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November 2025 by Joe Turner
Showed up for an event nine months late. The place was elegant, spotless and the staff were great.
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October 2025 by Becky Lee Aquino
We can’t thank the Berkeley City Club team enough for making our wedding absolutely unforgettable. Our guests were completely dazzled by the venue, and everyone had an incredible time. The food was phenomenal — which, in our experience, is rare for wedding food!
Throughout the entire planning process, the team (especially Brianne, our venue coordinator) was incredibly responsive, attentive, and detail-oriented. We were so impressed by how seamlessly Brianne stepped in after our first coordinator’s departure and how quickly she ensured everything ran flawlessly.
A heartfelt thank-you to Brianne and the entire Berkeley City Club staff for going above and beyond to make our day so special. We truly couldn’t have asked for a better experience.
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October 2025 by Mariana Silveira
(Review for catering/events/venue service)
I don’t have enough great words for Nicole and her team at Berkeley City Club.
I planned my wedding entirely “remotely” from out of state and Nicole was always ready to answer my millions of questions and make sure everything was being planned to perfection.
I had actually never seen the hotel in person, and I must say the architecture, foliage, vibes, etc are better and MORE stunning in person than in photos. Truly a breathtaking venue that transports you with its historic arches, details, etc.
Wedding food is often lackluster in my experience, but I was thoroughly impressed by all of the plated dinner dishes we were served. My salmon was perfectly cooked and guests complimented their meals as well. They were also able to accommodate all gluten free food as I have celiac disease, which was the cherry on top.
Additionally, a special shout out to the staff who worked the event day-of. Everyone was kind with bright smiles, and treated me and everything/everyone else with care.
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September 2025 by Cassie Smith
Classy place. The architecture is beautiful and there’s a lot going on like bridge! Centrally located in Berkeley right near campus. I stayed for a friends wedding and we had a lovely time. Staff was all very friendly and accommodating.
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August 2025 by maureen ferguson
I always have a lovely time when I’m here. The beds are comfortable and the surrounding hotel is breathtaking. Thank you
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July 2025 by Eric Sanne
For those who like the iconic Queen Anne Hotel in SF, well Berkeley has its own in the Berkeley City Club. Opened in 1930, the club has 35 rooms on three floors but also is a fully functioning club. The ambience and service were excellent and the bar area lively in the evening. No business center but plenty of areas to work or relax and read. Great location. Highly recommended. The extensive pictures below speak for themselves..
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June 2025 by Roee Leder
I think the Berkeley City Club is a charming hotel—authentically vintage in good way.
My colleague and I stayed there for a full week during a conference at the nearby university. There’s a distinct scent of an old building, which I personally liked—it adds to the atmosphere. Everything feels authentic and is well run by a committed and thoughtful staff (some of whom seem to have been there for many years). The building itself is truly an architectural wonder.
We stayed in a large suite that felt like “my grandma’s house,” again in the good sense: cozy, quiet, with very comfortable beds, wonderful views, and a surprisingly high-quality shower room. I highly recommend booking one of the upgraded suites—they don’t cost much more and truly feel like an apartment you’re living in while staying in the city.
The breakfast is quite good. There’s no cooked-to-order egg selection, but they offer two kinds of quiche and boiled eggs, along with excellent pastries and the usual elements of a continental breakfast. The quiche—though excellent—can start to feel repetitive after a few days.
The hotel is located right next to the university, and it was easy to go down into town for dinners.
There’s no coffee machine in the room, but I really appreciated the extensive tea and coffee station on the first floor, open 24/7 free of charge. It was a pleasure to sit in the architecturally striking hallways on one of the vintage sofas, drinking coffee with my colleague and reflecting on the ideas we absorbed during the conference.
All in all, I think this is an excellent hotel. If true vintage character is your taste, you’ll almost certainly enjoy it as much as I did.
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June 2025 by Ketan Hazari
It was a great hotel and fun experience to stay in a historic landmark for a couple nights! For such an old facility, everything was pretty nice. My wife, 1 year old, and I stayed.
The only complaint I have is that I called down to the front desk on a Saturday around 10 AM to ask for towels because we needed to use many of them to lay down a play area for the baby . The guy who picked up said that housekeeping will be around shortly. About two hours later I called again to say we really needed towels. He kind of went like uhh and umm… then said he would bring them up. Another hour and a half later, I went down to the lobby, front desk, myself, and there were the towels sitting on the counter and the guy who I had been talking to was just on his phone. Like don’t tell me you’re gonna do something and then just like sit there doing your thing. Zero customer service, acumen, and honestly puts an unfortunate mark on otherwise nice experience. this is a historic hotel, maybe give it the respected it deserves.
When we checked out, the same guy appeared to be a little bugged that I requested a paper printed receipt. Sorry to interrupt your Instagram time.
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June 2025 by Lisa Lu
Do not stay here, especially if you are looking for somewhere to get ready for your wedding. The events manager(?) here was incredibly rude to us and yelled at us and our vendor for taking photos of the space, which was an inappropriate way to communicate with paying guests and also just bizarre/rude (why can’t guests take photos of the space? and why is there no published photo policy on the website or in my booking details?). We checked the website and booking emails thoroughly and did not find a photo policy, even though this person claimed that paying guests were subject to fines. And the even greater hypocrisy was that they used the photo I took for their Instagram…
We stopped taking photos at the time because the events person was screaming at us in public and threatening fines, even though we calmly explained that we were hotel guests getting ready for our wedding and that we had permission to take pictures of the dining area. When we recounted this to our wedding planner at the end of the night (who had been away setting up at the venue when this happened), she said we were right and that we should have been able to take pictures of the hotel we paid to stay and get ready at.
We tried to keep a positive attitude and not let this ruin the rest of our wedding day, but it definitely cast a shadow on our day. We had wanted to support a local historical institution, especially as we both love architecture, and booked the largest top floor suite, which was spacious and perfect for getting ready for our wedding. And we did the research beforehand to see if there a posted photo policy that needed to be complied with (there was not). But if you are getting married in the East Bay, I would consider other hotels in Berkeley.
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June 2025 by Pam Whitman
Ate at Julia's Restaurant, love the building, food is excellent, great service, vintage bar.
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June 2025 by Dr. Jeffrey Neil
I've seen this club go steadily--and then precipitously--down since we became members four years ago. It has become a full-time wedding factory, so the public rooms and courtyard are usually torn up for weddings and then packed with boisterous crowds. Members are squeezed into ever-diminishing spaces. One of the only events we go to is Paint Night. Last time, we reserved a spot, but when we arrived late, one of our spots was given away--even after multiple confirmations with the organizer and front desk. This is how it goes now that they have doubled their membership in just a few years. It's a Darwinian scramble. The GM is generally draining a glass of wine or enjoying the amenities with a date rather than making sure members are taken care of. Sometimes the staff are very cordial and attentive; other times they're MIA and you leave hungry or thirsty. I still like the pool, although I got a nasty gash on my foot a few weeks ago from a tile in the pool. I have visited a number of the bedrooms. The small ones wouldn't work for me, but the suites are nice enough--spacious with views. Food is generally delicious, especially the banquets. Dinner, lunch, and bar food are all good and well presented. You can't beat the dining room for aesthetics. I would pass on the brunch with its very limited breakfast offerings.
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June 2025 by Dina McMahon
I recently coordinated a wedding for my clients at Berkley City Club. I am an Event Planner, Decorator and a Coordinator at Dina's Deluxe Events and our client hired us for the wedding coordination.
5 start to Al-Leigh for excellent venue management and event planning! Maria, the venue manager of the day of and her team were amazing too!
Great romantic historical venue with great hospitality and ambiance!
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May 2025 by Vlogsoryx
The worst staff I’ve ever encountered – avoid this place at all costs! I honestly don’t even know where to begin with how awful our experience was. We had a reservation clearly stating check-in was at 3:00 PM. We arrived right on time, expecting a smooth check-in like any normal hotel. Instead, we were greeted with a dismissive attitude and told our room wasn’t ready, and that it would be another 30 minutes. No big deal—we figured maybe they were running a bit behind, so we agreed to wait and were told they would call us once the room was ready. Well, guess what? Thirty minutes came and went—no call, no update. So we went back to the front desk to check in, only to be met with eye-rolls and an incredibly rude tone, as if we were being unreasonable for simply asking about our room. No apology, no empathy, just cold and condescending service. They told us again that it wasn’t ready, with no timeline and no explanation. At this point, we decided to leave and walk around the area to kill some more time, thinking surely it would be ready soon. We ended up walking around for another hour and a half, still no call. That’s two full hours after our scheduled check-in time. When we returned—clearly frustrated—they said, “Oh yeah, your room is ready now.” No apology, no sense of urgency, and worst of all—no acknowledgment that they failed to notify us like they promised. When we asked why they never called, it was painfully obvious they had just forgotten. Rather than admit to it and apologize, they deflected the blame onto housekeeping, claiming they were busy and short-staffed. Still no apology for the inconvenience or the two hours of our time completely wasted. And then came the cherry on top—the manager at the front desk. Honestly, one of the rudest, most unprofessional individuals I’ve ever had to deal with in any customer service setting. When we expressed our disappointment and asked if anything could be done to make up for the inconvenience (a simple gesture of goodwill would’ve gone a long way), she was completely dismissive, condescending, and borderline hostile. Not only did she refuse to offer any kind of compensation, she acted like the entire situation was somehow our fault for expecting the service we were promised. There was zero accountability, zero understanding of how to handle guest relations, and a stunning lack of professionalism across the board. It was clear that this is not a one-off issue—this staff operates with a total lack of courtesy, organization, and customer service standards. Save yourself the headache and the frustration—book literally anywhere else. This hotel might look decent on the surface, but the way they treat their guests is completely unacceptable. If you’re expecting a smooth, respectful, and professional experience, you will be severely disappointed.
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May 2025 by Tonya Perry
No AC at all. Rooms had a Victorian vibe and pretty. Service was great and quite friendly. The architecture was amazing! Built in 1929, maybe an old monastery or church. A great venue for a wedding!
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May 2025 by Jon Beasley
Experience the 1930's creativity of architect Julia Morgan is this well-appointed and keenly managed club hotel.
