Graduate by Hilton Cambridge

About Graduate by Hilton Cambridge

Formerly the Cambridge Royal, this hotel on Chesterton Road was reworked as a Graduate - the university-town brand now within the Hilton group - and reopened with a design that takes Cambridge references seriously: rowing blades, botanical prints from the university herbarium, crested crockery and a colour palette lifted from college scarves. It is the only hotel in the city that sits directly on the riverfront, which is its main claim and a fair one.

There are 148 guest rooms, running from Graduate Doubles and Kings through Junior Suites to a penthouse, and the rooms facing south look across the water to Jesus Green and Midsummer Common. Interiors are more playful than the average four-star, with patterned fabrics and a good deal of artwork, and the rooms are a reasonable size by central Cambridge standards. Air conditioning, decent desks and fast wi-fi are standard throughout, which matters given how much of the hotel's business comes from the science parks.

The Garden House restaurant works through seasonal menus built around East Anglian and British produce, with sharing plates, an a la carte list, afternoon tea and a well-regarded Sunday roast, and the terrace beside the river is the best seat in the building on a warm evening. Position is the other selling point: cross the footbridge and you are on Jesus Green, with the colleges ten minutes' walk beyond, while Castle Hill and the independent shops of Mitcham's Corner are on the doorstep. Parking is available on site for a charge.