Hotels in Chapel Hill, North Carolina

A little about Chapel Hill...

Chapel Hill is a town in North Carolina and the home of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC-CH), the oldest state-supported university in the United States. As of the 2000 census, it had a population of 48,715. As of 2004 its estimated population was 52,440.

The 2005 Metropolitan Population was: 1,509,560, for The US Office of Management and Budget's Metropolitan Combined Statistical Area known as Raleigh-Durham-Cary (formerly known as the Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill Metropolitan Statistical Area).

Chapel Hill, Durham and Raleigh make up the three corners of the Research Triangle, so named in 1959 with the creation of the Research Triangle Park, a research park between Durham and Raleigh. Since the early 1980s, the bedroom community of Cary, near Raleigh, has grown to be more than twice the size of Chapel Hill.

Points of interest:
Coker Arboretum
North Carolina Botanical Garden
farmers market
North Carolina Children's Symphony
North Carolina Collection Gallery, UNC campus

Chapel Hill is located in the southeast corner of Orange County, with municipal boundaries extending slightly into Durham County to the east and almost to Chatham County to the south. It is coterminous to the west with the town of Carrboro, and to the east with the city of Durham.

The town also shares with Carrboro a vibrant music scene. Cat's Cradle in Carrboro is often rated as one of the best clubs in the country for live music, and Local 506 and other Chapel Hill bars (such as the Cave, and Reservoir) often host local, national, and international acts in all genres.

Chapel Hill is rapidly becoming somewhat of a hot spot for pop American cuisine – which is likely due to the college town's entrepreneur-friendly business startup environment and national media attention surrounding a few local culinary notables, like Foster’s Market (Martha Stewart’s Living), Mama Dip's, Crook's Corner, Caffé Driade (Food Network’s “$40 A Day With Rachael Ray”), The Cackalacky Classic Condiment Company (Food Network's "BBQ With Bobby Flay" and "Rachael Ray's Ball Park Cafe Special," Comedy Central's "Insomniac," OLN's "BBQ All Star Showdown," Associated Press, Public Radio International, etc.), and The Lantern Restaurant (Food & Wine Magazine, Southern Living Magazine, etc.)

The area of Chapel Hill and Carborro combined is home to many hip, independently owned coffee shops (such as Open Eye Cafe, 3 Cups, Caffe Driade, and Padgett Station) and bars.

For more than thirty years Chapel Hill has sponsored two annual street fairs, Apple Chill in April and Festifall in October. The fairs offer booths to artists, craftsmen, nonprofits, and food vendors. Performance space is also available for musicians, martial artists and other groups. Both fairs are attended annually by tens of thousands.