where to stay in Berkeley?

<p>where should mom stay during OHP 4/21 and 22 </p>

<p>(also posted in Cal thread, but realized Parents would be better.. :)</p>

<p>We're driving up for Cal Day on 4/21, then my d is staying overnight on campus on 4/22. So need hotel for 3 nights, 4/20- 4/22.</p>

<p>I'm a little worried about 2 things: parking (esp on campus) and safety.</p>

<p>Where is a nice safe place stay, maybe on a BART line so we coud just take the BART to campus and leave the car at the hotel?</p>

<p>The Cal website gives downtown Oakland Marriott, Walnut Creek Marriott and Embassy Suites in Pleasant Hill as being on the BaRT line..but those are all a little more than I want to spend</p>

<p>any suggestions that would be under $100. per night?</p>

<p>I know that the price of many of the hotels in the bay area drop in price significantly (sometimes less than half price) on the weekends due to the heavy business traveler nature of that area but it may be mostly the ones closer to Santa Clara and San Jose that do this. I don't have a recommendation for you in the Cal area but you might be surprised at what you can find for a reasonable price on weekends up there. If the price drop doesn't hold true for the Berkeley area you can maybe stay further south and save a great deal - you'll just have to drive a bit more which might be worth it to save significant bucks.</p>

<p>One place I like is the Homewood Suites (but it's almost always full during the week - I tried for it this last week). I just checked and see the San Jose one has a special rate $89 for a suite at that time. There's one in Oakland as well but it's a bit more expensive ($115).</p>

<p>Just wherever it is, make those reservations fast. I noticed that places were filling up when I checked expedia. (For that weekend). Difficult to find anything in the vicinity under $100. There are a few places around 94.00 on University avenue. Buses go up to the campus area.</p>

<p>You might try searching sidestep.com for hotels. For $100 per night in the bay area you are looking definitely downscale. </p>

<p>Also I checked hotels.com and they had $80 rooms at the Super 8 in El Cerrito.</p>

<p>Why not just get your kid a plane ticket from sd? Probably just as cheap or cheaper.</p>

<p>her overnight is Sun--she wouldn't have anywhere to stay on Sat</p>

<p>I'm afraid cheaper equals scary..I just don't know the area</p>

<p>then there will be no place to park around campus...</p>

<p>any other ideas?</p>

<p>calmom- is El Cerito far from campus?</p>

<p>what areas of Oakland are safe?</p>

<p>...hmmm maybe she should just go to Santa Barbara or UCSD??!</p>

<p>Berkeley City Club on Durant is excellent. Short walk from BART and to campus. Or park your car at the hotel at no extra charge. Absolutely lovely. They may be booked already though. I've heard good things about Hotel Durant in Berkeley. Also stayed at the Doubletree at the Marina, but you would need a car. Woodfin Suites in Emeryville is good, but you will need a car again. Friends have stayed at Holiday Inn Express, but it's too far to walk to campus and not really close to the student section of town. If it were my D, I'd try for Berkeley City Club, parking the car at the hotel. You can walk everywhere from there.</p>

<p>I would try the Berkeley City Club also, I think it would run around $125 a night though.</p>

<p>You can also try the Travelodge. It's about a 1/2 mile from campus at 1820 University. The area is flat. Not as nice, but the price is around $100.</p>

<p><a href="http://reservations.hotel-guides.us/nexres/reservations/availability.cgi?hotels_id=10213522&ses=dd0c51f40179f82f163185521646789c73632av&src=10006044&path=&chk_in=04%2F20%2F2007&doa_mm=04&doa_dd=20&doa_yy=2007&chk_out=04%2F23%2F2007&dod_mm=04&dod_dd=23&dod_yy=2007&num_rooms=1&num_adults=1&num_children=1&minorAge1=17&minorAge2=-%3F-&minorAge3=-%3F-&minorAge4=-%3F-&cancel=Check+Availability%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://reservations.hotel-guides.us/nexres/reservations/availability.cgi?hotels_id=10213522&ses=dd0c51f40179f82f163185521646789c73632av&src=10006044&path=&chk_in=04%2F20%2F2007&doa_mm=04&doa_dd=20&doa_yy=2007&chk_out=04%2F23%2F2007&dod_mm=04&dod_dd=23&dod_yy=2007&num_rooms=1&num_adults=1&num_children=1&minorAge1=17&minorAge2=-%3F-&minorAge3=-%3F-&minorAge4=-%3F-&cancel=Check+Availability&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>wecandothis, you will find easy street parking if you are willing to park several blocks from campus and walk in. That BART station isn't that close in any case -- that is, you could probably find street parking closer than the BART station. </p>

<p>El Cerito is too far to walk, but it's probably a 5 minute drive.</p>

<p>Whatever you do, don't stay at Campus Motel on University Ave. We made that mistake on our first trip there during S's junior year in h.s. The price was good but otherwise, the place was horrible.</p>

<p>Thx everyone- everything near campus was either full or only had smoking rooms left</p>

<p>so I'm going with Cal Mom's suggestion and staying in el Cerrito, Thx Calmom :)</p>

<p>as long as its a safe area and clean, we are good to go.</p>

<p>now if I can just find any place to park within a few miles of campus on Cal Day, we'll be set!</p>

<p>How's your walking? If you are willing to walk two miles (flat), you can park in the residential neighborhood for free.</p>

<p>that's a bit of a hike, but as long as it's safe guess we could do it</p>

<p>mental note: pack hiking shoes ;)</p>

<p>momof2inca,
Berkeley City Club is already booked. I looked into it much earlier today.</p>

<p>To the OP,
Most of the street parking near campus is either residential permit (2-hr-timed) or metered. There are, however, several parking lots quite near campus. I'm guessing that you arrive early on the first hosting day, park in a lot and enjoy one of the many cafes near campus before the event starts, you'll be fine.</p>

<p>By the way, Berkeley is a pretty safe place, especially near the campus. There will be a few beggars. Just ignore them, and walk on by.</p>

<p>Geez, you don't have to walk 2 miles!! I'm thinking more like around 6-8 blocks. If you are at the hotel in El Cerrito you will be driving in from the north and I will send you a PM giving you some idea of the areas where you might find on street parking a reasonable distance from campus.</p>

<p>Calmom, pm me the area 6-8 blocks from campus with no meters. I usually park 1 1/2 to 2 miles away. That info will be very helpful to me. :)</p>

<p>Isn't this a peachy area! Passing the gates of Eden comes at a price. :D</p>

<p>There are areas on the northside of campus where there is no residential-permit (2-hr.-limit) parking. Similar for some areas just south of Bancroft & Telly -- about 5 blocks from Sather Gate. It's just that such spaces are few on days where there are events, and on weekdays/schooldays. It often takes a good 20 minutes of driving around to find them, that's all. OTOH, on a Sunday a person can luck out major with free parking in yellow zones & meters very near campus. Just a matter of when you arrive & the time taken to seek those spaces.</p>

<p>To make amends for my peachy remark, here's a link to web page that contains good info. It may be a bit dated but most should still apply: </p>

<p><a href="http://www.ocf.berkeley.edu/%7Esjlee/cometoberkeley.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.ocf.berkeley.edu/~sjlee/cometoberkeley.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>There is a section called "Where should I stay during my first few days?"</p>

<p>And, a lot of links, here: <a href="http://www.ocf.berkeley.edu/%7Esjlee/bookmark.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.ocf.berkeley.edu/~sjlee/bookmark.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>