A family get together had us in the Bay area the Saturday before Thanksgiving, and my sister in law from Berkeley recommended this hotel as being reasonable, clean and close to the family events during our 3 day weekend stay.The hotel's recent renovations are reflected in the overall "newness" of everything about the rooms and the public areas, including bright, somewhat "post modern" carpeting and wall paper in the halls.The hotel is a large rabbit's warren of rooms, but the hallway signage is sufficient to point you to your room, even if it feels like you may be walking a city block or two to get there from the elevators. You couldn't ask for a more centrally located address, and we parked our rental car alternately on the street at meters or across the way at the public parking garage(beware the overnight fees). Be prepared for all of Berkeley's street life-good bad and indifferent-a few feet from the front entrance..Our 25 year old son joined us for this trip and we had asked for a cot in the room, which was there on our arrival.The cot was a sturdy rolling single bed, which made for decent sleep for our son, but a major obstruction in the average sized room.The bathroom was accessed through a sliding door, which tended to stick when fully closed. Environmental consciousness(or political correctness-depending on your point of view) was carried to the usual Berkeley extremes in the bathroom with limited water output(but adequate) from the shower, and soap bars which resembled square doughnuts -lacking an(allegedly superfluous) center.On a more troublesome note, however, the shower inside the bathtub lacked any internal or external handrails to grip while entering, or exiting with wet feet(tort lawyers take note!).The room had a closet, but lacked a large chest of drawers to store our clothes.The heat/ac worked well, but, typically, the room lacked any overhead lighting, making it a pain in the rear to turn on and off lights that would assist in navigating the room in the dark or even with one of the lamps illuminated.The hotel has a "fitness center" but it is in a small room with only 3 machines--no exercise bike and one or two treadmills and an elliptical machine.The hotel lacks a conventional lobby or check in desk-sharing space with a sometimes raucous bar and restaurant that are open to the "lobby" area.This posed no issue for us, but I imagine at busy check in/check out times if the bar is busy, it can get hectic there.What most impressed us about the hotel was the generally young, informed, friendly and always helpful staff at the hotel, who always seemed to have a greeting, a smile and and offer to assist with whatever issue you presented to them.

Berkeley is a challenging location with extremely limited parking, but the Hotel Shattuck puts you right in the middle of things so that leaving your car and walking becomes a very viable option. I've stayed twice and the front desk staff has always been friendly, attentive and professional. The building is very old which lends the hotel it's charm, but also it's drawbacks, tiny elevators, rooms without much of a view. However the rooms themselves are very chic, sleek and modern. I've yet to try the restaurant but am looking forward to it on my next stay. Our second time at the hotel we had a room right, and I mean right, next to the elevators. We should have asked to be changed, but were only there for an overnight. However, in my online feedback I expressed my disappointment and the manager immediately responded saying that a note had been made to our account and that would not happen. That's what I expect from management and I will definitely be staying there again. It's quite competitively priced with much lesser hotels not being much different. A real gem in a tricky town.

I stayed in this hotel while attending a conference at the U of California. I must say that given the challenges of being in Berkeley, they do a great job. The hotel is right next to the main street and the Bart station and one block away from UC, so you cannot beat the location. Do keep in mind though that this location means noise: an active student community, a bunch of random Hare Krishnas, homeless people roaming around, lots of party (one of my nights there was a football game). So if you truly need quiet, stay somewhere else in the Bay Area and take the Bart. It also means there will be a lot of noisy guests and a lots of jerks acting up in the bar and the rooms (I suffered a few of those during my stay). The lobby is always packed, and definitely not for the use of guests. It rather seems to be completely subservient to the bar, which looks like a place a lot of people like to frequent every day. If you can put up with this (which is not at all the fault of the hotel) I do not think you can do better.
The accomodatiosn were the best. I stayed in a luxury king room and it was wonderful, lots of space, comfortable bed. The shower is small (and I am a tall and probably bigger guy than most people in Berkeley) but I fit just fine. Internet is free, speedy and very reliable, which is great news. The cable package is too limited, and it could be upgraded further, but most hotels of this star level tend to have limited packages. The room is equipped with a Keurig and coffee (tea would have been nice, but I bought some pods and it was OK). The toiletries are very Berkeley (labeled as to how you are saving the environment by using them, which is adorable or annoying depending on the person) but there is a Walgreen's right across the street if you want your regular, chemical-laden stuff.
Some friends stayed in the business rooms and I found them a tad too crammed, the upgrade to luxury is worth the money.
The desk staff was generally good, with one exception. During my arrival it was very courteous, but the departure day the person in the front desk was a little disinterested in me or the other guests. More importantly, the printers for boarding passes were not working and the guy did not even bother when he saw I was struggling with it. The only other complaint (and this is why I gave a four rather than a five in the rating) is that every single time I came up and down the stairs I found dirty dishes from room service. I reported it the first time (and they were promptly removed) but I just desisted afterwards.
Having said this, the restaurant and the bar in the hotel are stellar. We had food in the restaurant and it was Americana food served with local ingredients. Nothing too creative, but everything delicious. The bar serves mean cocktails. A friend of mine and I ran a 90 dollar tab with the cocktails and it was worth every penny. They make excellent pisco sours and I tell you it's packed with good reason.
So all-in-all, if you have to stay in Berkeley, this is the absolute best hotel: fun, quirky, centrally located, good services, great rooms. But Berkeley is Berkeley. Don't blame the hotel for it.

Fanatstic location in Berkley, right next to the BART, great staff/service and contemporary decor. Only reason I ddn't rate it excellent,was due to some in-room design deficiencies: the hand basin area made it impossible to shave/wash your face without either leaning your head down over the basin or alternatively, standing up and getting water all over the floor. SImilarly the internal interconnecting door (to the adjoining room) had too much of a gap at the bottom, meaning I could hear everything from the next room. Despite this, I would recommend the hotel overall.