Choosing a hotel in Berkeley is a good deal easier than choosing a restaurant. We’ve made it even simpler by breaking Berkeley accommodations down into four basic categories:
I-80 Corridor
With the expansion of high technology/Internet/biotech businesses along Interstate 80, hundreds and hundreds of hotel rooms have magically appeared in nearby modern, multistory business hotels run by national chains. At the foot of University Avenue, there is the Ramada Inn and Holiday Inn Express Motel, while across I-80 at the Berkeley Marina, the Radisson complements its sprawling waterside hotel with a conference center.
Even more hotels have converged near the freeway on rapidly emerging Emeryville to the south: a spanking new Holiday Inn, a Courtyard by Marriott, the just-renovated Sheraton Four Points and the towering new Woodfin. These hotels all come equipped with meeting facilities, computer hook-ups, copiers, fax service and other business necessities.
Strip Motels
Berkeley’s main through-transit corridors, San Pablo and University Avenues, have for years featured motels like the Golden Bear Inn, the Berkeley Budget Inn, the Hotel Westerner—all on San Pablo—and the Berkeley Travel Inn, Campus Motel, and University Hotel—all on University Avenue. These are, pretty much without exception, reasonably priced, no-frills motels such as one finds on “the strip” anywhere else in America.
Near Campus
Hotels near campus, the Bancroft Hotel and the Hotel Durant foremost amongst them, have been around since the 1920s or 30s. As much to celebrate their survival as their exclusive location so near the The University of California, these hotels tend to be run with a bit of pomp and circumstance. Other campus area hotels include the smaller Beau Sky Hotel and The French Hotel. Not quite so near campus, but bearing mention because they often serve the same clientele and in any case have many of the same attributes, are the quaint Rose Garden Inn and the large and popular Claremont Resort and Spa. Just over the line in Oakland at the base of the hill, the Claremont offers countless tennis courts and pools, spa facilities and the like. It’s a favorite with locals, whether for wedding receptions, business meetings or weekend getaways.
The Hills—Bed & Breakfasts
While the steep and sweeping expanse of the Berkeley/Oakland hills is without a commercial presence, it is dotted with any number of small bed and breakfasts and guest rooms in private homes. Such lodgings are for the most part unlisted, and are found through either Bed & Breakfast Accommodations in Berkeley (+1 510 548 7556) or the Berkeley Oakland Bed & Breakfast Network (+1 510 547 6380). The advantages of the hillside bed and breakfasts are numerous—quiet, safe and charming neighborhoods, unobstructed views of the bay, and the chance to stay in some exceptionally comfortable and gracious homes. However, one tends to need a car to reach many of these hillside destinations, and the rooms do not have the reliable standards one takes for granted at the Holiday Inn.
[insert_php]
$market = “OAK” ;
global $market ;
[/insert_php]
[insert_php]
$market = “OAK” ;
[/insert_php]