By Anne Levin

Michael Monarca

Michael Monarca worked in the hotel industry for nearly three decades before switching to real estate. Tired of commuting to hotels in New York and around the world from his home in Princeton, Monarca spent 10 years selling houses for Callaway Henderson Sotheby’s International Realty, near his home in town. From time to time, a colleague from his years at Manhattan’s Marriott Marquis would reach out to him about getting back into the hospitality business.

“I would tell him, jokingly, “Build a hotel in Princeton and then we’ll talk,’ ” said Monarca, who is the general manager of the new Graduate Princeton, which opened officially last week on the corner of Nassau and Chambers streets. “He’s now the president of Highgate Hotels, which manages this hotel. So here I am.”

To say the past few weeks have been a whirlwind for Monarca would be an understatement. Orchestrating the opening of the much-anticipated 180-room hotel — the first in Princeton since The Nassau Inn opened nearly 90 years ago — has been a round-the-clock endeavor. For the past month, Monarca has even spent nights in different rooms around the hotel.

“I want to know what the rooms are like, all over the hotel,” he said. “I’m just kind of testing them out, living the experience of the guests. It’s been exhausting, but it’s exhilarating.”

The newest of the collegiate-inspired Graduate chain, which was acquired last spring by Hilton, the hotel’s memorabilia-inspired lobby has been busy during its opening weeks. A splashy spread in Condé Nast Traveler magazine has attracted widespread attention. Ye Tavern, the lobby restaurant named after a bar said to have been located in the space in the 1930s, has been drawing crowds of curious locals as well as tourists.

“The music has been pumping. Our occupancy is spiking,” said Monarca. “And we’ve gotten a ton of interest from local companies who are coming in to tour the hotel.”

The Graduate chain of hotels in college towns, which boasts more than 30 open properties across the U.S. and U.K and three under construction, was the brainchild of Ben Weprin, who founded the firm AJ Capital Partners a decade ago. “When we started Graduate 10 years ago, Princeton was at the top of our list,” said Weprin in a press release. “The history, the heritage, the backdrop, the charm, the sophistication — it’s just the idea of what somebody envisions college looks like in America.”

“Ben loved his college years, and wanted to figure out a brand that helps recreate those memories,” said Monarca. “He saw an opening in the market, and has found a great way to tie in each university specifically with the town that it lives in. He wanted a presence in Princeton for a long time. He searched for the right location and got it.”

In 20 Nassau Street, a former office building that dates from 1918, Weprin found what he was looking for. The building was renovated while smaller structures behind it on Chambers Street were demolished to make room for new construction. The Princeton University connection is everywhere in the Gothic-inspired lobby, starting with four wooden tiger statues that flank the reception desk. Vintage jackets from the annual Reunions celebrations, a 30-foot study table, and floor tiles in the school’s signature orange and black are all part of the décor. The names of the University’s famed eating clubs are painted in gold leaf atop the cases that hold stacks and stacks of books.

“They’re real books, every one of them,” said Monarca. “Some of them are great classics. We encourage people to take a book down, read it, and hopefully put it back. It livens up the space. We’ve already had people sitting there with their morning coffee or a cocktail, and read. I saw somebody with War and Peace the other day.”

While the demolition and construction process took longer than expected and created traffic headaches, the inconveniences seem to have been forgiven.

“People say it was worth the wait and it’s great for the town,” said Monarca. “Someone who was here for breakfast the other day said, ‘You guys already have a vibe.’ So that was nice to hear.”

The affable Monarca makes it a point to talk to people visiting the hotel. His impressive resume includes Marriott, Ian Schrager’s Edition Hotels, and the Ritz-Carlton on New York’s Central Park South. He has lived in Princeton with partner Aziz El Badaoui, who owns the popular Casa Aziz Salon on Hulfish Street, since 2010.

“We had been together for three years at that point, and I was commuting to New York. It wasn’t a whole lot of fun,” said Monarca. “Being here, having my years with Callaway, allowed me to not only get to know Princeton physically, but to know how to partner with the community. And that’s important in this new venture at The Graduate.”

Asked about competition with the Nassau Inn, Monarca said it isn’t an issue. “Lori [Rabon, general manager] and I have had several conversations. We see each other as partners. There are plenty of guests for both of us. They were very supportive, and we’re grateful for that. They built the hotel in 1937, and we’re happy to be their little sibling.”

Welcoming the local community is a key element of the equation. The hotel has already hosted some local musicians, and Monarca is talking to bands he met at the annual Porchfest music event this past April. Plans may also include appearances by the University’s a cappella groups.

“We don’t have it all programmed out yet, but we’re going to keep doing things,” said Monarca. “There will always be little surprises here. We want it to be a fun, free-flowing experience for everyone, where you never know what you’re going to get.”