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Cleveland · Hotel shortlist

The best hotels near University Circle

Daniel Kovac

Daniel Kovac Central Europe

Updated 1 September 2026 · 10 Cleveland hotels assessed

These are my five favourites in Cleveland, out of the 10 that qualified. I read what other travellers scored them before I picked, so the order follows the guests, 4.9772725 down to 4.2.

All five are inside 1.4 km of University Circle, so you can walk it.

In the heart of Little Italy! Free Parking!

Highest rated of the five

In the heart of Little Italy! Free Parking!

★★★★★4.9772725 from 143 reviews

In the heart of Little Italy! Free Parking! comes out on top of this list, and not narrowly: 4.9772725 from 143 guest reviews is a score that holds up at that volume, which is the whole test here. A perfect ten from nine people does not beat it.

It is found under poi and around $287 a night on the dates we checked.

10 hotels in Cleveland qualified for this list and five made it. Glidden House is the one I would book if the first is full.

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All five, ranked

  1. In the heart of Little Italy! Free Parking!1

    In the heart of Little Italy! Free Parking!

    ★★★★★4.9772725 from 143 reviews

    800 m from University Circle, about a 10 minute walk

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    • Glidden House2

      Glidden House

      ★★★★★4.6 from 911 reviews

      200 m from University Circle, about a 2 minute walk

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      • InterContinental Cleveland by IHG3

        InterContinental Cleveland by IHG

        ★★★★★4.4 from 1,633 reviews

        1.2 km from University Circle, about a 15 minute walk

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        • La piccola Italia di Cleveland 2 Family Run4

          La piccola Italia di Cleveland 2 Family Run

          ★★★★★4.9140353 from 114 reviews

          1.4 km from University Circle, about a 18 minute walk

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          • Courtyard by Marriott Cleveland University Circle5

            Courtyard by Marriott Cleveland University Circle

            ★★★★★4.2 from 914 reviews

            300 m from University Circle, about a 4 minute walk

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            How this list was put together

            10 Cleveland hotels qualify for this list. We ranked them on guest rating first and on how close they are to University Circle second, then took the top five.

            Two things decide these lists. The first is my own time in the city: every hotel on this page is one I have stayed in, walked into and looked at, or gone back to check. That is where the shortlist starts, and it is why some well reviewed places are not on it.

            The second is the numbers, and those are what set the order. The rating and review count come from the big travel sites, pooled through Google, so a score here reflects Expedia, Booking, Hotels.com and the rest together rather than any one of them. I also read the review breakdown by topic, which is where the figures on service, breakfast and location come from. Hotels with fewer than forty reviews are left out altogether, because a rating that thin is not a rating. No more than two come from one neighbourhood.

            What I do not do is move anyone up the order. The ranking is the guest score, highest first, and nobody pays to be on the list.

            Distances are straight lines from published coordinates, so the real walk is a little longer. Amenities are as recorded by Google Hotels and can change without notice. Rates are an indicative nightly figure for a midweek autumn stay, not a quote. Check the booking page before you commit.

            Daniel Kovac

            Daniel Kovac Central Europe

            Takes the same two weeks every August and drives somewhere far with his wife and daughter. Twelve countries, all by road, all in one battered estate car. Plans routes on paper maps.

            Trip Grapevine earns a commission on bookings made through the links on this page. It costs you nothing, and it does not change the order of the list, which is set by the measurements above.