, sandwiches, shakes and La Colombe coffee, Strobel said.
It also will house a new Mexican restaurant called Tapacubo, which means hubcap. Strobel described it as a street-food outpost. The bar is made using 38,000 Mexican pesos, he said.
The coffee shop will have a window where people walking, biking or skating by can stop and get a cup.
"We want to be (the) hub for the community to come and meet," Strobel said.
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