First the good: A fabulous makeover for this historic hotel and the decor is wonderful. The reception area and bar/restaurant are really pretty, chic and comfortable. We had lunch and breakfast here, both were excellent...one of the best burgers I've had in awhile...YUMMY

My husband and I stayed here for three nights. While our room was a bit on the small side and overlooked the rooftop air conditioners....it was quiet, well appointed and the bed was very comfortable. I always bring my own pillow from home, but a note to pillow snobs...the hotel's pillows were perhaps some of the worst I've ever encountered...prickly, lumpy, as if they stuffed it with whole ducks and called it good!...great for propping oneself up in bed, definitely not for sleeping on!

The hotel is within walking distance to all the great restaurants and so-called Gourmet Ghetto. We were walking to the Cal campus each day for an event and it's just a block away...super convenient. As mentioned, BART is just a few feet out the door...so too are a lot of aggressive panhandlers and street people. That doesn't bother me, but some might find it unpleasant. I just love Berkeley...it feels like 1969 all the time!

This hotel is excellent: the rooms, bar, restaurant, and staff are all great. I have stayed twice, once in Jan 2012 and again in Dec 2012. The second time I proposed to my girlfriend during our stay. The staff knew in advance this might happen, and they were very friendly and gave us a beautiful room. Would definitely stay again. It's also walking distance to the Gourmet Ghetto, music venues like Freight & Salvage, and the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) system.

She said "yes" btw!

The staff was very friendly. The location was superb. The room was very clean but a bit small. The toiletries were wonderful. We had a great time and took the BART into SF with ease. We shall return to this hotel.

We chose this hotel because of the convenient location and it truly is conveniently located! After we got off the Bart on a rainy December afternoon, I was dreading a walk longer than five minutes to get to the hotel. When my husband pointed out the hotel after just a minute, I was so relieved!

Check-in went smoothly and because we were staying for five nights, we were upgraded. We're not sure what our original room was like but the upgraded room smelled clean, was a reasonable size, and had a would-have-been-great view if it was sunny. The only problem was that the room wouldn't warm up! We ended up leaving the spare key in the slot so that we could leave the heater on the entire day and evening. In fact, we didn't take that key out during our five nights because our room was never warm enough. Thank goodness for the gowns and warm showers! We thought about switching rooms but we had so much luggage that we didn't want to bother.

We enjoyed the little afternoon snacks they put out in the lobby. We're not sure if this was offered because it was during the holiday season but I thought it was a nice touch. We didn't eat at the restaurant but the espresso we got out for take-out was $6 and not great. I'd recommend getting coffee elsewhere. We got it there because it was Christmas morning and nothing nearby was open. It's walking distance to many cafes, restaurants, pharmacies, movie theaters and shops--super convenient!

The fitness center is the size of a guest room, so not very big. There were three machines and a weight set. This was enough for us but for those looking for something more, you might want to check a bigger hotel.

When we are in Berkeley, we will definitely stay here again!