<p>Any advise on where to stay near/on campus while there for a tour on a weekend? (Driving up from LA)</p>
<p>There's quite a bit of places right on University Ave. I'd recommend the chain ones, like Holiday Inn Express and Travelodge.</p>
<p>There's also the Durant Hotel and the Bancroft Hotel.</p>
<p>I stayed at the Courtyard Marriott in Emeryville, where it is quite nice and pleasant. It's about a 5-10 minute drive to Berkeley. We got a great view of the Bay.</p>
<p>There are also a couple hotels closer to the marina, including the Doubletree. My family stayed there during a campus visit, and it was a great taste of bay area scenery.</p>
<p>Oh, man. I wish I had the cash to even stay at one of those. When I went up to Cal on Monday, I had to stay at a 1-star hotel. I'm pretty sure if I had told my parents I was going though, I would've been upgraded to the Holiday Inn.</p>
<p>if you want a taste of historical berkeley go to the claremont (but be warned it is expensive)</p>
<p>Where did you stay and what was the problem with the hotel?
MR</p>
<p>Berkeley Budget Inn, off San Pablo. Honestly, the hotel room was acceptable, but only because of the price (around $75). The room was really tiny, the corners of the room were all scraped up, and the bed was hard as rock. The pillows (surprised they gave two) were completely flat. The TV was a 16", so I couldn't see it from lying on the bed, and the chair in the room was one of those patio, fold-up ones.</p>
<p>The bathroom had a screwed up sliding door (to save space)., didn't have a tray in the tiny shower (which had a insanely dirty floor) and the cheap shampoo and soap that was provided were in little packets. The showerhead was a $3 one, so that water that came out hurt like hell. And there were burn marks on the side of the toilet. </p>
<p>I kept looking out the window, to make sure my car was still there (and I come from ghetto SoCal), but I guess I was just too paranoid. But I mean, the owner was nice, so absolutely no fault there.</p>
<p>Somewhat charming (and funky?) is the Golden Bear Inn (<a href="http://www.goldenbearinn.com/%5B/url%5D">http://www.goldenbearinn.com/</a>) Its been there forever. There is a japanese restaurant on the site and it is walking distance to REI, Cafe Fanny's, and The Ashkenaz.</p>
<p>You may also be able to stay at the Faculty Club on campus (<a href="http://www.berkeleyfacultyclub.com/hotel/%5B/url%5D">http://www.berkeleyfacultyclub.com/hotel/</a>)</p>
<p>Or, they have one room for $85 a night at The Belrose B&B <a href="http://www.bbonline.com/ca/belrose/index.html%5B/url%5D">http://www.bbonline.com/ca/belrose/index.html</a></p>
<p>If you can get a room at the Bancroft hotel, while the rooms are fairly small, walking outside and going across the street to campus is amazing. The breakfast was pretty good, the building is interesting, and the parlor room is pretty cool. I'm not sure about price, and I know getting a room can be hard.</p>
<p>If you don't find anything in Berkeley, don't settle for a motel near town, stay anywhere downtown SF, take the subway to campus. Very easy trip.</p>
<p>I have no direct experience, but here is some lodging info from yahoo! travel with some customer reviews. Click on the hotel name to get to the customer reviews. <a href="http://travel.yahoo.com/p-hotel-191501881-berkeley_hotels-i;_ylc=X3oDMTE3N2phcW1vBF9TAzI3NjY2NzkEX3MDOTY5NTUzMjUEc2VjA3NyBHNsawN0aXRsZQ--%5B/url%5D">http://travel.yahoo.com/p-hotel-191501881-berkeley_hotels-i;_ylc=X3oDMTE3N2phcW1vBF9TAzI3NjY2NzkEX3MDOTY5NTUzMjUEc2VjA3NyBHNsawN0aXRsZQ--</a></p>
<p>This site lists some Berkeley hotels, but doesn't offer customer reviews... <a href="http://www.ihsadvantage.com/h/hotels/Berkeley/CA/United_States/?pfs=745&geoMiles=5%5B/url%5D">http://www.ihsadvantage.com/h/hotels/Berkeley/CA/United_States/?pfs=745&geoMiles=5</a></p>