To all intents and purposes Matthews is part of South Charlotte. Assuming that your high school graduation is in Uptown it would take you approx 20 mins to drive there from Matthews.

Yes, Mathews is inside Charlotte's I-485 beltway. There are some pretty nice hotels along Independence Blvd. near Mathews-Mint Hill Rd., but I wouldn't recommend staying any further north on Independence past Sardis Rd. unless you go all the way uptown (inside the I-277 loop). Mathews to uptown via Independence Blvd would be 15 minutes in light traffic. Anywhere near rush hour, factor in several times that.

Welcome! If you let us know where in Charlotte the graduation is, we may be able to help with more specific info. Weekend traffic is usually not a problem at all (unless they are doing construction of course), however weekday traffic (during rush hour) can be a bit of a bear. If you aren't traveling during peak times, you are absolutely fine to stay in that area. There is a lot of retail/shopping in Matthews and they have a very neat old school main street as well.

Take care!

Thanks so much, everyone! The graduation is at, if I remember correctly, Cricket Arena. (Does that sound right?) If I look for a hotel in Charlotte, should I look for one in south Charlotte to be close to Matthews?

Cricket Arena is on Independance (Hwy 74) (not the most attractive road around!) and is pretty much a straight drive up from Matthews. There are several hotels located in or around Independance including all the usual suspects e.g. Courtyard by Marriott, Sleep Inn, Hampton Inn etc. Why not ask your family to go check them out for you and give you a recommendation?

Well, if we decide to go, we're planning to surprise the family, so no help from them! I've checked into all the hotels in Matthews, and the Comfort Inn, Microtel, and EconoLodge are the most reasonable. The reviews for the Microtel are horrible, so we'll probably go with one of the other two.