Downtown, you will pay $40 a night to park.
That is the real decision here. Hotels in Ann Arbor split cleanly into two groups: the handful you can walk to campus and downtown from, which charge $30 to $40 a night for valet and mostly have no self-parking at all, and the cluster ten minutes south off State Street and I-94, where parking is free and you drive in. Neither is the right answer for everyone. Below are fourteen places to stay, sorted by which of those two trips you are actually taking, with check-in times and current parking costs verified in September 2026.
One thing to know before you book anything downtown this fall: North University Avenue is closed between State Street and Fletcher Street, including the North University and Thayer intersection, through 8 p.m. on Wednesday, November 25, 2026, for a water main replacement and resurfacing. Thayer Street is reachable from East Washington Street only. Pedestrian access stays open the whole time, so walking is fine, but if you are driving to a hotel on Thayer or by the League, add a few minutes and expect a detour.
Walk to Campus and Downtown
These are the rooms you book when you do not want a car in the equation. You will pay for parking, but you can leave it parked.
Bell Tower Hotel
The one that puts you inside the campus. The Bell Tower sits on Thayer directly across from the Michigan League and a short walk from Hill Auditorium, the Diag and the museums, which makes it the obvious pick for a concert weekend or a campus visit. It is a small European-styled hotel rather than a chain box, and the complimentary full American buffet is a genuine one, hot items included.
300 S Thayer St. See the listing.
Check-in 4 p.m. guaranteed, early arrivals from 2 p.m. when rooms are ready; check-out 11 a.m. Valet parking $30 per day with unlimited in-and-out, valet staffed 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. Guests must be 21 to book and check in. Breakfast buffet weekdays 7-9:30 a.m., weekends 7-10 a.m. Note the Thayer Street detour above. Verified 14 Sep 2026.
Graduate by Hilton Ann Arbor
The best-known walkable hotel in town, and the one people still call just “the Graduate.” It is on East Huron a couple of blocks off State, with the collegiate-maximalist interiors the brand is known for, and it took the Hilton name after the chain was acquired. Closest thing Ann Arbor has to a downtown hotel with a scene in the lobby.
615 E Huron St. No MIAnnArbor listing yet, so book through the hotel directly.
Valet parking $40 per day. No self-parking available. Verified 14 Sep 2026.
Residence Inn Ann Arbor Downtown
Where to put a family or a long stay without leaving downtown. Every room is a suite with a real kitchen, which matters if you are in town for a week of appointments or moving a student in, and it is two blocks from Main Street’s restaurants. The parking is the catch: it is valet only, off-site at the Ashley Ann garage.
120 W Huron St. See the listing.
Check-in from 4 p.m., check-out by noon. Valet parking $38 per day at the Ashley Ann garage about a tenth of a mile away; no self-parking. Verified 14 Sep 2026.
The Inn at the Michigan League
Twenty-one rooms on the fourth floor of the League, and the only walkable option where parking is included. This is a University of Michigan property, not a hotel chain, so it runs quieter and books up around graduation and big campus events. Rooms come with a daily breakfast certificate. If you want to stay on campus and not think about a parking bill, this is the one.
911 N University Ave. See the listing.
Complimentary parking for guests, plus a daily breakfast certificate. The building sits at North University and Fletcher, inside the road project running through November 25, 2026 – call ahead at (734) 764-3177 for current driving directions. Verified 14 Sep 2026.
Exhibit A2
More apartment than hotel, and the quietest arrival in town. Exhibit A2 is a small suite property on Fourth Avenue by the Kerrytown blocks and the Farmers Market, and there is no front desk at all: you get an access code emailed two days ahead and let yourself in a private entrance. Good for a couple who wants space and nobody to talk to.
212 S 4th Ave. See the listing.
Check-in from 4 p.m., check-out 10:30 a.m. No on-site parking; the nearest public garage is one block away. Access code emailed roughly 48 hours before arrival. Verified 14 Sep 2026.
Two Bed and Breakfasts Worth the Booking
Burnt Toast Inn
A pair of old houses on the Old West Side, run like a real bed and breakfast. The Burnt Toast Inn and the Washington House sit two blocks apart in the historic blocks west of Main, which means you can walk downtown in ten minutes and still park free in the side lot. Book by phone or their site rather than an aggregator, and watch the arrival window.
415 W William St. See the listing.
Check-in between 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. – a narrow window, so call if your drive is uncertain. Free private parking on site, a side lot that holds six or seven cars. Verified 14 Sep 2026.
Stone Chalet Bed and Breakfast Inn and Event Center
The granite house on Washtenaw. Built in 1917 out of cut granite block from a local quarry, the Stone Chalet runs twelve rooms across three buildings and sleeps up to thirty, which makes it the practical choice for a wedding party or a family reunion that wants to stay under one roof. It is on Washtenaw between campus and Arborland, so you will drive, but parking is free.
1917 Washtenaw Ave. See the listing.
Private check-in and check-out. Free parking on site. Twelve rooms across three buildings, up to thirty guests total. Verified 14 Sep 2026.
Free Parking, Ten Minutes South
The South State Street and Briarwood corridor is where most of Ann Arbor’s rooms actually are. Parking is free or close to it, rates run lower than downtown, and you are five minutes from I-94. You will drive everywhere, and on a football Saturday that is a real cost.
The Kensington Hotel
The nicest room on this side of town. The Kensington has 200 rooms at the south end of State Street, free self-parking, and the largest indoor hotel pool in Ann Arbor, heated year round, which is the detail that wins over anyone traveling with kids in February.
3500 S State St. See the listing.
Front desk staffed 24 hours. Free self-parking on site, no reservation needed. Heated indoor pool open year round. Verified 14 Sep 2026.
Hyatt Place Ann Arbor
All king rooms, all with a separate sitting area and a sofa sleeper, which is why this one works for two adults plus a kid without booking a suite. Six stories on South State with a free lot and no valet to tip.
3223 S State St. See the listing.
Check-in from 2 p.m., check-out by noon. Free on-site parking; no valet service. 142 all-king rooms. Verified 14 Sep 2026.
Sheraton Ann Arbor Hotel
The middle ground on parking. The Sheraton on Boardwalk charges $10 a day to park, well under downtown valet and the only paid lot on this list, and gives you both an indoor and an outdoor pool for it. Solid conference hotel that is also fine for a weekend.
3200 Boardwalk St. See the listing.
Check-in 4 p.m., check-out 11 a.m. On-site parking $10 per day. Indoor and outdoor pools. Verified 14 Sep 2026.
EVEN Hotel Ann Arbor S – University Area
Read the name carefully. Despite “University Area,” this one is at Briarwood Circle by the mall, roughly three miles from central campus, not on South University. Book it for what it is: a wellness-angled IHG hotel with in-room workout space, a good fitness floor and a free lot, about a $20 to $30 nightly saving against parking downtown.
600 Briarwood Cir. See the listing.
Check-in from 3 p.m., check-out by 11 a.m. Complimentary parking in the hotel lot. Verified 14 Sep 2026.
Spark by Hilton Ann Arbor South
Still listed around town under its old name, Comfort Inn & Suites University South. Same building at the south end of State Street, now flying the Spark by Hilton flag, and it remains the value pick close to the stadium side of town: free parking, free breakfast, indoor pool, and rates that stay reasonable on weekends that are not home games.
3501 S State St. See the listing.
Rebranded from Comfort Inn & Suites University South to Spark by Hilton Ann Arbor South; both names still appear in listings. Free parking, free breakfast, indoor pool and 24-hour fitness room. Verified 14 Sep 2026.
West Side and Longer Stays
Weber’s Boutique Hotel
Family-run since 1937, and the restaurant is the reason to pick it. Weber’s on Jackson Avenue has been owned and operated by the same family for almost ninety years, with an indoor pool, a sauna and its own dining rooms downstairs, so you can land late, eat well and never move the car. It is on the west side near the Jackson and Maple corner, a short drive from downtown.
3050 Jackson Ave. See the listing.
Check-in 4 p.m., check-out 11 a.m. Free on-site parking, plentiful. Restaurants, indoor pool, spa tub and sauna on site. Verified 14 Sep 2026.
Staybridge Suites Ann Arbor – Univ of Michigan
For stays measured in weeks. Every unit has a kitchen, and the free weekday shuttle is the part people miss: it runs anywhere within five miles, which covers the medical campus and most of central campus, so a single car is enough for a family. It sits in Research Park off I-94 near the Ann Arbor airport.
3850 Research Park Dr. See the listing.
Check-in from 3 p.m., check-out 11 a.m. Free self-parking. Complimentary shuttle within a five-mile radius, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Verified 14 Sep 2026.
How to Choose
If you are here for a concert, a campus tour, a graduation or a night on Main Street, book downtown and just accept the parking charge – $30 to $40 once beats moving a car four times. If you are here for a game, a conference, a hospital appointment or anything longer than three nights, take the free parking south and drive.
Two caveats worth repeating. Rates on this side of the state swing hard with the football calendar, so a room that is $130 in October is often triple that on a home Saturday, and the cheap ones go first. And parking policies change more often than room rates, so confirm the charge when you book rather than at the valet stand.
For a game weekend specifically, including the lots and the walk-in radius, see our Michigan game weekend lodging guide. Once you have a room, the downtown restaurant guide and the coffee shop guide will tell you where to walk from it.
