Our room (garden, 3) was large enough to sleep in, but no more; in bad weather, or with the garden and public rooms of the inn occupied by a function, we'd have disliked it as cramped and dark. The bed was good; the electrical outlets numerous; the internet connection excellent. The bathroom was semi-functional, with a slow bathtub drain (a pet peeve) but good water pressure and abundant hot water. We had no effective access to more than our room, as -- see above -- the garden and public rooms had been rented out for a party, with drunken women shrilling and men guffawing until 2300. If such uses of those spaces are frequent, a longer stay might be one vexation after another.

The property is, we thought, a series of carelessly knocked-together houses. The largest and grandest holds the lounge and reception desk; rooms have been carved from those to either side and behind. If ours is typical, they haven't been best fitted-out or maintained. The decor - well, as another reviewer wrote, "It would have made a blind granny weep", and in the bathroom rotted doorjambs and baseboards where water must have stood made us feel that maintenance is not the owners' first priority.

Breakfast was a very bright spot, with cereals, pastries, breads plain and fancy, good coffee, scrambled eggs in a bain-marie, and, under heat lamps, excellent roast potatoes with good sausage and crispy bacon. That experience permitted us to tick the grade here up from * to ** -- yes, we thought about ***, but, unfortunately, more is wrong with this place than is right.

You're not spoilt for choice if you want to stay in Berkeley without using a car. The innkeepers at the Rose Garden Inn know this, it seems. So their place is far from top-drawer? Meh. Where else, the condition of the inn, with its perceived deficiencies, shrugs in response, are you going to go?

Did not expect much from other negative reviews. We were pleasantly surprised by the Inn. First of all, the staff was very friendly and helpful. That made the shortcomings of the Inn quite bearable. An example was when something in the room broke (things seem to be at the end of their life expectancy on the premises), staff was there within minutes to correct the problem. We asked for a quiet room away from the street - nice clean cozy (read: small) room with fireplace, mini-fridge, queen bed, TV, and ceiling fan. It was indeed quiet. Could have used a bit more closet space, but that was no big deal. We thought the lack of A/C would be a problem, but you really don't need it in the Bay Area.
Nice things about the Inn: Free food: Huge buffet breakfast until 10:30AM, 24 hour coffee and tea, great homemade cookies almost all day. I gained over 5 pounds during our stay! Sitting areas inside and out, wrought iron tables and chairs out, sofas in living room area inside. Free use of computer in lobby - you can leave laptop at home - just be prepared to wait your turn.
All in all, a very nice place (pleasantly funky) at a very nice price. Not the Ritz Carlton, but we would return.

We traveled to Berkeley for Homecoming / Parent's Weekend and choose to stay at the Rose Garden Inn. We booked a Junior Suite for two nights. It was spacious but the floorplan & furnishings left lots to be desired. When entering the room you were met head-on with a large queen bed - literally right when entering the room. There was a half bath - tub & toilet. The sink was in the bedroom area. The furnishings were lacking - in front of the two queen beds there was a coffee table with two desk chairs on either side of the coffee table (no sofa or love-seat). The internet connection was on the night stand between two queen beds. The desk was across the room from the beds and no where near the internet connection. The room did have a vaulted ceiling, ceiling fan, fireplace, small refrig and microwave. The room did not have enough lighting - it felt very dark and a bit dingy. The floral landscaping on the property was nice but the concrete work throughout was very amateurish with uneven stairs, awkward handicap ramps, juvenile murals on concrete block walls. The entire property had a "thrown together" type look. The property has so much potential with 5 unique homes it is a shame that it does not come together. We did enjoy the hot breakfast and the staff was helpful. We will not be returning to the Rose Garden Inn on our next visit to Cal.

I had read some of the other reviews and was somewhat concerned. But a friend highly recommended the hotel, so I gave it a try. I would say I'm glad I did. The hotel grounds are very pretty. When I entered the hotel, I was warmly greeted by the staff. There is a definite warm and cozy feeling throughout the hotel. My room was very nice. The breakfast was excellent with lots of different choices and hugely appreciated by me during my busy trip. The hotel is centrally located and is walking distance to UC Berkeley where I needed to go each day.
I would definitely return to stay here.