<p>Try Emeryville; the Woodfin is a nice hotel and there is also a Marriott Courtyard. It is quite close to Berkeley - closer than many parts of Oakland, and is near an attractive new development with lots of shopping. As an adult, I can tell you that your parents would like it better than some of the funky places in Berkeley itself (though I love Berkeley, it is not the greatest place for hotels, especially near campus -- I doubt if they want to be around Telegraph Avenue at night, though it is not all that unsafe). There is a nice bed a breakfast in Berkeley, though -- on Telegraph about a mile from campus -- called Grandma's or something -- that you could probably find on the internet...a rose garden, etc. When a group of my relatives visited, they liked the Woodfin -- so that would be my top recommendation. It is not on the Bart line, but you could take a cab; it would be worth the slightly extra cost; the walk up from Bart to the top of campus is fairly long, and Berkeley bart is fairly grungy.
When here, the best restaurants would be Chez Panisse (upstairs is more affordable and easier to get reservations for), Cesars (right next door -- tapas, ie small dishes of Spanish food -- fun for lunch; no reservations), Ecolo. Near campus, Adagia is an attractive eating place, at Bancroft and College; there is nothing particularly appealing on Telegraph for anyone over 30. Fourth Street is the place to walk around and look at shops -- nice ones, upscale, some unique stores, like the Gardener, that are fun to walk around, two excellent bookstores, a Peets coffee, Sur la Table, etc. Downtown Berkeley is not a very attractive place to amble about. Oh, and the best ice cream -- in the world possibly (I kid you not) is at Ici, on College Avenue, near Ashby -- a must -- recently opened by the former pastry chef at Chez Panisse. Berkeley is the gourmet ghetto, after all.</p>
<p>thx all for the great tips!
lol about the "gates of eden" :D ...tell me about it; when we made our first visit last summer my intro to Cal was a nice fat parking ticket the first day we were there, for parking in the wrong place on campus (I swear it wasn't marked as such, but I should have known it was too good to be true).</p>
<p>yes, this is Cal Day (Sat.) weekend, so parking may be even more <em>interesting</em> than usual...</p>
<p>mamnyu- I think you mean the Rose Garden Inn -that's where we stayed last summer..very nice, but already booked and I was hoping for cheaper this time around..</p>
<p>so we are driving up and staying in El Cerrito..and Calmom has given me some excellent "secret" parking areas..now don't go giving it away, Calmom! I asked first!!! lol</p>
<p>I will save all the other hotel tips for future stays, so keep them coming! What should I do while she's at her Cal overnight? I like historic homes and gardens and that type of thing...will bring my camera. Should I venture into San Fran on the BART maybe??</p>
<p>Actually, it looks like my secret is the same as epiphany's -- I agree that you may have to drive around a little to find the street parking -- but the real key is simply to stay away from the downtown area of Berkeley -- where everything is metered -- and the area immediately south of campus, which is congested all the time but will be particularly bad on Cal day. </p>
<p>If your kid is the independent sort and you all have cell phones, another alternative would be to drop the kid off at the campus, and then for the parents to drive about a mile off to park -- then for the parents to have a leisurely stroll into campus to meet up with the kid later on. The big advantage of splitting off from the kid is that she is much more likely to meet and talk to other students or prospies that way. </p>
<p>In fact if it were me I'd probably opt for an arranged drop off and pick up for the kiddo and skip the campus entirely ;) (I'm the one who put my kids on planes and sent them off on their own for all college visits).</p>
<p>Wecandothis -- if you like looking at nice homes and gardens, you are going to love the area I showed you for parking -- its just all very pretty. Not "historic" -- but some of the homes are quite lovely.</p>
<p>No. No. No. Don't skip the campus. Take a walk all over the campus. The redwoods, the buildings, the people, the views. Don't skip.</p>
<p>Cal Day has lots of things to see and do -- there are concerts at Hertz Hall (concerto winners play there that day), there are interesting lectures on all kinds of subjects. If the weather is nice, just walking around the campus can be wonderful. Go up to the top of the Campanile. Check out Hearst Mining building -- walk through Faculty Glade, follow Strawberry Creek pathways -- out past Morrison Library, up to the Chancellor's house. All the events will certainly keep you busy. The Botanical Garden in Strawberry Canyon is a lovely spot to wander around -- it is up past the coliseum (not an easy walk, however). You could walk down Piedmont street over to the area around the Claremont Hotel -- some very interesting architecture in that area. Lawrence Hall of Science is worth a visit and has unbeatable views -- if you have a younger child with you, it would be a fun place -- for an adult...less thrilling. San Francisco is easy to get to -- the Museum of Modern Art would be a good choice -- I believe there is a Picasso exhibit. You would take Bart to Montgomery Street and walk over to the museum. Walking around Union Square (Macy's and Sachs and Tiffany's), and the new Bloomingdales complex, which are near the museum, are also options; the Ferry Building has lots of food and interesting shops, and it is a nice place to view the bay.</p>
<p>Parking is very difficult in Berkeley in general, and parking enforcement is very strict - acounts for a nice share of the city's budget.
Of the hotels in the link in Xiggi's post, look at the Shattuck, Durant or maybe the Beau Sky, and use their parking. You can walk to the campus from any of them. For motels on University Ave., the higher the address the closer to the campus.
The Super 8 in El Cerrito is two blocks from the BART station, whic is three stops from downtown Berkeley. I have not been inside to see what it's like. It's on a busy street behind some stores.
If you can get a room at the hotels mentioned above. I would take it.</p>
<p>wow- what great tips! I can't wait to go! </p>
<p>dadofsam- everything close to campus is booked already...but I'm keeping those in mind for future visits</p>
<p>so we have Cal Day on Sat. and then we are free Sun am until she checks into her overnight around 3. Then I'm on my own to explore until 4 ish on Mon. when she finishes the overnight.</p>
<p>I'm definitely going to try the BART, maybe will try to go to the art museum..we don't have the greatest public transit in my area, so it will be a treat and a relief not to have to deal with parking.</p>
<p>I agree with an earlier comment - do NOT skip the campus. The Cal campus is as beautiful now as when I went there in the 70's, and is nothing at all like Telegraph Ave! Streams, big old trees, etc., with no public roads - a really beautiful campus.</p>