I made my reservation at the Beau Sky before reading the reviews, and I have to say that I almost cancelled my reservation because of them. I decided to “tough it out,” and am writing to balance the negative responses. My experience was actually a very positive one even though I was biased against the hotel before arriving, because of the reviews.

Here’s the real deal. This is an old hotel that was originally a sorority. It has a lot of history and “character.” The rooms are old-style, but mine had a king bed and was very spacious. Speaking of the king bed, it had a thick pillow topper on both sides of it, and was one of the most comfortable beds I’ve ever had in a hotel regardless of the number of stars it had earned. The bathroom wasn’t much to look at, but it was clean, the water pressure was strong and the hot water was abundant; a better shower than I’ve had in 4 star hotels! I requested an extra bath towel the first day there, and the maid service added one every day without another request. I requested a hair dryer and received one I could actually dry my hair with, not the wimpy ones that are installed in “good hotels.”

The location of this hotel is hard to beat. I was within an easy walk to the campus and the center of Berkeley, and the staff was very helpful in assisting me with getting around town. Guests receive a full day pass to UC Berkeley’s fitness center and all of their pools, The center is only 3 blocks away and I made good use of their excellent facilities.

Several people complained about breakfast, but the banana nut muffin and coffee were delicious, and one morning when I came downstairs late to breakfast and the muffins were gone, Mark actually left the desk to get me one (in fact, two!) from their supplier. Yes, there is indeed an Indian restaurant in the lobby, but it posed no problem to me as a guest, and the hotel did not smell like curry or any other food item.

So, if you are looking for a cookie-cutter room that’s fancy and costs a fortune, this isn’t the hotel for you. However, if you’re wanting to be close to campus, have a great bed and a good hot shower, and enjoy a low-key but attentive staff at a reasonable price this might be just the place for you. I know that I’ll reserve a room at the Beau Sky the next time I’m in Berkeley.

Well, I DID read the reviews, but I wanted a real Berkeley experience, and I like Indian food, so I booked for two nights. It was the weekend of Cal Day, and when I called to make the reservation they said I had to book two nights since that would be a big weekend. No problem, we wanted Friday and Saturday night. When we called an hour prior to arrival on Friday, surprise, they had us down for only one night, Saturday. The room was not available on Friday as scheduled. A confirmation number meant nothing.

On the up side, the guy we talked to was nice and apologetic, and he got a a room (with one Murphy bed double and a very uncomfortable fold-away instead of the two beds we reserved) at the Durant. The Durant was more expensive and Beau Sky said they would return the difference to us when we checked in for Saturday night, but we decided to stay at the Durant because we were too busy with Cal Day to be trying to change hotels and parking in the middle of the day.

I wish I had booked at the Durant first, we might have had two beds instead of a Murphy double and a rollaway. My recommendation? Try Beau Sky as a walk-in, since apparently they give away rooms that way to the first people to show up each day.

The area is great, classic South Berkeley, but the Durant's just a block up and I'll bet it honors its reservations (it's currently being remodeled though, with bar and grill closed).

Really, the only good things I can say about this hotel are that it always seems to have rooms available (and now I know why), and that it accepts dogs. Oh, yes -- it's just a few doors down from the amazing Top Dog sausage stand...but that doesn't make up for the stench, the bugs, the utterly inferior plumbing, the noise, and the filth. This is just a nasty, nasty hotel. The hangers in the little armoire are a motley bunch of wire hangers from various dry cleaners; the tubs don't have slip mats; the toilets barely flush; the Indian restaurant downstairs fills the whole building with curry aromas...I'll never, ever stay there again.

The biggest problem with this place is the smell. There's an Indian restaurant in the lobby and the smell permeates the entire hotel. I was on the third floor, and it smelled like someone was frying samosas in my closet. Other than that, good location and really nice staff.