FAU's registrar calendar puts commencement on Thursday 17 and Friday 18 December 2026, and on Thursday 6, Friday 7 and a tentative Saturday 8 May 2027, with the footnote that no classes or exams are scheduled on commencement days. Which college walks on which day is not published, and neither is the venue: FAU's commencement pages were unreachable when this page was built, so this site names no building. Boca Raton's hotels are close and large: the 119-room Fairfield Inn & Suites on Airport Road two miles out, and at I-95 exit 45 the 184-room Wyndham on Glades Road and the 189-room Renaissance on NW 19th Street, both under two miles from campus. Deerfield Beach is 10 minutes, Delray Beach 16, Pompano Beach 18. Keep bookings cancellable: FAU marks the Saturday tentative and says the calendar is subject to change.
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Close, large, and on the same two exits
Unusually for this site, the hotels here are both near and big. At I-95 exit 45, on the road FAU fronts, the Wyndham Boca Raton, 1950 Glades Road, has 184 rooms and suites over five floors per HotelGuides, a mile and three quarters from campus. Beside it the Renaissance Boca Raton, 2000 NW 19th Street, has 189. Two miles the other way at exit 48A, the Fairfield Inn & Suites, 3400 Airport Road, has 119.
That is 492 rooms inside two miles, before the rest of Boca Raton and the Gold Coast behind it. None of the three publishes a commencement-specific minimum stay, prepayment or cancellation rule, and none is claimed here.
Five commencement days, and no published split
FAU does not graduate everyone at once. Its registrar calendar shows Thursday 17 and Friday 18 December 2026, and for spring Thursday 6, Friday 7 and Saturday 8 May 2027, the Saturday marked “(tentative)”. The calendar footnote explains why they are weekdays: “No classes or exams are scheduled on Commencement days.”
What is not published is which college or degree level walks on which of those days. That is the single fact a family needs before choosing a night, and it is not on any page this site could read. Until it appears, a cancellable room across the pair in December, or the trio in May, is the honest advice.
Two reasons to book cancellable
The first is FAU’s own asterisk: the third May day is tentative on the university’s calendar. The second is the line that ends the calendar: “This calendar is subject to change by appropriate authority.” A university that prints that sentence is telling you not to prepay.
No venue on this page
FAU’s commencement site and the registrar’s graduation page both failed when this page was built, and the venue page the research behind it cited returned 404. So this site names no building. FAU runs campuses in Boca Raton, Davie and Jupiter among others; this cluster is the Boca Raton campus, and the hotels above are chosen for their distance from it. Confirm the actual ceremony location with your graduate before treating a two-mile drive as the plan. The ceremony weekend logistics page records exactly what could and could not be read.
The ring is the coast
Deerfield Beach is 10 minutes south on I-95, Delray Beach 16 minutes north, Pompano Beach 18 minutes toward Fort Lauderdale and Coconut Creek 24 minutes inland. In December these are high-season beach towns, so compare rates rather than assuming the ring is cheaper.
Drive times are off-peak road routes computed on 23 September 2026, not measured journeys. No availability series has been run for any of them.
Not claimed here
No venue, no ceremony times and no college split, because FAU has not published them where this site could read them. No availability count, because none was measured. No graduate count, for the same reason.
Verified hotel rules
| Hotel | Min. stay | Prepayment | Cancellation / forfeit | Typical rate | How to book |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fairfield Inn & Suites Boca Ratonsourcecheck rates | Not published | Not published | Not published | Not published | Online, hotel’s own site |
| Wyndham Boca Ratonsource | Not published | Not published | Not published | Not published | Online, hotel’s own site |
| Renaissance Boca Raton Hotelsource | Not published | Not published | Not published | Not published | Online, hotel’s own site |
- Fairfield Inn & Suites Boca Raton: 3400 Airport Road at I-95 exit 48A, about two miles and six minutes from the campus. 119 rooms and suites over four floors per HotelGuides. No commencement-specific minimum stay, prepayment or cancellation policy was found, and none is claimed.
- Wyndham Boca Raton: 1950 Glades Road at I-95 exit 45, about a mile and three quarters and five minutes from the campus, on the road the university fronts. 184 rooms and suites over five floors per HotelGuides. Its coordinate returned 404 on Stay22's embed endpoint (twice), so it carries no per-row pin. No commencement-specific policy was found.
- Renaissance Boca Raton Hotel: 2000 NW 19th Street, beside the Wyndham at I-95 exit 45, six minutes from the campus. 189 rooms and suites over five floors per HotelGuides, the largest of the three. Its coordinate returned 404 on Stay22's embed endpoint, so no pin. No commencement-specific policy was found.
Opens live availability around campus via our partner Stay22. Several of the properties above take graduation bookings only by phone, mail-in form, or lottery, so treat this as a price check against the rules in the table, not a replacement for them. We may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
The ring
| Town | Drive time | Typical availability | Rate vs. epicenter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Deerfield Beach, FLCheck rooms in Deerfield Beach, FL → | 10 min | Not measured for this cluster. The next city south on I-95, with a beachfront and interstate hotel market of its own. | Not measured. |
| Delray Beach, FLCheck rooms in Delray Beach, FL → | 16 min | Not measured for this cluster. North on Federal Highway, a resort town with boutique and chain lodging. | Not measured. |
| Pompano Beach, FLCheck rooms in Pompano Beach, FL → | 18 min | Not measured for this cluster. A Broward city with a large coastal hotel base. | Not measured. |
| Coconut Creek, FLCheck rooms in Coconut Creek, FL → | 24 min | Not measured for this cluster. Inland suburb with casino-adjacent lodging. | Not measured. |
Drive times are off-peak road routes to the FAU Boca Raton campus computed with OSRM on 2026-09-23, not measured journeys. No matched-window availability series has been run for any town in this ring, and South Florida rates in December move with the season rather than with commencement.
“Check rooms” are partner links (Stay22), and we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
Live availability near campus
Map and booking links are provided by our partner Stay22. We may earn a commission on bookings made through this map at no extra cost to you.
Frequently asked questions
Which hotel is closest to campus?
The Wyndham Boca Raton at 1950 Glades Road, about a mile and three quarters and five minutes, with 184 rooms and suites per HotelGuides; the Renaissance at 2000 NW 19th Street is beside it with 189. The Fairfield Inn & Suites at 3400 Airport Road is two miles and six minutes with 119.
Will Boca Raton sell out?
No matched-window availability series has been run for Boca Raton, so this page publishes no count, and no university or hotel statement about sell-outs was found. In this market the December round falls in South Florida high season, which moves rates far more than a commencement does.
Which nights do we need?
That depends on the day your graduate's college is called, and FAU has not published the split. December runs Thursday 17 and Friday 18; May runs Thursday 6, Friday 7 and, tentatively, Saturday 8. Hold a cancellable room across the pair, or the trio in May, until the schedule appears.
Why cancellable?
Because FAU says so in two ways: the third May day carries "(tentative)" on the calendar itself, and every page of that calendar ends "This calendar is subject to change by appropriate authority."
Where is the ceremony?
Not published on any FAU page this site could read on 23 September 2026. The commencement site and the registrar's graduation page both returned errors, and the venue page the research cited returned 404. FAU has several campuses; confirm the building with your graduate before booking a room chosen for its distance.
Where is the overflow?
Deerfield Beach, 10 minutes south on I-95; Delray Beach, 16 minutes north; Pompano Beach, 18 minutes south toward Fort Lauderdale; and Coconut Creek, 24 minutes inland. The whole Gold Coast is within half an hour.
How we verified this
Last verified:
- FAU Registrar, academic calendar, Fall 2026 ("Dec 17 Thu Commencement"; "Dec 18 Fri Commencement")
- FAU Registrar, Spring 2027 calendar PDF ("May 6 Thu", "May 7 Fri", "May 8 Sat Commencement** (tentative)"; "** No classes or exams are scheduled on Commencement days."; "This calendar is subject to change by appropriate authority.")
- HotelGuides, Fairfield Inn & Suites by Marriott Boca Raton ("4 floors, 119 rooms and suites")
- HotelGuides, Wyndham Hotel Boca Raton ("5 floors, 184 rooms and suites")
- HotelGuides, Renaissance Hotel Boca Raton ("5 floors, 189 rooms and suites")
This page is verified in two stages. Every fact is checked against the primary sources listed above, then the page is reviewed and signed off by our editor, A. Hassan. Corrections and enquiries: hello@graduationstay.com