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December 2025 by Marcey Decker
Old hotel and dated, really limited tight parking, the room walls are very thin, we couldn’t hear normal voices next door, and rowdy boys on the other wall, so loud we had to call down to ask them to be quiet after 11pm.
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November 2025 by Max
Really cool historic hotel. Rooms are small but comfortable. They had bikes to use so that was nice.
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November 2025 by Rick G.
We've stayed at this location of the Graduate chain several times, and had a good, if not perfect experience. As always, the staff are great. Hospitable, helpful, and empathetic. In previous stays, we had challenges with tiny , noisy rooms, but the convenience of the hotel and the kindness of the staff were strong positives. Last night, it was intolerable. We paid for a large king room on the top floor, and did not sleep. The connector door between our room and the one next door was paper thin, and we could hear every tiny noise, including the rustling of a paper, the flushing of toilets, and even their quiet whispering. On top of that there was a fan or compressor on the ceiling above our room (#607) that rattled and whined all night. When we called the front desk, the receptionist apologized, and said there was nothing they could do, because the hotel was full. To be fair, the manager did refund our money for the night, and was very sympathetic. But pretty much everything about the hotel is cheap and minimal, including the walls and infrastructure. The place feels neglected and just a little bit sad. Too bad, because the location is great and the staff are trying their very best.
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November 2025 by Ellen Rosenstrom
We had a great stay at the Graduate Berkeley. The room was comfortable, the service was excellent, and the snacks in the room were a nice surprise. We also enjoyed our workout in the gym. They were able to get us in early, which made everything easier.
Eric (the manager) and the front desk staff were fantastic — friendly, professional, and genuinely helpful. Overall, it was a wonderful experience, and we’d happily stay again.
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November 2025 by L Lemon
We’ve had five stays in this hotel chain, and we love it. The decor is cool, and the bong lamps are a nice touch. The location is great, and there’s plenty of parking.
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November 2025 by Maggie Stern
Stayed last month while visiting our daughter at Cal. Very convenient location near unit 1. We will be coming back for the next 4 years.
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October 2025 by Psychotic Socrates
Unfortunate to give a 3/5 with such good service but there was ONE MAIN ISSUE.
You could say it's dated but I like the ambiance, it's unique and with the service I received it felt cozy and warm.
However in all my years of staying at hotels I have never heard so much noise than I have in this one. I couldn't sleep and I was on the 5th floor, I can't imagine how worse it is further down to the street.
Firstly, it's like every single door has a mic next to it to amplify the bang it makes when it slams closed. It's also like they are designed to slam with most force and reverberate throughout the building as hard as possible
There are noises I can't explain, like the loud clicks and dings that came from damn near every direction randomly all night, and some random beep-beep-beep alarm that came from down my floor's hallway for over 10 minutes at 5 am. This next one is likely construction, but it sounds like when a dumpster truck is lifting a commercial-sized dumpster to empty it and then drops it and it makes a loud bang/thud... every 10 minutes from the street outside.
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October 2025 by Madison Caufield
I do not recommend this hotel. I usually like Hilton Graduate hotels, because of the cool college feel, but this one was lacking in a few areas.
The management team elected to 'rent out' their parking lot for an event that was occurring two days later. Despite it not occurring within 24 hours, they stated that their parking lot was not available for us and anyone who parked there would be towed at their own expense. The hotel gave us no forewarning of this before arriving. The front desk staff offered two options: street parking (which is a very limited and risky option) or parking at the Telegraph Channing parking garage. Could go into detail on this, but all I will say is we learned the hard way that this garage is not accessible overnight and we unfortunately had an early flight the next morning. As a result, we could not get our car out of the garage until 7 AM the next day and had to book an entirely new flight. Front desk staff were unhelpful and frankly unconcerned with trying to help us with the situation. Not entirely their fault; my main frustration is with the management.
While it was a cute hotel inside, be aware that there is limited parking and do not expect the hotel staff to do anything to help their customers out in difficult situations.
P.S. re: street parking - this is not a safe area. When we were up at 5 AM walking back from the garage to the hotel (because we could not get into the garage to get our car), we walked past a group of local businesses that appeared to have been broken into overnight. Police were on the scene surveying the damage.
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October 2025 by Calvin Thomas
great location.
everything else is a rip off.
only stay here if room costs 99$
Old ridiculous Hotel where shower water can turn hot and cold giving u water shocks.
flush can stop when sink water is flowing.
and the Restraunt Henrys is a scam. they will make u wait over an hour and then tell you they are backed up so cannot prepare your order. go find some place else.
this place is run by rookies who will take no accountability and do not care even if you complain.
Shame on Hilton for bringing this hotel on their brand. No quality controk atall.
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September 2025 by Cristina Garcia
The building had a smell, almost reminded me of cat litter. Rooms were tiny, we stayed in room 625 and it wasn’t too bad but everything kind of felt old. I get the style and vibe but I feel like not everything has to be run down to have that style, they could definitely remodel with new furniture as well and still have that same vibe and style.
I liked how close the hotel was to the Greek Theatre since that was our destination point. When check-ing in Eric was great very kind and helpful. He has great customer service. Also after the walk I got a little thirsty and asked a girl receptionist for water and they provided that so I am thankful.
Didn’t address any of my concerns to the staff but I did find the hairs in the shower when we got there and it wasn’t ours but a bit gross to see.
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September 2025 by Mike McManus
Really a 2.5 rating. Small,old rooms lacking amenities, a disjointed breakfast ordering experience. Living off its location close to the University. Next time will likely pick the Doubletree down by the bay instead.
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September 2025 by Dara Anne Mykland
Love love love this beautiful old hotel. #224 was a deligh for 2 nights on a busy September weekend! Lots of activity around campus and perfect location to see Berkeley Staff at the Graduate were excellent and rooms very clean and comfortable. Super fun place. Thank you for a great stay Please Don’t change anything ❤️😊
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September 2025 by Jack Millen
This is my first Google review. I hate to do it, but I’m writing to warn others of making the terrible decision to book this hotel. Usually, the saying goes, “you get what you pay for.” However, this hotel being so expensive, it is very frustrating having to deal with inconveniences at such a premium price.
I give the hotel credit for the buildings’ age. I didn’t expect it to be brand-new or have luxuries like many new hotels. Many reviews complain about the small rooms and bathrooms. Honestly it’s not bad. The staff is friendly and this hotel was clean. Bed was comfy.
Our issue with the hotel was noise. Being in the heart of Berkeley, it is extremely loud between 9pm-3am. Between engines revving and racing up the street, to police sirens, to screaming college kids and homeless people yelling, don’t expect to get any sleep. We didn’t for the Friday and Saturday we stayed.
The walls are pretty thin so you can hear the old elevator all night and your neighbors doing… uh everything at 2am.
Is this the fault of the hotel or our own fault not doing enough research? You be the judge. Improvements in thicker windows and walls would make all the difference for noise. The hotel could work with local leaders and with the city to enforce street racing/vehicle noise at night in the area of the hotel, which in turn would be better for business.
This hotel was booked for its looks, location (walkable), and a recommendation from a local. We also attended a wedding at a neighboring hotel so it made it easy to walk to and from without driving or finding parking (the Graduate offers parking on site for $37 per night). But having spent two sleepless nights, I wouldn’t recommend the Graduate to anyone visiting Berkeley.
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September 2025 by Gamou .N
I arrived at this facility after a long day of traveling at almost midnight only for them to tell me they gave my room away and that I have to now call another uber and take myself to a different Hilton location across town. This team made ZERO effort to give me a call, text or even shoot me an email to notify me of this. I had to haul my heavy suitcase into their hotel lobby only to be told there was no more space for me.
Outrageous & unprofessional. I plan to get every single penny of mine back. The Sales manager Andrea Barrios was well aware that there was no room left in the hotel and made no effort to contact me. Poor management and even more despicable customer service.
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September 2025 by Becky Snell
way too sketchy , taking a shower was difficult with the handle falling off . i had to leave th tv on fairly loud to block out all the noise . looking at wires is not cute …. it made feel like i was in danger due to wires dangling . had to call to help with my temperature and he did not speak english
