The Best Hotels to Stay at for Dreamville Festival

Dreamville festival is one of the most highly anticipated annual music events in North Carolina, bringing thousands of hip-hop fans together in recent years for an incredible two-day event of live music and culture.

Held in Raleigh and curated by Grammy-award winning rapper J. Cole and his Dreamville Records label, this multi-stage music event draws some of the biggest names in hip hop and R&B. With the likes of City Girls, Ari Lennox, Burna Boy, and of course J. Cole himself gracing the lineup for an entire weekend of performances with your favorite musical artists. If you and your friends are planning to attend your first Dreamville festival this year, finding the perfect hotel accommodations is crucial to maximize your festival weekend getaway. Here’s a guide to the top hotel picks, each with an exclusive festival discount for every type of traveler in your crew:

Where To Eat In Raleigh, NC: Dreamville Festival Insider’s Guide

How many times is too many times to say how much WE LOVE Southern food? 

While we’re in town for Dreamville Festival (April 1-2), we’ll be chowing down on some staples: bbq, battered chicken, biscuits, and quenching our thirst with some sweet tea. 

Love, love, love.

Never been to Dreamville Festival or Raleigh?

Dreamville Festival is held every year in Raleigh, North Carolina.  It was founded by rapper J. Cole and his record label Dreamville Records. Expect to see both up-and-coming and established rap, hip-hop, and R&B artists.  

And Raleigh, North Carolina is known for its Southern cuisine.

So yep today let’s talk about where we’ll be eating. Here are 10 spots to try.

We go into where to find Southern-style food plus popular patisseries and other restaurants (in case you want to eat something other than BBQ).

*Looking to find a place to stay last minute? Check out Crewfare partner hotels for this festival here.

Southern Food

Bojangles’ Famous Chicken ‘n Biscuits 

Style: American regional chain of fast food restaurants serving cajun-seasoned fried chicken, buttermilk biscuits, and sweet tea

Order: chicken biscuit with egg and cheese, sweet tea

Hours: 5:30 am – 11:30 pm

Beasley’s Chicken + Honey

Style: Southern comfort food, their specialty is fried chicken, and the space is rustic and casual

Order: fried chicken and waffles sweet tea

Hours: Thursday to Saturday 11:30 pm to 9:00 pm, and Sunday to Monday 11:30 pm to 8:00 pm

Humble Pie

Style: specializing in small, Southern plates

Order: homemade sourdough, Mac-n-cheese, and crispy brussel sprouts

Hours: Wednesday to Saturday 5:00 pm to 10:00 pm

Longleaf Swine

Style: traditional BBQ restaurant cooking over open pits

Order: the brisket, ribs, smoked chicken, and mac n cheese

Hours: Wednesday to Sunday 11:00 am to 10:00 pm or until sold out

Patisserie

Layered Croissanterie

Style: this bakery specializes in croissants and other French pastries

Order: this: magic toast croissant dough slices topped with graham cracker frangipane, coconut, and pecans then baked. Finished with caramel and chocolate shavings

Hours: Wednesday to Sunday 8:00 am to 2:00 pm

lucettegrace

Style: specializes in French-inspired pastries, cakes, and desserts

Order: pain au chocolat

Hours: Monday to Saturday 8:00 am to 4:00 pm

Other Spots

Cucciolo Terrazza

Style: specializes in Italian cuisine and cocktails

Order: spicy vodka tomato cream rigatoni

Hours: see their website, varies

Oakwood Pizza Box

Style: NYC-style thin sliced pizza

Order: 50/50 pizza – half red and half white sauce

Hours: Wednesday to Sunday 5:00 pm to 9:00 pm, and Friday to Sunday 12:00 pm to 3:00 pm

Plates Neighborhood Kitchen

Style: specializes in classic, Southern-style dishes with locally sourced ingredients

Order:  black Garlic Fettuccine handmade pasta + smoked fontina alfredo + spring onions + grape tomatoes + swiss chard + breadcrumbs

Hours: see their website, varies

Sushi Mon

Style: specializes in sushi and other Japanese dishes

Order: hand rolls please

Hours: see their website, varies

-Crewfare