Claremont Resort & Spa Hotel

, Berkeley, United States
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Claremont Resort & Spa Hotel

, Berkeley
4 star
41 Tunnel Rd - Berkeley - California - 94705 - United States Hotel Website | 510 843 3000
348 Traveller

Reviews - Claremont Resort & Spa Hotel

Historical Traveller Reviews of Claremont Resort & Spa Hotel

Noisy Picket Lines-Disgruntled Staff

from NorthBayLove
Noisy picket lines. Stay somewhere else. Very disturbing.

Most overrated hotel on the planet

from A TripAdvisor Member
Our friends regrettably decided to have their wedding at the Claremont. The service ranged from lackluster to appalling both at the front desk and at the "Hustle and Swindle Spa". Even though this was a special occasion, at no time did we get the impression that we and our party were anything more than cogs on a wheel of the giant money machine. The only spark of humanity and graciousness we could detect came from the very beleaguered and compromised valets and bellhops. Despite being unable to check into our rooms until after four o'clock the day of the rehearsal dinner, the groom, who'd spent thousands upon thousands of dollars on suites and services, was given a hard time about vacating his room at exactly noon on his wedding day. Everything about the place exuded an air of resting on laurels. The rooms, the restuarants, and the exterior all looked dated and tatty while at the same time being ludicrously overpriced. We were placed right next to the elevator shaft, so in addition to hearing the 'ping' of the call button, we were also able to hear all kinds of clanking and groaning of pipes througout the night. Thanks to the all the marketing efforts and the general "buzz" about the place, should you decide to stay here, your fellow guests will be of two sorts: insufferable and self-important hipsters and a bunch of white trash who believe themselves sophisticated. This is the Hotel del Coronado of Northern California and we just couldn't wait to check out. On the up side there is a fantastic bakery just around the corner by the tennis courts which is well worth retreating to.

Great Stay at a Great Historical Resort

from A TripAdvisor Member
I was concerned visiting this resort for the first time due to negative reviews I saw on this site.

Well I just returned from an overnight Saturday night visit and I was very happy with our stay. The Claremont Resort and Spa was excellent.

We purchased the "Ultimate Escape Package," which included a Deluxe BayView room, bottle of sparkling wine, Dinner for 2, Breakfast for 2 and 2 50-min spa treatments.

The room was excellent, located in the more recently renovated "spa wing." While I didnt see the other (am told, older) wing of the hotel-- I can recommend this wing. Our room was on the ninth floor and had a fabulous view of the entire SF bay (bay bridge, Golden Gate bridge, Alcatraz, City.) Amenities included: lounge area w/ sofa, chair; marble bath w/ separate bath/shower; courtesy bar/snacks. Overall, very nice.

The Dinner for Two certificate covered dinner at either Jordan's or Paragon (two restaurants in the hotel,) and has a limit of $120 (they don't tell you this.) We went to Jordans, where they sat us at a great window / bay view table that had a great view of the city lights. We had salads, dinner & desert, and all was fabulous. W/O drinks, dinner came to $139, and while expensive-- was a great experience. Excellent presentation, taste and service.

We went to breakfast the next day, also at Jordans--- also excellent.

For the spa certificate for two, we decided on the 50 minute couples massage. It was excellent. Spa facilities were clean and professional. Locker facilities had nice showers, a deluge, whirlpool w/ bay view and steam room.

I also spent a couple hours in the gym (also included in package,) which was top notch. Locker room facilities were great (sauna, whirlpool, steamroom, nice showers, etc.) and the gym was complete with newer equipment (separate free weight, machine weight, cardio, cycling spin rooms) and nice heated pools (2) and spa outdoors. Didn't have a chance to visit the Bay View Cafe, but it looked nice w/ great views.

I would recommend the Claremont Resort and Spa. While our room was newer styled, understand the hotel is VERY OLD-- and thus has great personality. Don't mistake old and history with outdated. Squeaky hardwood floors in the lobby is a sign of history, not an unacceptable noise to me!

Food poisoning and bad PR

from A TripAdvisor Member
We were to have a long-awaited family reunion in the Bay area. I was going to see people i remembered only from childhood. I looked forward to seeing people and to staying at the Claremont.

The first night we had to eat in the run down bar as their other restaurants were closed. We all ate something different. The next day my mom and I had lunch in the thing by the pool. A nice expensive lunch plucked from a refrigerator full of pre-made food. It was a chicken salad. The chicken was gross, but i ate it anyway since I was hungry. My mom refused to eat hers. Later, I got very sick. I was unable to attend dinners with my family and spent the whole time getting sick in the room's bathroom. I drank all the ginger ale I could find.

The next morning I asked for a refund on the lunch. I had not eaten anywhere but the Claremont for 2 days, so I knew the problem was with their restaurant. I checked out and came home - sick and unable to attend reunion activities.

I received a call from the resort saying they were going to look into the matter and that they were not going to simply ignore it. They would consult with the chef and get back to me by the end of the week. They never did. I wrote again, telling them I had spent $1000 to throw up for 2 days and nobody had bothered to get back to me. I was completely ignored again.

This hotel deserves a visit from the health department, a critique from the Better Business Bureau and a fine for unsanitary conditions leading to the illness of a guest. They also should send their entire management staff to seminars on how to properly treat their guests. It seems when they have your money you don't matter anymore.

Stress Inducer!

from A TripAdvisor Member
Planned this overnight spa package plus an additional night for de-stressing - the stay aggravated the stress. Had to wait for reservations to be straightened out. Staff of involved departments that are included in packages offered by hotel are not knowledgeable about it. And a few more problems occured. "Romantic spa" spent "separately"-where is the romance there? Great only for a la carte spa services spent for a day only with same sex friends.

If you get the Weekend $169 special, you get awful rooms!

from jjellison
The rooms really vary. When we first arrived, we got a TINY room facing, of all things, the garbage sheds in the back. The room absolutely stank of dirty socks. It was the carpet - very mouldy and damp smelling. We tried not to notice it, but after an hour it was so unbearable we tried to change rooms. Imagine our surprise when the staff said, "We have an air ionizer, if you use it it will make the room smell better." The fact that they even have this solution means they know their rooms stank!

We almost left the hotel and cancelled the booking right there and then, the smell was so bad. They won't switch rooms the first night. The second night, they gave us a much better room with far superior furnishings. It made me think that because we signed up for the weekend package, they were trying to pass of some really "servants' quarters" inferior rooms on us.

The massages were very expensive for what you get ($330 for a couple). Also, they tried to charge us more for the massage, higher than the brochure or web published price. I don't mind paying more, but why aren't their prices fixed? When we pointed out that their prices were different from what was originally quoted/published, the spa manager was very very rude.

To add insult to injury, there is a $17 per night parking fee, and a $12 resort fee. What is the resort fee? It's an "incidentals" fee that was never explained to us. I guess they charge us to use the resort, and the room price doesn't cover it.

The property used to be beautiful, but it's under poor management and in dire need of a face lift. The attached resort club membership rates are very expensive, and there is a waiting list if you want to terminate your membership. This all tells me that the establishment isn't doing very well at all, that's why they're nickling and diming us.

Lastly, their workers were on strike the weekend we were there. Could explain the bad service, and the rude staff, but I think it is not a good hotel to work for anyway if the management are not even nice to customers.

Service Was Beyond Bad ... needs the right staff and a refurb!

from maximo383
Has anyone told the folks at the Claremont Hotel that they are in the service industry? I have never met more inexperienced, rude and unprofessional staff in another hotel in the world. And you pay a premium for this!!!!!

Consider the hotel as a day visit, but stay in it at your peril. The rooms are dated and old. We had a lovely water mark stain over the entire ceiling, plus the room smelt musty. We complained and on the third complaint were put in a room-type that we had originally requested.

The staff were just plain rude. Particularly the Director of Operations at the Leisure Center - and in front of her own staff! Talk about set an example. She upset the entire group of we were with - someone take heed - set her free! The wait staff at the Pool did a significantly better job.

The hotel looks beautiful from the outside. With a major refit and the right staff, it has the potential to be a truly wonderful hotel.

Average rooms, good views, great restaurant,

from A TripAdvisor Member
We were given gift certificates to this resort and spa for 2 nights, plus massages at the spa and a dinner at Jordan's restaurant. The view of the SF Bay was wonderful from our room and we were even treated to an impromptu fireworks display on the bay during our dinner (a promo by a local radio station). The rooms are a bit old and need updating, but are clean and comfortable. Our massages were average, but comfortable. Our main problem was that after reserving our weekend, at which time we told them the number of our certificate, we were told at check-out that we had to provide them with the certificate. We had left it at home, thinking that since they had the number, why do they need the certificate? After arguing with the front desk clerk and then talking with a manager, we had to charge the room to our own credit card and mail in the certificate later to them when we got back. Originally, the clerk was going to say that it was our own tough luck for not bringing the certificate. Overall, it was a pleasant stay, but not worth the price our friends paid, and the front desk could use some training in customer relations. The restaurant is wonderful and I'd gladly go back to eat there, but stay in another hotel.

Claremont Resort: the best in the bay area!

from A TripAdvisor Member
I have stayed at the Claremont many times and have always loved it. It pays to find a room that suits you personally because each room is different. I used to live in San Francisco on a hill and am very picky about when I come back to visit in the Bay area. I find the Claremont to be my home away from home - although not inexpensive, you get what you pay for; good service, nice spa, excellent view and health club and beautiful surroundings....don't settle for the least expensive room....shell out a little extra, live and little larger!and i think you will find the Claremont well worth the price!

d be Better to Stay in a Motel

from A TripAdvisor Member
STAY AWAY FROM THIS PLACE, I REPEAT DON'T WASTE YOUR MONEY HERE. This is one of the worst hotels I've ever been in. I was there visiting for a day for my fiance's brother's wedding. I had seen the website before we left and thought it looked pretty enough, but my fiance and I decided it wasn't worth the price. Most of his family was staying there though so we visited for a day. I first went to the salon to get my hair done for the ceremony. It cost my future mother in law 40 dollars to just get my hair washed and blown dry! I think that is a ridiculous price for so little. I was supposed to get my hair done up, but they had misquoted the price and it would have been about 8 dollars more to do that. The salon was nice enough, but def. not worth the price. After that I was supposed to meet up with fiance and his family at the pool. First of all I had trouble getting in because I wasn't a guest and the receptionist at the guest was very confrontational. I found the staff to be really rude. The pool wasn't all that nice, compared to other resorts of a similar price. It was just a simple pool and a hot tub nearby. A lot of the lawn chairs were dirty. There is a little grill by the pool, which is a bit overpriced. The food was good though. (What really disturbed me were the signs everywhere saying "We reserve the right to refuse service to anyone for any reason." Not very welcoming) After awhile I wanted to see what it looked like on the inside. We got the keys to my fiance's grandmother's room. I was very unimpressed once we opened up the door. First I was assaulted by a musty smell in the air. The room wasn't all that large and like another reviewer stated, like the bed spread and furniture hadn't been changed since the 60s or 70s. Their bathroom was very small and their shower was miniscule (if you complain that cruise ship showers are small, you'll hate these because they are even smaller)! There was also a spiderweb with a spider hanging over the toilet. The real kicker was that for about 150 a night, before the hotel tax, their view was of a giant airconditioner and water pumps! AVOID THIS PLACE AT ALL COSTS!

Top Local Tips for Berkeley

Breakfast at Rick and Ann's Restaurant Try a hearty breakfast at Rick and Ann's near the Claremont Hotel. Parking on the street is tight, but there are surface lots in the vicinity. Get there early on weekend days. (Also a nice bakery a couple of shops down.)

Rick & Ann's go for breakfast - EARLY

Get a BART-train from SF airport + Berkeley has nice Amtrak connections Taxis are expensive (80 $ one way) and the ride you get to/from airport is often bumpy and slower than with a train. BART-trains go very close to Claremont from San Francisco airport. An environmentally friendly alternative. Only Sundays cause problems, the BART-trains start operating at 9 o'clock, so you may need a taxi then. + + + Berkeley has good bus traffic connections to UC campus, etc + + + Berkeley has it's own train station with Amtrak connections to various US cities. The quality of those trains was better than I expected as a European ;-)

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Other names for Claremont Resort & Spa Hotel

  • claremont resort berkeley
  • claremont hotel berkeley
  • Address: 41 Tunnel Rd - Berkeley - California - 94705 - United States
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