Slippery Rock University's accommodations page lists three places to stay in the borough, and that is the borough: the Fairfield Inn & Suites with 75 rooms, the Applebutter Inn, which describes itself as a 12-room inn, and the Evening Star Motel. Fewer than a hundred rooms with a count. More than 1,600 students had degrees conferred in Spring 2026 across four ceremonies. The arithmetic decides the plan before you start: book the Fairfield the day you know your date if you can, and otherwise book Butler, 29 minutes south with about 640 rooms, or New Castle, 31 minutes west, early. December is Saturday 12 December 2026 at 11 a.m. in Morrow Field House. Spring 2027 is graduate students Friday 7 May at 6 p.m. and undergraduates Saturday 8 May, on a calendar that says every date is subject to change, so spring rooms should be cancellable ones.
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The university’s list is three lines long
Slippery Rock University keeps an accommodations page for visitors. It lists the Applebutter Inn Bed and Breakfast, the Evening Star Motel and the Fairfield Inn & Suites. That is the borough’s lodging as the university sees it, and it is not far off the whole.
Fairfield Inn & Suites Slippery Rock, 1000 University Parkway. About two miles and six minutes from Morrow Field House. 75 rooms per the Cvent venue directory. The only chain hotel in the borough.
Applebutter Inn, 666 Centreville Pike. A mile and three minutes. The inn’s own site calls it a 12-room inn.
Evening Star Motel, 915 New Castle Road. Four and a half miles and nine minutes. No room count found.
Fewer than a hundred counted rooms. SRU conferred degrees on more than 1,600 students in Spring 2026, across four ceremonies. No matched-window availability series has been run for Slippery Rock, so this page publishes no count of what remains; nothing about the ratio needs one.
Two rounds, and which nights
December 2026 is stated by the commencement page: Saturday 12 December 2026 at 11 a.m. in Morrow Field House. The Friday night.
Spring 2027 is on the 2026-2027 academic calendar with a degree-level split: Friday 7 May, commencement at 6 p.m. for all graduate students, and Saturday 8 May, commencement for all undergraduate students, times not given. A 6 p.m. Friday ceremony means the Friday night for graduate-degree families. Undergraduate families need the Friday and, if their Saturday ceremony runs late, the Saturday; Spring 2026 had four ceremonies across the two days.
The calendar states that all of its dates are subject to change. Spring rooms should be cancellable ones.
Butler and New Castle, half an hour each
Butler, 29 minutes south on PA-8, has eight hotels and about 640 rooms per Northstar. It is where most families sleep.
New Castle, 31 minutes west on US 422, has a distinct market with chain properties. Hermitage, about forty minutes northwest, has several hotels per Visit Mercer County. Youngstown, Ohio, 58 minutes, is a city market and the far edge.
Pittsburgh is about an hour with unlimited rooms; it is not in the table because the two half-hour towns are enough, but it is where flying families land.
Drive times are off-peak road routes to Morrow Field House computed on 14 September 2026, not measured journeys.
Not claimed here
No commencement-specific hotel policy, because none of the three publishes one. No spring 2027 venue; Morrow Field House is stated for December and hosted Spring 2026, and is not assumed for May. No availability count, because none was measured. The four-ticket rule is 2026’s.
Verified hotel rules
| Hotel | Min. stay | Prepayment | Cancellation / forfeit | Typical rate | How to book |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fairfield Inn & Suites Slippery Rocksourcecheck rates | Not published | Not published | Not published | Not published | Online, hotel’s own site |
| Applebutter Inn Bed and Breakfastsourcecheck rates | Not published | Not published | Not published | Not published | Online, hotel’s own site |
| Evening Star Motelsourcecheck rates | Not published | Not published | Not published | Not published | Online, hotel’s own site |
- Fairfield Inn & Suites Slippery Rock: 1000 University Parkway, about two miles and six minutes from Morrow Field House. 75 rooms per the Cvent venue directory. The only chain hotel in the borough, and on SRU's own accommodations list. No commencement-specific minimum stay, prepayment or cancellation policy was found, and none is claimed.
- Applebutter Inn Bed and Breakfast: 666 Centreville Pike, about a mile and three minutes from the field house. The inn's own site describes it as a 12-room inn. On SRU's accommodations list. Small, and the kind of property that fills a year out. No commencement-specific policy was found.
- Evening Star Motel: 915 New Castle Rd, about four and a half miles and nine minutes from the field house. A room count was not found, so none is stated. On SRU's accommodations list. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Butler, PACheck rooms in Butler, PA → | 29 min | Not measured for this cluster. Northstar reports eight hotels and about 640 rooms. | Not measured. Chain tier. |
| New Castle, PACheck rooms in New Castle, PA → | 31 min | Not measured for this cluster. A distinct hotel market with chain properties per Northstar. | Not measured. |
| Hermitage, PACheck rooms in Hermitage, PA → | 40 min | Not measured for this cluster. Several hotels per Visit Mercer County. | Not measured. |
| Youngstown, OHCheck rooms in Youngstown, OH → | 58 min | Not measured for this cluster. A city hotel market with ten meeting hotels per Northstar. | Not measured. Full range. |
Drive times are off-peak road routes to Morrow Field House computed with OSRM on 2026-09-14, not measured journeys; Hermitage's is estimated from its distance after a routing error. No matched-window availability series has been run for any town in this ring. Pittsburgh is about an hour and has unlimited rooms; it is not in the table because Butler and New Castle are closer and enough.
“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
What is in Slippery Rock?
Exactly what SRU's accommodations page lists: the Fairfield Inn & Suites at 1000 University Parkway (75 rooms per Cvent, two miles and six minutes from Morrow Field House), the Applebutter Inn Bed and Breakfast (a 12-room inn by its own description, three minutes away) and the Evening Star Motel on New Castle Road, nine minutes.
Will it sell out?
No matched-window availability series has been run, so this page publishes no count. Fewer than a hundred counted rooms against more than 1,600 graduates is the thinnest ratio in this batch of clusters. The town does not hold its own commencement; the ring does.
Where do families stay?
Butler, 29 minutes south on PA-8, with eight hotels and about 640 rooms per Northstar. New Castle, 31 minutes west on US 422, its own market. Hermitage, forty minutes; Youngstown, Ohio, an hour with a city's worth.
Which nights?
A graduate-degree family needs Friday 7 May: the ceremony is at 6 p.m. An undergraduate family needs Friday too, for a Saturday ceremony whose time is not yet published, and the Saturday if it runs late. December's 11 a.m. Saturday ceremony needs the Friday night.
Why cancellable only for spring?
Because SRU's 2026-2027 academic calendar, the only source for the spring dates, states that all dates are subject to change. December is stated by the commencement page and can be booked firm.
How many tickets?
Up to four electronic guest tickets per graduate in Spring 2026, per SRU's news; 2027 rules are not posted. Overflow viewing areas and a livestream were provided.
What about Pittsburgh?
About an hour, with unlimited rooms. Not in the ring table because Butler and New Castle are closer and enough; sensible for anyone flying in.
How we verified this
Last verified:
- Slippery Rock University, Accommodations (Applebutter Inn, Evening Star Motel, Fairfield Inn & Suites)
- Cvent venue directory, Fairfield by Marriott Inn & Suites Slippery Rock ("Guest Rooms 75")
- Applebutter Inn ("12-room Inn")
- SRU news, Class of 2026 commencement ("More than 1,600 students will have their degrees conferred"; four ceremonies; four guest tickets)
- Slippery Rock University, 2026-2027 academic calendar (7 May 6 p.m. graduate; 8 May undergraduate; dates subject to change)
- Slippery Rock University, Commencement ("Saturday, December 12, 2026, at 11:00 a.m. in the Morrow Field House.")
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