Claremont Resort & Club

We should have believed the reviews we read! This was not a good experience for our family. We booked the Claremont for my daughter’s admitted student day at Berkeley. The hotel was full and required a two night minimum. Upon arrival we noticed a bad smell. This is mentioned in many other reviews. The doors to the hotel are left open regardless of the cold temperatures because they try and mask this smell. However you cannot mask it in the hallways and the rooms. It’s a wet mildew type smell that was very unpleasant. We dined at the restaurant and it was a disappointment. Server lacked knowledge and was borderline rude. When the main restaurant was closed on the afternoon we went to the cafe and they had one person working and the line was out the door. This hotel was well aware of all the families and had Cal Day photo ops set up and should have been prepared for many guests. The small cafe was out of over 50% of the menu items. We will be traveling to Berkeley monthly for the next four years and unfortunately will be looking for different accommodations.

I was excited to visit this historic property and it's facilities. Sadly, the experience was a total letdown. We stayed in a suite, and the room was good and what I expected. This property has separated from Fairmont, and I don't think management has a good grip on the transition. While the valet service was top notch, the rest of the hotel experience was not. Here are some particulars: 1. Guests have access to the club pools, as they are part of the hotel. But there is no dedicated pool loungers for guests, and on a nice day the members of the "club" bring their kids to the pool deck and take up all the loungers. When I was there, they ran out of towels, people were having to spread towels on bare pavement in order to have anyplace to sit. The place was a total zoo, and the frantic pool attendants told me I was on my own and to try to run and grab a lounger if one opened up. I wish there was at least some reserved loungers for hotels guests, and some poolside servers to attend to that area. 2. The Limewood restaurant. We had made reservations for a table for drinks in the evening to enjoy a few cocktails with friends before going out that evening. When we got seated, our server told us we were not allowed to sit at that table unless we ordered a full dinner. We asked to have some drinks and we would leave in 15 minutes. This was allowed, but it would have been nice if there was some notation that you are not allowed to have a table unless you order a certain dollar amount of food. Totally ruined what otherwise would have been a relaxing start to our evening. 3. Front desk: Pretty unhelpful when it came to getting basic information about activities in and around the hotel. Usually when a question was asked, it seemed like the people were kind of irritated they were being asked a question and only gave very very cursory responses. Now I typically am a pretty low key traveler, but I feel compelled to write this review, and hope that perhaps there will be some improvement to the overall priorities of treating a guest like a guest.

My wife and I did a quick weekend staycation at the Fairmont from San Francisco with our dog, and loved every second. Our room was very spacious and had a great view of the Golden Gate bridge in the distance. The hotel is very dog friendly, as the concierge was always ready with a treat when we went down to the lobby, and there are some great walking trails on property. We will definitely be back.

What a complete nightmare. This hotel transitioned from a Fairmont hotel to privately owned 3 days before we arrived and the whole experience was like clown town. This was my 3rd time staying there but it will be my last. I received over 25 emails from them in the weeks leading up to our arrival, most with the same information and also erroneous text. When we arrived, there was no porter/bell hop on duty to help us with our bags. There was a valet but he never got up or out of his "key hut" to offer to help or park the car. Check in went fine but they had no record of the room rate or the package that we booked and I had to provide the desk person with the email. He then took my phone in the back to show someone and confirmed that they would update their records/system/back end. Elevators are very dirty with debris in the corners. Rooms are fine but dated and there were no robes or slippers. Awnings etc had "Fairmont" crossed out and pasted over. Total low-brow hack job. Water fountains for filling personal water bottles are moldy and gross. I tried calling the desk and concierge after check in to book a class a the gym the next AM and no one was reachable- no one answered the phone. It was 11pm. I noticed a $1450 hold on my card the next AM and went to the desk to try to understand what it was since it had no relation to the room rate and I have never been to a 4 start resort that charges the room upon check in. She told me it was a mistake (since it had no relation to the rate) but that they had the rate and package wrong. She assured me they had corrected it again but could not reverse the hold. We were gone for over 5 hours the next day but when we returned the room it was just being made up and the maid told us we would have to wait 15 min to enter the room. The next day, the maid knocked at 8am and tried to clean the room. Bad service- a good hotel has some idea of how to service rooms at appropriate times. We had 15 friends meeting us that night at the lobby bar. Terribly service, grouchy servers who acted so put out to get you a drink. Extremely small and overpriced appetizers- especially the charcuterie which was like 5 pieces of the fattiest salami I have ever experienced. The also could not accommodate gluten free adjustments. Bars and restaurants stopped serving food at 10pm so we had to get room service. 2 salads, chicken fingers and a cookie - $160 with almost $30 in excess charges. It did come quickly though. The next morning, I noticed an additional $3000 hold on my card (now almost $4,500 being held on my card). Went back to the desk and basically had to go through the whole thing again- now my 3rd time at the desk explaining the package/rate and having them correct everything. When I asked where these amounts that they were holding on my card were coming from- they had no reply and could not explain. Took almost 45 minutes for them to correct and print out correct folios. Still could not explain the amounts or reasons for the holds. Desk clerk was snarky and snappy and continually acted as if I didn't understand what a card hold was and that it would fall off. Supervisor was nice but they were both completely incompetent. Luckily this was a platinum card bc if not- a $4500 hold could have seriously impeded someone's ability to finish their vacation. Again, they could not remove them. It is now Tuesday, 3 days after checking out and the correct charges have been charged but the holds are still there and have not fallen off. When I try to call the hotel to speak with someone in billing, of course no one answers. This is a shame bc it is a beautiful hotel but I will absolutely never go back. Nightmare, incompetent, dirty and stealing from me. $4500 hold- insane

Lovely, high-end hotel nestled into the Oakland Hills. The gym and pools are excellent, as is the onsite restaurant. Views are amazing. They even offer guided hikes (I didn't go because it was pouring rain!). When booked through AmEx, perks include free breakfast and hotel credit.