The views may be beautiful, but the $24 daily resort fee is ridiculous. I refuse to support a hotel that charges extra for amenities that a guest rightly expects are included when the guest is paying $300 a night for a room. I have no idea what the resort fee was supposed to cover, but it should not exist. If hotels need that money, they should build it into the price of the room rather than tack it on at the back after people think they know how much a room costs.

I'm a Berkeley alum and have always thought of the Claremont as THE place. I finally stayed there last weekend with my room booked by the university (I was participating in a conference on campus; I brought my infant and my mom along for the ride). Having read reviews here last year I had low expectations. They were actually exceeded -- my experience wasn't horrible, but it was certainly unimpressive.

I found the room and public areas to be clean and well, but not luxuriously, appointed. I've stayed in much nicer Marriotts. The Claremont felt like a mid-range Hilton, Hyatt, etc.

The staff (bell service, housekeeping, maintenance) was excellent, except the front desk, which was just OK. Did I say maintenance? YES. The A/C was broken in our room, as we learned when the temp reached 80 degrees one day and my mother sweated through my baby's naptime. Yuck. But once I called to complain a maintenance person arrived within about 15 minutes and fixed it pronto. Whew. The iron in my room was also broken, which I learned when I was trying to press my suit and blouse before racing out the door. Again, the staff response was very quick so I was not late to my event. Finally, the outlet next to the internet jack was two-pronged, so I had to charge my laptop in the bathroom, then move it to the desk to use the internet. (Later I realized there was wireless available, but I still had to juice the laptop up in the bathroom.)

The restaurant/room service prices were insane, as is typical in "fancy" hotels, although this place is not that fancy. Parking is totally overpriced, but at least they don't charge guests extra for valet service. (And I just saw my credit card bill and it looks like they neglected to charge me for 3 days of parking! Woo hoo!) Sadly, I did not get to use the pool or spa facilities.

The conference rate for this hotel was $179, which seemed just about right (my room had two queen beds, no view).

I was disappointed in the overall quality of the hotel -- it was perfectly fine, but not "grande" at all. I stayed at the Four Points in Emeryville last year and it was about the same, but much cheaper. Still, at that rate it was a pretty good value for the Bay Area, and hey -- I wasn't paying!

We live in San Francisco, and decided to spend one night at the Claremont because we were going to a show at the Berkeley Rep and decided we'd make a fun, East Bay night of it.

We reserved a King Studio Suite (room 301) which had a fantastic view of the bay. One complaint though, the sitting area in the suite, a sofa and wing chair are arranged directly in front of the window facing *away* from the window. We thought it was an odd interior design decision, to arrange the furniture in such a way that the view is not taken advantage of.

The furniture, rugs, drapes and bed linens were nice and all seemed relatively new. The suite was nice, but it's not 5-star nice. There was peeling paint in spots, door hinges painted over in the bathroom, an albatross of a loud, enormous old fan in the walk-in closet that looked like it had leeked some sort of yellow ooze that had then hardened. Pictures of the rooms on the hotel's site showed big jacuzzi-style bath tubs, but the tub in our large bathroom was very small and looked straight out of Motel 6, dinghy tiles and all.

Check-in was just okay, we arrived at 4PM and had to wait a couple of minutes to be acknowledged by the staff, then there seemed to be some problem in locating a room for us. The desk person made frantic calls to housekeeping and kept softly mumbling to us so we had to say "excuse me?" about ten times during the process.

Having said all that, we didn't regret our stay. The hotel itself is lovely, as are the grounds and the view. All of the staff we encountered, apart from those at the front desk, were friendly and professional. In the short time we were there, we called room service three times, and the deliveries were so fast it was astonishing! Breakfast came in about ten minutes.

We didn't have time to take advantage of the spa, but just walking around the lobby and public areas looking at all the old photos was a real treat.

Looking for a winter rejuvenation? The Claremont was a great respite for us. Looking for relief from Ohio ice (me) and from the pressures of studying in a cramped dorm (my daughter), we spent a weekend enjoying each other's company and the hotel.

We checked in to room 107 and were delighted with the view - two big windows afforded views of San Francisco and of the Golden Gate Bridge. Watching the fog in the bay was a favorite morning activity. Housekeeping kept the coffee and tea stocked, so I could regularly supervise the morning fog and sunset while enjoying a cup of coffee - only non-dairy creamer packets, though - I always think I'll bring along some real half and half, but airport liquid restrictions make that just another hassle. There is a bakery nearby - just out the club member exit - so you can keep some morning buns handy as well. Rick and Ann's restaurant is also nearby and has great comfort food. If you go for breakfast on the weekend, get there early to get a place in line. This row of stores just outside the club members' gate also includes Peet's coffee and a bicycle store (alas, no rentals).

The mandatory club fee includes unlimited fitness classes. It took us the first day to figure things out. The class schedule was not in the room and also not on the hotel TV channel. Ask for a schedule at check-in (might also be a good time to ask directions to the club). The heated outdoor pools were lovely though it is a bit disconcerting to have the workout room directly overlooking the pool. The yoga classes were quite different from one another, so try more than one. Club facilities are good and include tea/coffee and apples. Ask for locker instructions when you sign in at the club desk. If you enjoy exercise classes, a workout room (we did not use), and swimming, you probably will not mind the added fee.

The spa was beautiful. We had hot stone massages - priced about twice what they run at clubs in central Ohio - but very, very nice. Prices are slightly lower on Mondays. One client had apparently been left waiting quite a while and her complaints seemed to be dealt with rather poorly by the spa management staff. We had no problems at all, but if you have a complicated schedule, you might want to plan in advance what you would like to happen if a service is delayed because the staff seemed totally perplexed (e.g., ask to have the service tacked on at the end and lunch included in its place, etc. as appropriate). If you schedule a service, plan on spending some extra time to enjoy the whirlpool with beautiful views.

The hotel staff was friendly and professional, though the front desk needs a little better staffing. The person who checked us in was delightful - and, of course, we loved the room. Items supposed to be in the room (ethernet cable, club class info) was not there. The internet service leaves something to be desired as you are tethered to the ethernet cable unless you pay extra for wireless access - and I was unable to get beyond the payment screen on my hand-held device, so we just used the laptop. Not ideal.

Restaurants were a bit of a disappointment. The food and service was good, but music was not always available as advertised and the receptionist at Jordan's was rummaging in her purse both times when we arrived. The first time, we left and ate elsewhere. The second time, we eventually just sat in the lounge area and asked for the restaurant menu. People did seem to get seated if they waited long enough, but it was a strange set-up. Service and food were great there - and we were near the wonderful musician playing the piano. It was also nice to just sit on the sofas near the restaurant and listen to the music. The room service menu includes several of the restaurant dishes, but if you are staying more than a couple of days, you may tire of the restaurant menus here, and even more so of the room service offerings. Aside from Rick and Ann's Restaurant, it's a bit of a hike to College Street and other restaurants. If it's raining and you don't have a car, that's inconvenient. If the weather is good, it's a delightful walk.

I recommend eating at the Paragon and asking for deck seating in the evening. Beautiful views, gas heaters, appetizers that can make a meal (macaroni and cheese and brussel sprouts or green beans - great comfort food). Of course, drinks are available too. The restaurant wine recommendations were good.

The physical conditions are a bit run down, but really were what we expected for an older hotel. The bath was small and cobbled together, but had a shower/tub, so I was happy. Windows were dirty (like at home, though at home I don't spend so much time gazing out them) and difficult to open and close - but they did open, so you could feel the delightful breezes. Beds were terrific and very nice linens. The in-room thermostat let us keep the room comfortable in the evenings when it got cool.

If you enjoy a resort experience, this is a good one: yoga, swimming, movies in bed, good food and views, spa services. If you're just looking for a place to stay, a bed and breakfast in the area is probably a better value. We had a great time and plan to come again!