Some like it hot. Not me. I got to my room on the hotel's 6th floor to find the temperature to be in the high eighties — about 15 degrees higher than outside — and the window wide open. When I returned that evening, the room was the same temperature. I called the desk and they sent an engineer who made a show of demonstrating that the radiator was not on, then went on to show me the fan. I would have asked for another room, but my survey of friends who had checked in with me revealed that everyone was in the same boat. I am old enough to remember that once an steam heat hotel fires up the boiler, they can't really control it, and even a temperate day can make the rooms sweltering. This really doesn't work for folks who are living in the 21st century.

There was a lounge down the hall with an air conditioner. The thought of borrowing it occurred to me, as did the thought of it falling six stories and through the ceiling of the restaurant. Not that the restaurant was itself worth preserving.

The room was remarkably small, but unlike small rooms in, say, Paris, it was just a small version of a big room with no concession to its size or charm. There was a flat screen television, but the cable — almost the same vintage as the hotel — was blurry and unwatchable.

This hotel also follows a new and unhappy trend of offering free, slow internet along with the opportunity to pay more for slightly less slow internet.

Stayed here a year ago to attend a one-week course at UC Berkeley in June 2011.

My room was on 4th floor, at the end of the hallway. Shared a room with a classmate and luckily I got the bed farther away from the window. My roommate could not sleep on a Friday night due to noises on the street. We could also hear people talking from the other room when in the bathroom. But well, we had no choice cos our school got us to stay here and I heard others that rented the doom for the week didnt have too good of an experience either. No A/C as mentioned by other TAs.

Wifi worked fine, password provided by front desk. The rest are all well, no complaints.

Food downstairs was really not bad, the burger and fries for dinner were great.

The hotel is on the Univ. of California's greater campus, and just a block from the traditional central campus. The room that my wife and I shared (as well as the separate room our adult son stayed in) was claustrophobic (bath room included). Temperature was fine in the rooms. Our bed was fine. Noise was not a problem when we were there. The desk workers were hit or miss. Several were as good as you'd expect, while others were duds. If you're interested in internet access, get the details ahead of time. Wi-fi, possibly included, is available, but terminal in the lobby costs extra. However, if, as we were, you're on the 6th floor, you get a free terminal in the sixth floor lounge, and can free access to the lobby computer. They put the charges on your bill, but then if you ask, will take them off (but only if you ask). The 6th floor lounge also includes a wine bar with nibbles in the late afternoon and and a "continental breakfast," which was fairly substantial. The only difficulty was the the lounge room is too small for more than a few to eat breakfast at once.

On the first floor there is a hoppin' bar, Henry's, which we liked a lot. The whole place is decorated and accessorized with Univ. of Cal. stuff. My guess is that if you were a Cal person, you'd love this place -- feel like you were at home. For the non-Cal person, the location is the best thing about it -- assuming you have business on the Cal campus. I'd have given it a "very good", four star rating, if our rooms had not been so small.

The rates for my wife and myself in a 6th floor "executive" room, with two beds, were $180.42 per night for Thurs. and Sun., and $234.22 per night for Fri. and Sat. (tax and fees included).

Compared to Bancroft hotel, this is a refreshing experience. The staff is very polite and cooperative. The room and bathroom are of reasonable size (for two people). Bed is comfortable. Comfortable working table with proper light and a lot of electric sockets. We had a room on the fifth floor but, still, the noise from the street and some storage place around was disturbing. No air condition (so the windows can not be closed to block street noise). Parking at extra price. Breakfast not included. There was some issue with water pressure which we simply did not have enough time to resolve.