I hadn’t been back to New Haven since I graduated twenty-five years ago, so I wasn’t surprised to learn that there was a new (ish — it opened in 2008) place in town to check out. What did surprise me was that it was one of only two attractive dog-friendly choices downtown, the other being the Omni Hotel (which is a bit too corporate-glam for me). Happily, The Study at Yale is a sweetheart of a hotel, and I can recommend it wholeheartedly. I should mention that I paid my own way at The Study — I’ll always let you know when something I’m reviewing has been paid for by someone else.

Chloe and the giant specs (glass front door in the background)

We stayed in a “King Room” (which features a full closet but a less desirable view, towards the Yale-New Haven Hospital rather than the residential colleges). It looked just like the picture, though without the wide-angle lens. These are not large rooms: The “Queen Room” my college roommate and her husband stayed in had only a vestigial closet. The rooms, like ours, that look out over Chapel Street also get street noise — and New Haven pretty much redefines “street noise.” If you’re planning a visit, I suspect you know that already.

The location could not be more convenient. The hotel is one block north of the British Art Center and the Yale Rep, and I felt comfortable walking Chloe down Chapel Street and onto campus even late at night.

The hotel itself is perfectly comfortable and inviting. The rooms have a leather chair, reading lamp and cozy wool blanket; the lobby offers not only comfy couches, current periodicals and snack options but also a selection of books from NYC’s Strand bookstore (and some, too, from Yale authors). There is a very competent bar and restaurant (called Heirloom). There are cookies at the front desk, which is staffed by pet lovers. The entire staff was sweet as a peach, in fact, from the valet who disappeared our car when we finally pulled up at 1:00 a.m. to the off-duty group who gasped in horror when Chloe bonked her head on the crystal-clear doors at the front entrance (she shook it off, and approached the doors with caution during the rest of our stay).

The hotel is spendy, it has to be said, and so is the pet policy ($50 per day). On the bright side, the wifi is free. Overall, I felt like I got what I paid for, and I’ll return happily — hopefully, before another 25 years have passed.