A Tipster reported yesterday:
Did you hear that the Graduate Hotel, Anything At All and Panorama are all closing on Tuesday? Their staff were just informed yesterday.
I confirmed that as of today, the Graduate Hotel, Anything At All lobby restaurant and the Panorama Room cocktail bar are scheduled to close on Monday, November 24.
Cornell Tech sent the following notice to their faculty and students today:
Cornell University has been informed by the owner of the Graduate by Hilton New York hotel that the hotel will cease operations early next week.
While the hotel is located on our campus, Cornell does not own the hotel and is not responsible for its operations or management.
We remain hopeful that those responsible for the property will find a way to preserve it as an open and active economic development asset for the campus, the island, and the city.
As of now, the reason for the sudden closing of the Graduate Hotel is not publicly known. As recently as yesterday, the Anything At All Restaurant was promoting their upcoming Thanksgiving dinner.
… Hilton (NYSE: HLT) today announced an agreement with Adventurous Journeys Capital Partners (AJ Capital) to acquire the fan-favorite Graduate Hotels brand, adding a significant growth opportunity for the global hospitality leader in the fast-growing lifestyle hotel market.
Hilton will pay $210 million to acquire all rights to the Graduate brand worldwide, enter into franchise agreements for all existing and signed pipeline Graduate Hotels, and become responsible for the brands future development and growth. AJ Capital will remain the owner of the more than 35 operating and pipeline Graduate properties, each of which will be operated under long-term Hilton franchise agreements….
According to the AJ Capital website:
… In 2024, AJ sold the Graduate Hotels brand to Hilton Worldwide. AJ retains ownership of the real estate and oversight of the management for all existing 35+ real estate assets,…
This is a developing story. Stay tuned for more information as it becomes available.
So they are closing for good? Or just the holiday week?
Closing permanently.
I had a 20 person family visiting and staying there for thanksgiving. I’m a Roosevelt island local.
We also were staying there for several days for Thanksgiving. We had 8 rooms between us, with babies. This closure caused undue stress and we’ve all said, never again to a Hilton. If it wasn’t a horrible bedbugs infestation doing this (which would warrant immediate closure), why wouldn’t they wait till after the holiday!!!???
This seems all of a sudden. What prompted this closing just before the holidays?
I’m a Roosevelt island residents.
Sorry to hear this – it was one of the few places on this island that attracted off-island customers (as opposed to the tram-cramming tourists). Typical corporate behaviour though; fire employees just before the holidays.
Nothing like ruining people’s Holiday Plans we were set to stay their Thanksgiving Eve and now getting a room anywhere will cost a fortune. They couldn’t wait until January 1st…Hilton shame on you!!!
Its a franchise, Hilton has no control over it.
Hilton handles reservations and Hilton Honors points/awards. It’s sold as a Hilton . They own the brand. AJC owns the properties. Depends on the franchise operating agreement who is responsible for the sudden shutdown and whether Hilton (or AJC) can take them over.
Search for the foreclosure proceeding involving AJ Capital and the pending sale of the note
Another local here. For the Graduate RI to close before a big NYC holiday and going forward with bookings in hand and a restaurant serving dinner is not unprecedented but certainly unusual. I wonder what their occupancy rate was given the location.
Hilton owns the Graduate brand but franchises it out to AJ Capital. AJ recently got a refi on 7 of their unnamed hotels from Barings.
From Reddit, a points reward site, et al, Hilton rez apparently was blindsided on the closure at least for RI…don’t know if other properties are affected. I would assume more on this after the holidays. There is nothing coming up re foreclosure or the sale of the note, so if Ron Jenkins can provide links to that info it would be appreciated.
More than likely AJ Capital is in financial trouble and turned the RI property over to a note holder. Unless Hilton moves fast, and I doubt they will owning only the brand, this Graduate will be in litigation. I would not expect it to reopen anytime soon–forget the holidays. I wonder if Hilton will sell or reflag it to another brand…it is after all a brand new property in NYC.
I liked the lobby restaurant but made it there only infrequently. They really did not cultivate locals but then again we are usually on a budget.
The sheer suddenness, before a holiday and with minimal notice to staff is going to be a big issue between the owner, Hilton, and AJ Capital. Hilton has the final responsibility to the booking sites, Honors members, etc. It’s a see you in court situation, unless Hilton finds a new operator fast and can (or wants to) take it over.
I can think of only one instance I personally know that a hotel canceled out their forward bookings suddenly. It was sold at the end of the summer season and abruptly closed for the few shoulder weeks they would be open. The new owner was eager to gut renovate the hotel and start immediately–the money from the remaining bookings apparently didn’t matter. 6 years later, the new owners still own it, gutted to the girders. Wildwood Crest NJ, the former Ocean Holiday, sold to Icona, who didn’t bother to get its plans approved by the town and has been sued by neighboring motels.
Here is an update from Upgraded Points:
“As first reported by Loyalty Lobby and then confirmed to Upgraded Points by a Hilton representative, Graduate by Hilton New York has shut down, effective November 25, 2025, at 12:01 a.m., with all future reservations officially canceled. The hotel has also been removed from the hotel giant’s booking system.
Hilton also told us that the property is, in fact, closing and will not be reflagged to another brand. Hilton is severing its affiliation with the property, and reservations are no longer being accepted.”
Apparently this is the only Hilton Graduate property affected. It is not being reflagged (changed to another Hilton brand).
It must have been nasty or a foreclosure given that NYC hotels are sold out. I walked by there today and there was no sign that it was closed save drawn curtains in the restaurant and no one behind the lobby desk. There was a man sitting on one of the lobby sofas. Presumably security.
AJ Capital still has the RI property on its website!