The staff is great. Nice ppl! One thing is they have no ppl of color that work there. There is 1 works in the kitchen you wouldn't know she existe. There is everything but black ppl. It needs more diversity of color. Other than that it's a nice hotel. They are doing upgrades to make rooms better. Nice ppl need more diversity in management and employees. read more

Wow, had a fantastic stay at this fine establishment. Was immediately greeted by very friendly staff who made us feel right at home. Grabbed a drink with my wife and we were then treated to a surprisingly wonderful tour by a gentleman named Mark. The tour was fabulous and Mark was very knowledge about the space and history of Berkeley. He also had a great sense of humor and made it fun! The place is beautiful but the people really make this this building sing. Thank you again to the staff (big ups to the bartender and bar manager) and in particular Mark! You guys rock. read more

We had a last minute emergency that required us to change the venue of our fundraiser with less than 6 hours notice and the Berkeley City Club (and specifically Al-Leigh) were so incredibly helpful and accommodating! I am so grateful to their team and will recommend them to anyone looking to host an event in Berkeley. read more

We recently had our wedding here on 3/13/21. My husband and I are so grateful for Berkeley City Club and the staff that assisted with our special day. Not only was the venue flexible and accommodating, but made planning a wedding during a pandemic very easy. We primarily worked with Heather for the majority of the wedding planning- not only was she professional, but also supportive and so kind. Madison took over for our rehearsal and day of and she was equally kind, supportive, and professional. The entire staff the day of were professional, communicative, and flexible. The venue itself is beautiful and we were so happy to get pictures everywhere. The benefit of beautiful architecture and decor is needing less additions day of. The location is also ideal to explore Berkeley and all it's unique eateries. I highly recommend Berkeley City Club for any special events. read more

We signed up for a tour through Door Open. We were in group of 6, and the docent are current club members. We got to visit all the areas and see one of Julia Morgan's master piece. The do have restaurant, bar, pool, garden, hotel, etc. read more

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Just came back from a great stay. I cannot say enough about how much this magical Julia Morgan building is. We had a suite (worth it) and enjoyed every second of every well thought out space in the hotel. We were there on a Sunday so no restaurant and bar but that didn't matter. Great stay. Bed very firm but slept better here than at home. Incredible views. Yummy breakfast. Interior spaces like no other. Would stay again 10 out of 10. read more

We were married at the Berkeley City Club in November of 2021, and it was the most magical and lovely wedding anyone could hope for! We started looking for venues in January of 2020, and toured one or two before we visited the City Club. We pretty much knew it was our spot from the second we walked through the door. Julia Morgan's "Little Castle" is exactly that; romantic, elegant, intimate yet large enough for a medium-sized wedding like ours. I haven't seen architecture as beautiful anywhere else in the Bay Area, and the price was on the high end of our budget but still affordable. Our first point of contact, Heather, was incredibly helpful, knowledgeable, and accommodating. She answered all of our questions and was flexible enough to allow us to customize the packages they offered to our meet our needs. By July of 2020 it was clear we would not be able to safely hold our wedding on our original date (late November, 2020). Heather and the City Club team were so understanding, supportive, and comforting during a challenging time. They rescheduled our wedding for the same weekend of the following year and helped us feel excited even when things felt pretty bleak. By the time we got back in touch in early 2021, there had been some staff transitions, but eventually we were put in touch with Yulianna, who was an absolute rockstar throughout the final days of our wedding planning. We threw a ton of questions at her and she answered them in a kind and timely way. At the rehearsal and the day of, Yulianna was with us every step of the way and went the extra mile to make sure every detail was perfect. The serving staff at our wedding were incredible (especially Maria!), and the whole team made us feel like royalty. Overall, the Berkeley City Club made our dream wedding happen and we would recommend it to anyone looking for their fairytale wedding venue! read more

Berkeley City Club - Venues & Event Spaces Near Me - Berkeley, California

We stayed here before a work-related conference at UC Berkeley the next day. Many things were awesome, including: easy to make a reservation at a good rate over the phone with a friendly lady, the beautiful architecture, the parking lot, the awesome city and water view out our window, the easy access to campus (quick and cheap to catch a ride in the am, nice and easy to walk home in the pm). The bed was amazingly comfortable, the hallways quiet, and the staff and guests super nice and friendly. And since we arrived late and left early, we didn't even get to use all the amenities, which looked ever-so-sweet, including the beautiful looking restaurant (just the quickest ever bite of breakfast in the am, which was included), the few garden areas on site (somewhat illuminated and still beautiful even at night), and the famous pool (bring your swim-cap, apparently). The only downside, really, was when the fire alarm went off in the middle of the night. And, ooops, apparently it was the second night in the row to do so... Comfortable bed and bay breeze or no, I had a pretty tough time getting back to sleep after that. read more

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You've heard of the slow food movement. If the Slow Hotel Movement catches on, the Berkeley City Club would epitomize what it is all about. The building itself is beautiful. Designed by renown architect Julia Morgan (who also did Hearst Castle) and built in 1929, it has that old world charm with classic features such as cane chairs in the "Coffee Corner", glass doorknobs, diamond paned glass, indoor swimming pool and even a "drawing room." No TVs exist in the charming, cozy rooms. Rather a TV sitting room is provided around the corner from the Julia Morgan historical room. No WiFi in the rooms either. There are hot spots outside the elevators at each floor but otherwise you have to use the 1st and 2nd floor public areas to get any Internet connection. What would a multi-tasking woman like myself do? I spied a box of mineral bath salts in the bathroom. So I took a long overdue soak. Room 408 was quietly in the corner with a beautiful unobstructed view of Golden Gate, Alcatraz and SF. If you like fresh air, parents with adventurous toddlers might want a room that does not have a long drop. The waist-high windows do not have screens and open wide, right out to the breezy air. Parking wise, there is no bellhop. In fact, the lot ($12 to park) is not close to the hotel itself. If you get here on the weekend, just be sure to park on the nearby streets after 5:00 pm and all of Sunday is free. Breakfast is a treat. Fresh fruit, Greek yogurt, freshly-baked goods, scrambled eggs, some sort of meat hash and straight-out-of-the-oven mini fruit cobblers. The latter was to die for, served up in ramekins with walnuts, plums and apples. Heating is by a steam radiator contraption. It started hissing around 5:00 am, but I was already awake by then. Management obviously knows this can become problematic, there were two pairs of ear plugs by our bedside. Groupon lured me to this place, roughly half off at $80 for two including breakfast. When I was a student at Cal, this building was not a public hotel! It is still a private club, but they have a theatre and as I'm typing this they are filming a movie on the 2nd floor. With all the actors dressed up from the 1940s in their suits and fedoras, it made for quite a sight! read more

Gayle and I recently attended the wedding of one of her employees here at the Berkeley City Club. The Bride was nervous and later told my lovely Bride that when she came into the ceremony and saw her smiling face, she knew everything was going to be all right. We had a fabulous time together in this wonderful monument to Julia Morgan. This was the wedding that Gayle and I could have had, even though I wouldn't have changed our Walnut Creek Civic Park venue. The building and it's architecture is fabulous, and has me wondering how we can return for dinner, some other event, or even a hotel evening away from home. The service from Berkeley City Club staff was top notch, starting at the Julia's bar and continuing on through the reception and dinner. The Bride was radiant and the energy was joyful, as we danced the night away. read more

I had a Living Social deal to stay here, so I thought for a night during Labor Day weekend, my bf and I could have a little staycation in the East Bay to get away from our cluttered little studio for a change of scenery. It was easy to get to Berkeley City Club from the downtown BART station (just down Shattuck and hang a left on Durant for a few blocks), and we checked in easily (check-in is at 3PM). They ran out of rooms with queens, but we got a sweet room on the top 6th floor with a view of the Bay and San Francisco in the distance. Actually, the room was a bit smaller than our little studio, but at least it wasn't cluttered (woo, I needed this break!). The room had plenty of towels, extra blankets and pillows, a room heater, phone, clock/radio and shampoo/conditioner, soap, lotion blow dryer and ironing board in the bathroom. After checking in, I decided to take a dip in the pool. You need a code from the front desk person to get into the changing room, which seemed to be co-ed but luckily empty when I went in to change (they have little booths for privacy). The changing room was a little dank and needs some updating, but it served its purpose (towels are provided) and I quickly changed and headed to the pool.. What a lovely, historical pool with water that is not heavily chlorinated - loved it! There's a viewing area where people can actually watch you while you swim - this was a little strange but oh well. A wedding was going on during my swim and the party was taking pictures right outside the window - oh well, I don't think they could see me enough to get me in the shot, thank goodness. I enjoyed my laps in the relatively empty pool, and I loved the mosaic tiling of the floor. I quickly changed back and went up to my room to shower - aww, very relaxing! We loved wandering around the hotel to the little tucked in gardens with beautiful flowers and charming fountains to the TV room, rooms where weddings and conferences can be held, reading the historical timelines of the hotel history and architecture on big poster boards. The architecture and design of the hotel is lovely and very Euro-influenced - loved it!! According to my bf, the building needs some work, but I loved the overal feeling of it. There's a hair salon and a skin care spa also at the hotel, and there was a lovely breakfast in the morning included with your room rate (eggs, potatoes, freshly baked pastries, cereal, oatmeal, juice assortment, coffee, tea - wish there was bacon though or some kind of meat!). The front desk guy was all right at giving instructions when asked direct questions about the hotel, but otherwise, he was a bit strange I'd have to say, sort of rambled and didn't make much sense when trying to make general conversation. The lady in the morning was a little better, although my interaction with her was limited. There's free Wi-Fi, free coffee, tea and water in the lobby all the time, picture postcards and cards you can buy, and the elevator is super smooth (they are adding a 2nd elevator too). The rooms were relatively quiet except for this whirring sound outside maybe from the ventilation system - it became sort of background white noise eventually though and didn't bother us much. We didn't do much in the evening as we are not too familiar with Berkeley, but we went to a nice French restaurant on Shattuck and then went to bed early with full bellies and food coma. We slept so well on the nice, comfy bed...z...z.z...z..z.. Check-out was easy enough too (it is at 11AM). Thank you, BCC for a lovely stay! read more

Lots has been said about the BCC. I don't have any new descriptions or relating of events I've gone to there. Just a couple small stories and a tip or 2. I lived in the Berkeley / Albany area for 30+ years, as a Cal student, then raising a family. I lived for a year in the Ida Sproul Dorms in the 60's and a great apt. building on the same block on Durant. I was married at the Chapel of the Methodist church on the corner of Durant & Dana. I walked to work everyday down this street for a year to the Pacific Phone. company near Shattuck. In other words, a lot of life events happened to me in the immediate neighborhood. I never ONCE noticed this building. And I love old buildings. I don't know why this one is so reclusive & anonymous from the outside. The color? Then I moved away, but with adult children still living in the area, I tried lots of B & B's , hotels and then-- the City Club. On my 1st visit, I was so excited to experience it, but was actually dismayed by it. It was a kind of loaded situation. We got a small room with twin !?!? beds. It seemed like a YMCA as far as room furnishings. And our teenage son at the last minute joined us & so 3 of us in the room. It was not ideal. But I liked the location well enough, the place itself a marvel and the price & breakfast included definitely a plus. So the next, and repeated visits we found a room we love... the furnishings, bathroom, etc are still out of date & schlumpy... BUT, and I might regret telling this, the best rooms are the upper floors, back corners. And the reason? You have views on 2 sides, out to the bay and over the Cal campus. And outside your door is the best... at the end of the hall is a large low-walled patio, where you can sit out & have drinks and enjoy the view. It is really very nice. To illustrate how well used this club/ hotel is by locals and non-hotel guests, while staying one time, after a swim [ we had the pool to ourselves] we were walking back through the lobby area when a small group of women were happily have a book talk over tea at a very lovely sitting area overlooking the courtyard. One of them noticed my curiosity & invited me to join. Wet dripping hair, towel wrapped around me, I accepted a cup and cookies and a lively discussion! So we'll go back, again & again. It's the best in the Cal area. read more

Berkeley City Club - Venues & Event Spaces Near Me - Berkeley, California

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Bay Area Gem of a venue. I hosted a Bridal Tea Party for my daughter in the Drawing Room. We used several of the venue tables charming wood chairs to create one long grand table. House linens were nice so why rent. I simply brought an burlap overlay to create a look I wanted. This room has a lovely patio off of it to enjoy and we had our our private extra large restroom/ powder room. Street parking is only 2 hours but most of us parked in public parking at 2315 Ellsworth St which is at corner just few feet away from venue. I paid $6.00 for all day parking . A few guest found $5.00 lot for parking a block away. This venue has plenty of friendly staff everywhere you turn making you feel very pampered. Our food was outstanding. I highly recommend this venue for a variety of gatherings read more

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If you want gorgeous wedding photos, but rooms that aren't *quite* as gorgeous, book with Berkeley City Club. This Julia Morgan-designed building (she of Hearst Castle architect fame) is beautiful with graceful arches and fabulous spots for pictures on the stairway and in the tiny garden on the first floor. Unfortunately your wedding won't be in those places. But it's still a super elegant place to get married. The reception room has pretty architectural windows, but at the same time there's a stage, and it has a little bit of a high school auditorium feel. (Albeit a really pretty high school auditorium). Choices for rooms for the ceremony range from the first floor drawing room (blah) to the second floor library (better, but ideal instead as an intermediate room for drinks after the ceremony) to the terrace room (best; it's small but the roof is covered in ivy filled with lights). Of all the 11 wedding venues I toured and a couple more that I contacted, the Berkeley City Club by far had the best coordinators. There are two there, Jennifer and Crystal, who are always there to take calls and are very friendly. In addition, they actually give tours on the weekend! (Unheard of! Wedding venues could take a lesson from them.) Jennifer led us on a tour on a Saturday and was amazingly friendly and knowledgeable and really, you couldn't ask for more. Catering is in-house, and I have to say the menu sounded a bit musty and uncreative. However, a friend had her wedding her and said the food was great. Most caterers don't charge for tastings, but they charge $25 a person. One major problem with this site is game day parking. If you're getting married in the fall try not to pick a day that coincides with a game day. Unfortunately they fill up fast. Otherwise you'll have to rent out part of a parking garage and pay $15 a head, or offer shuttle service to a hotel like my friend did. This is the only place I found where it's actually cheaper to get married on a Saturday! They charge 5% more for catering services on Sunday. read more

What a cool spot. My friend and I had a stay-cation here. We loved the library area. I can see why many folks host events here because the architecture is amazing. There's a huge pool and a continental breakfast in the morning. Wi-Fi is spotty and the shower takes awhile to warm up. Otherwise, it's a decent place to lay your head for a night, it's not too bad. If you're looking for a luxury suite, this isn't it. The location is close to downtown and the campus. If you use the designated parking spots it's $20. Street parking didn't seem too bad if you arrive after 6pm. Just check the street signs. It might be a cool spot to host an event. read more

We recently hosted our Welcome Reception/Sangeet for a cross-cultural wedding at the Berkeley City Club and can't say enough about the venue, the food, and the people who helped us make it all happen. Victoria was amazing at helping us seamlessly organize everything we needed and wanted. Pricing was transparent and the event went on without a hitch. Everyone here was incredibly friendly, accommodating, and easy to work with. The staff is full of seasoned pros who know how to get an event put together. Then there was the FOOD. We were a bit hesitant to ask a French chef make Indian food for our guests but wow, Chef Marcon delivered. From the tandoori lamp chops to the mango pudding, everything was made from scratch with fresh seasonal ingredients that all tasted incredible. This night was one of 3 big events for our wedding and our guests could not stop raving about the food. Hats off to Chef. Highly recommend this venue for anyone looking to host a wedding or other large event. read more

The Sills/Nisperos wedding is the best wedding I've ever witnessed, in my life, ever *chef's kiss* Love always and forever, Daniel read more

An amazing old hotel on a side street near Cal. The upkeep of the hotel is meticulous. Beautifully designed rooms that emphasize elegance and simplicity. Note: They have wifi now, but thankfully still no tv's in the rooms! read more

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Beautiful. Enchanting. Elegant. Historic. Lovely. If in the future I get married, this could be a possible venue. fyi. Hehe.. :) I had bought a LivingSocial for this place & I needed to use it before the end of April. So since my cousin was visiting for her spring break, I decided to use it with her. Overnight stay on a Sunday night since they're Fri & Sat nights were all booked up. Found parking on the streets so it's pretty easy. Definitely park on the streets rather than paying to park in their garage. They have two garden areas which is very pretty. The one in the middle smells so sweet especially at night time. The swimming pool area is soo ornate. I really wish that I brought my swimsuit with me so I can dive right in, but unfortunately I forgot. Gorgeous gothic architecture inside the "castle." Our room was adorable! I felt like I was in a dollhouse or something. Very pink & "Monet" I was a bit scared when were trying to sleep at night cause it is a old building & so we left all the lights on. Haha.. The balcony area is just simply gorgeous for pictures. Needless to say, my cousin & I had lots of laughs from taking pictures here. Laughing ourselves & probably by spectators in the hotel "Thinking what the hell are those two crazy girls doing?!" :D read more

This place is so incredibly awesome. If you've ever visited Hearst Castle, staying at this hotel gives you the feel that you're staying in the castle. That is because Julia Morgan was the architect who designed both the Berkeley Club and Hearst Castle. The hotel looks kind of sketchy at night but once you step in, you feel like you are in the 1930s. The rooms are relatively small but you can see the original tiling that was put into place when the club was built. Apparently, this facility was a woman's club back in the day. I love that the lobby area has this small history of the building. The only downside is that a lot of their pamphlets and original documents is opened to the public to take home. I wish the hotel staff would donate this rich collection of papers to the UC Berkeley archive to preserve these awesome documents filled with rich history. My husband and I came here for our honeymoon and we loved swimming in the giant pool. It was relatively empty when we went swimming. The pool looks so similar to the indoor pool at Hearst Castle. The morning breakfast is also delightful. We came here about 3 years ago so things might have changed but it was a really delicious breakfast. The interior of the dinning room is really nicely decorated and has the beautiful Gothic/California style architecture. Remembering my visit here brings a smile to my face. It was absolutely a treat to stay here. read more

We stayed a couple nights at the Berkeley City Club. Very charming hotel. Expect simplicity. There is no TV in the room. NOPE! NADA! I failed to tell the fiancée...OOPSIE!!! Well I thought it would be romantical to spend the nights looking into each others eyes and talking - LOL!!! What I forgot was that a big boxing match was being aired the weekend we were in town, and we didn't have a TV. We called local bars and no one was playing it... Double OOPSIE!!! Nonetheless, the building is beautiful and they offer tours if you would like to tour the grounds and hear a little of the history. What I truly loved about this hotel is that it was quiet. It's nice to get away from the busy lives and just lay in bed and hear nothing. Unfortunately our room was the farthest away from the elevator so the WIFI didn't work. In fact, WIFI was only available on the first floor or (as we found out) get as close to the elevators for spotty service. The club serves continental breakfast which was adequate for us as we ate out most of the time. You can pretty much walk everywhere and we were near downtown to do some interesting people watching. There is a restaurant onsite, but check the hours. We wanted to eat dinner at this place, but it was closed one of the nights we were staying here. Pricy to stay in, but worth the beauty and quietness! read more

This is by far one of my favorite places to stay when I'm in the Bay Area. The architecture (designed by Julia Morgan!), the rooms (each with seemingly unique furniture and bedding), the view (ooooh, the view!) - all of it is fantastic, and for an affordable price. So far I've been lucky enough to find Groupon and Living Social deals (but even at full price, I would stay here), and the employees have been generous in letting me expand the discounted room rate over multiple nights and multiple rooms. The first time the boyfriend and I stayed here, we got a corner room, which came with views of the Berkeley hillside and a claw-footed tub. This time around, our tiled walk-in shower was " boring" by comparison (although it came with the same overhead rain-style shower head), but the clear views of Berkeley, the Bay, and the San Francisco skyline more than made up for that. A friend and I happened to be in our rooms to freshen up around the time of sunset one evening, and the views were simply stunning. When you arrive, allow yourself a good 30 minutes to wander around the first couple of floors, soaking in the architectural details. The employees are proud of the building's history and are happy to tell you more about its history. The hotel has hotspots for wifi and tables of magazines for perusing near each floor's elevators and books in each room, apparently left behind from previous visitors for future residents to discover. You won't even notice that your room has no television (which would ruin the ambience anyway). The building is a few short blocks from the nearest BART station and neighbors UC Berkeley. Be aware that the full-size beds (they also have queen-size and those are fine) are on the small-end of full, at least we thought so, despite being used to a full-size bed of our own. Either way, the mattresses are like pillows of heaven and have inspired me to upgrade my mattress at home. The free breakfast is expansive and includes items like eggs, bacon, sausage, fruit, granola, yogurt, baked goods, coffee, fruit juice and tea. They also serve coffee and tea all day on the first floor. There are so many more good things I could say about this place, but I have to stop somewhere. This is a wonderful hotel and a must-stay if you're in the Bay Area. read more

Berkeley City Club - Sunset from room 607 - Venues & Event Spaces Near Me - Berkeley, California

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Went on a FREE architectural tour of Julia Morgan's Mediterranean/Gothic "Little Castle" on Sun 1/22 at 1pm. It's walking distance from Downtown Berkeley Bart which is Great. I didn't know she built this! It's City of Berkeley Landmark #2,1975; Calif. State Landmark #908, 1977; National Register of Historic Places, 1977. She's the same architect that designed Hearst Castle, this, Phoebe Hearst Memorial Gymnasium at UC Berkeley, the bell tower, library, social center & conference center at Mills College in Oakland, etc. Tours are only for the first 2 public floors, others are for guests. We saw the Drawing Room, Theatre, Dining Room, two outdoor courts, & viewing platform of the beautiful Indoor Pool!! There were guests swimming, that's cool. Now it's a bed & breakfast hotel, & rooms can be rented for weddings & conferences. Worth a visit. Pictures allowed. Tours are the 4th Sundays of the Month FREE, donations $5 if you want. read more

We couldn't be more grateful to the Berkeley City Club team for providing us such a beautiful venue for our ceremony and reception and helping us bring our wedding vision to life! When we first saw the venue, we immediately fell in love. The architecture and classic, romantic atmosphere matched perfectly with our vision. Victoria was incredible to work with and so flexible; ensuring every detail was exactly what we wanted and how we wanted it. The team the day of from catering, to hospitality, executed flawlessly. This venue and the team are the very best and we will be back often to visit and will be reliving our special day over and over for years to come! read more

Berkeley City Club - Venues & Event Spaces Near Me - Berkeley, California

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We got married at BCC in August 2011, after an 18 month engagement. We chose this venue after dropping the idea of doing it at the Brazilian Room in Tilden Park due to lack of any coordination at that venue being available, and concerns about out of town guests being able to even find it. I first found out about BCC because I attended a charity event there years ago, but I was reminded of it as a wedding venue on herecomestheguide. I love that the BCC is also a B&B- many of our out of town friends and family booked rooms there and loved their stay. We were able to get them a discounted room rate because of the wedding, and the front desk manager gave us the bridal suite for a night for free (I used it the night before the wedding since I was starting makeup and hair early for our 1 pm ceremony and we took pictures beforehand). First of all, as a Julia Morgan building, the architecture is outstanding. This is the number one reason why we chose BCC. We were able to get tons of amazing photos which we love, and our guests kept telling us how much they loved the venue. Second of all, having an on-site event coordinator was a huge relief for me since I did not want to hire a wedding planner. I also really liked that they handled everything from the food to the set up to the cleanup and everything in between. I also was able to get a discount on the room rental rates because as a Cal Alumna, I am an honorary member at BCC. NOTE: Other reviewers have mentioned that it can be hard to get hold of Crystal and her staff. I regretfully must partially agree, and this was the only thing I would wish to improve about dealing with BCC. In general, Crystal was pretty responsive to emails, but I found that if I needed to get a response from her right away, calling her was by far more effective than email, and there were times where I called her to follow up on emails I hadn't heard back from her about. Overall, having worked in customer service, I understand that they get backlogged, especially during peak wedding season, so I wasn't especially upset about it. In addition, I started talking to her about my wedding plans pretty much immediately after we were engaged so I did a lot of long-range planning with her and never really felt like I was rushed to meet any kind of deadline. If you're planning your wedding on a short time frame or you are a person who tends to leave things till the last minute and then needs an immediate response, this will definitely be an issue for you. If you are able to plan things well in advance and give people days or even weeks to respond, then it may not be a concern for you. Other than the communications issue, Crystal was a pleasure to work with. She was very receptive to all the details I wanted to include, including placing paper fortune tellers on the tables, bringing in customized M&Ms and Jones Soda, which our guests LOVED, and hanging reflective bead curtains behind the sweetheart table. When I brought her three or four boxes of things at the rehearsal that I wanted to use for the ceremony and reception, she took them gracefully, made a few notes on post-its that she stuck to certain items, and because I had discussed all of these elements with her already, knew exactly what needed to happen with them. Crystal was wonderful to have at the rehearsal- she told us exactly how they usually had the bridal party enter the ceremony room, and really helped make everything run incredibly smoothly the day of the wedding. The only minor hitch was that when it was cake-cutting time, they didn't bring out a knife right away so we had to wait for a few minutes, but that was no big deal. The food was great and all the guests said they loved it. (I barely had a chance to try anything at the reception because I was so busy talking to people! Make sure someone makes you a plate so you get to eat your food!) I wish we'd been able to take home the leftovers but I knew in advance that we wouldn't be able to (it's in the contract) so I am glad that at least the leftovers were donated. Overall, we have no regrets about using BCC for our wedding. We had a beautiful wedding at a price we could afford. Everything went incredibly smoothly and we and our guests had a wonderful time. The staff all worked to make everything go perfectly. read more

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My family and I had such a lovely experience with the Berkeley City Club. I decided to go through with a small wedding this August despite all the limitations of Covid-19. The BCC events coordinator, Heather, really pulled out all the stops to make it a special day for us out on their terrace. Delicious food and drinks were served in a safe and thoughtful way. My guests were able to sit outside with the right amount of distance between us but an atmosphere that brought us together. We even got to dance! Thanks to BCC for making it happen. read more

My wife and I were in Berkeley for my son's 19th Birthday. We pre-planned this weekend weeks ago when we bought a Groupon cert.. It's not the building that makes a great business but the stunning interior architecture makes for a good start. The hotel/club is a city/state/national landmark designed by Julia Morgan who designed Hearst Castle. We were assigned room 601, the Groupon room best we can tell. It was right next to the elevator and did not offer the sweeping Bay views other rooms offered. They had ear plugs on the bedside tables which I thought were there for the elevator. That was not why I needed them. Music from the next street over was loud until after midnight and then there were college girls yelling down on the street below well into the night. Thank goodness for the earplugs. Our room was nice, high ceiling, huge closet, the bed was very comfortable though only a queen. The bathroom was large and functional and sported a balcony. No TV but wireless was free. The hotel has a quiet policy from 11:00 pm to 9:00 am and the guests adhered to this to a fault. It was nice to stay in a hotel with other civilized people. The Continental breakfast was served in a grand, well appointed dining room. Scrambled eggs are not my thing but these were special as were the potatoes. Great coffee, high quality juices, bread and bagels, Greek yogurt and muffins were offered as well. The other guests dining with us were exceptionally friendly. Breakfast overall was a treat. I would stay there again if I could have a top floor bay view room. read more

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I attended a beautiful wedding at the Berkeley City Club and would highly recommend the venue for future weddings. Beautiful portraits can be taken on the stairs indoors and outdoors, in the courtyards, and I also imagine but have not yet seen, by the pool. Gorgeous Julia Morgan architecture and Gothic Romanesque touches. Swank and classy, photographs well, and the ballroom has a stage for a live band! The only bad part was that we had to turn the music off at 11PM. read more

Berkeley City Club - Love the quatrefoils. - Venues & Event Spaces Near Me - Berkeley, California

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As mentioned in most reviews, The Berkeley City Club is an impressive example of Julia Morgan's work. This might only matter to you if you know her buildings dotted all over the East Bay. The lobby, indoor swimming pool and lounge areas were impressive when I arrived on a rainy day. The elevator is funky. And then you step out into a barren, awkward foyer/hallway onto the guest floors. My room was small with a huge closet and tiny, updated bathroom. The bed and bedding were very comfortable and it was easy to sleep. My complaint is with the heating and lack of electrical outlets. There was a small floor heater that could only be plugged in the bathroom and aimed into the room. Because the space is small, my room was warm and cozy within a few hours. There is a lack of electrical outlets; the one available outlet in my room was in the bathroom, opposite the mirror. Also, the only lighting in the bathroom is over-head and a dim 40 watt bulb at that. The complimentary breakfast was in a cold large hall with lots of south facing windows. Plenty of food: bagels, juice, coffee. One industrial-looking toaster that all the guests fought over, plugged onto a snarl of extension cords. Again to reach an electrical outlet far away. I grew up in Berkeley/Oakland. It's difficult to find a luxurious, or even comfortable, hotel in the Eastbay. If a warm comfortable relaxing room to come back to at the end of your travels, is what you seek, I wouldn't recommend The Berkeley City Club. But given your choices, it's not awful. read more

This review is long overdue as we held our beautiful wedding reception here on October 12th, 2013. The City Club was just stunning and perfect to say the least. The event turned out better than we ever expected. The City Club was perfect for my old fashioned wedding theme. We had cocktail hour in the library with a live piano player entertaining our guests as they sipped on cocktails. The beautiful outside Terrace under the moonlight, had the bar set up and had beautiful twinkling lights and lit candles everywhere. Our guests were free to move in and out as they pleased. The reception was held in the Ballroom which was large enough to comfortably accommodate our 175 guests and a dance floor. We had our guests served their dinner and my beautiful wedding cake on display on top of the stage in the front. Working with Sandy, the event coordinator at the BCC, made the entire planning process perfect and easy. She was professional, responded to our countless emails immediately and was extremely organized. Sandy even approved my request to decorate my entire wedding myself the night before. On the night of my reception, she coordinated wonderfully with her staff to make sure evrything was excuted to perfection as we had discussed. We were also impressed by the other staff members at the Womens City Club. The food served at dinner was excellent. The serving staff was very professional and worked quickly to fill champagne glasses and to clear the room after dinner was over. This was a beautiful, classic, old fashioned night for my husband and I, and our 175 guests. It was truly a romantic night. read more

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This review is long overdue as we held our wedding reception here in May 2014. We are extremely happy that we choose to have our wedding reception at the Berkeley City Club (BCC). The venue was just stunning and the event turned out better than we ever expected. We loved that almost the entire 2nd floor of the BCC was reserved for our event. We had cocktail hour in the Member's Lounge and the Terrace, with a bar set up in both locations. Our guests were free to move in and out as they pleased. The reception was held in the Ballroom which was large enough to comfortably accommodate our 175 guests and a dance floor. We set up the buffet and another bar in the Venetian Room which worked out perfectly because it was out of the way of the dinner tables. Working with Sandy, the event coordinator at the BCC, made the entire planning process very easy for us. She was very professional and responded to our countless emails almost immediately. She was extremely organized and very detail oriented. On the day of the reception, she coordinated wonderfully with our outside vendors (florist, rentals, DJ, etc.) to make sure the setup was exactly as we had discussed. Not a single detail was left undone! We were also impressed by the other staff members at the BCC. The chef was very accommodating with some of our requests which we really appreciated. The food served at dinner was excellent. The serving staff was very professional and worked quickly to fill champagne glasses and to clear the room after dinner was over. In the end, it was a very memorable night. I would highly recommend this venue to others. read more

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We had our wedding ceremony and reception at the Berkeley City Club this past June. While the wedding was beautiful and we loved spending the day with our friends and family, the 1.5+ year journey leading up to our wedding working with the BCC was less than smooth. The good things first: The venue is stunning. The terrace was the perfect spot for the ceremony (when you cover the side opening with curtains to block views of the parking lot and free clinic) - it allows you to have an outdoor ceremony while still being covered from the sun. The library for cocktail hour is gorgeous. The reception hall was the perfect size for a wedding of 135 with a dance floor in the middle. It was so nice to have separate spaces for each part, but all of them flowed so well into each other and made for easy transitions. There are also so many hidden gardens and spots for pictures around the club. The venue also being a hotel was a HUGE plus. Being able to celebrate all evening and then just take the elevator to your room was perfect for us and our guests. Catering / Bartenders - the food was delicious! The zucchini ravioli was a big hit and the flat iron stake with chimichurri was delicious. Lots of compliments from our guests on the food! The bartenders were also amazing - despite serving the wrong beer, they poured generously and were on top of serving our guests and also making sure that myself and the groom always had a drink when we needed one! And then the bad: Events Management Turnover - in the time since we signed our contract to when we had our wedding we went through 5 different events managers. There was also a time when there was no events manager and we were concerned that our wedding might not even take place. None of the events managers kept good notes, we had to repeat information multiple times, things were promised to us that ended up not happening as each person had a different opinion of what was offered. The last management change happened just over 3 weeks out from our wedding - it was incredibly frustrating starting from scratch with a new contact so close to the wedding day. Over promised, under delivered - throughout working with our 5 events managers, one of them told us we could have our choice of colored linens. Our final events manager (the one that came in 3 weeks before the wedding) came in and tried to take that away from us, saying it was something that was not offered. We pushed back since we were so close to the wedding date and they finally agreed to bring in colored linens for us at no extra charge....BUT on our wedding day the colored linens (we had asked for white tablecloths and navy napkins) weren't there. Instead it was their standard off-white / cream linens. While this isn't a HUGE deal, it did change the look of the room and what we had been hoping for. We also picked from their menu all of the alcohol that we would want at the wedding. We confirmed our choices with them the week before the wedding and made bar signage that listed each item. On our wedding day, the BCC changed all the beer types that they served at our wedding (without informing us) so what we had listed for our guests was incorrect. The types of beers weren't even close or comparable to what we had asked (if we ask for an IPA at least switch it out for another IPA). Overall, the wedding was a success and the venue was beautiful. Just beware of the high turnover and attention to detail. You'll need to be on top of your communication with this venue. read more

Stayed here after flying in on no sleep from east coast. Put me in a room right next to a wedding receptions. Couldn't hear myself think. but heard every toast and wedding song the band played. Asked for a room change. they were sold out. The wedding would be over by midnight. dont ever stay here unless you are part of the wedding. No sleep no fun. Super loud and very annoying. read more

We had a wedding with 95 guests at BCC in August 2022. It is an exceptionally beautiful, historic venue - not only the wedding spaces, but the entire building where we and most of our wedding party spent the weekend. Between the garden courtyards, the pool, the top-floor balconies, the member's lounge, etc, there are countless gorgeous locations for photos to range from lush to stately to elegant to sunny. The venue staff live up to the old-world class of the building by providing exceptional services on site: great food at Julia's restaurant, a very complete bar at Morgan's, a well run hotel upstairs. Our wedding weekend felt like a vacation in an old European town center. The venue worked well with all of our vendors, and though there are some restrictions about how the historic spaces can be used, we were able to make everything work. I would highly recommend the Berkeley City Club for anyone who wants a wedding venue that feels totally unique, yet still classic, elegant, and historic. Your planner and photographer will love working with BCC. Berkeley is also a wonderful place to spend a wedding weekend: great weather, lots of great restaurants and cafes, lovely hikes nearby in the east bay hills, and close to major airports. A few pieces of advice for those considering a wedding here: - BCC has done a great job with certain accessibility retrofits, but ultimately it is still an old building. One member of our wedding party was in a wheelchair and found certain parts of the building difficult to navigate. - The complimentary tasting is limited to 2 first course and 3 entree selections. We arranged to pay extra to be able to try more first courses and entrees. - If you're designing a custom cocktail and want to make sure that it's just right, reach out to the venue to work out the details early. We found that the bar had trouble reproducing our recipe at banquet scale - it was still delicious, but that detail could have been smoothed out earlier in the process. - Lodging at BCC and most nearby hotels is pricey. Make sure your wedding guests will be able to afford it. Try to book a room block at an inexpensive hotel nearby early in the planning process. - Pay attention to UC Berkeley schedules when planning your wedding weekend. Rehearsal dinners and afterparty spots are much easier to book in the summer before the students are around. - Consider Le Bateau Ivre for your rehearsal dinner, Cornerstone for your afterparty, and Cameron Stanford House for your Sunday brunch. We loved them all. read more

Undeniably one of the most gorgeous wedding venues in the bay area. But you've got to look past the elegance and beauty if you want to have a stress free wedding! LEARN FROM OUR MISTAKE - do NOT have your wedding here. We booked the venue for the early September wedding despite some serious neg. tell-tale signs (msg me if you wanna know). Fast forward, we stopped by the venue the other day for a walkthrough, along with our day-of coordinator, only to realize the front fasade is undergoing renovation that lasts 6-8 weeks (Yes, basically it's not coming down before our wedding.). NO ONE had mentioned to us about this at time of booking or even once they know this is going to happen. Instead of being apologetic, the initial attitude was "the scaffolding won't effect your wedding in any way". Interesting. Who are you to tell me and my guests to avert my eyes when the entire front of the hotel is caged up?! BTW, you can also see the cage from the Member Lounge where we will be having the cocktail hour. They claimed that this was part of a grant (as this is a landmark) they applied and received and therefore there is no advance notice. Excuse me - even if there is any slight possibility that remodeling/construction may be happening, you tell people! The other wedding venues we visited always informed us when there is any potential for construction/remodeling. The attitude was just horrendous. We seriously doubt that they would have informed others who are having their weddings in the coming weeks that this is happening. I feel bad for those brides who are gonna arrive SHOCKED. When asked about cancellation policy, they said that everything we paid up to now (deposit and installments) are nonrefundable. Finally the director catering says there *maybe* something she can do w/ the cancellation policy. We will see. I hope what's happening to us doesn't happen to other people! We will likely be pursuing legal actions depending on their response. UPDATE 8/6/2010 from Christina the catering manager re: cancellation policy: "I spoke with our general manager, Nancy Johnson late last night. In regards to the cancellation policy, as it stands the policy states "No part of any payment or deposit is refundable or transferable if the Event is cancelled or postponed." Please see signed contract below. However, I have made a few updates to your Banquet Event Order which will be emailed to you by Crystal. You will find I have gifted the booking fee of $275 and the Members Lounge Room fee of $500, total $775. I know this in no way removes the shock you experienced when visiting yesterday but I do hope it softens the blow. I want to assure you the scaffolding will not affect the room(s) booked for your event. The work being done is on the outside only. Your guests will be enchanted as they step into the magnificent facility you have selected for your wedding. The soaring arches, grand fireplaces, and peaceful courtyards will quickly captivate your family and friends as it did you the day you walked in. It is our goal to create many memorable moments for you and your guests. Crystal (Sales & Catering Manager), Mario (Banquet Manager) and I (Sales & Catering Director) are looking forward to surpassing your expectations. Should you have any questions please feel free to contact me directly. Thank you in advance for your understanding and appreciation for the preservation of Berkeley City Club." Me: NO, IT DOESN'T SOFTEN THE BLOW. Also, Crystal told us that she is on vacation on our wedding date. Wonderful. Time to phone up the attorney. UPDATE 8/26/2010: No progress was made last week and half since Christina was supposedly out of the office due to a family emergency. Then the phone system or server is "down" since Monday where we can't reach Christina but can only leave msg at the front desk with occasional luck of getting her vmail. It's 9 days before our wedding; it has become clear that Christina and Crystal have stopped answering calls or responding to massages we left. Take a look at the pictures I've uploaded with the black scaffolding. Don't let what happened to us happen to you! * Note to Yelp: I would like to be able to give 0 star! read more

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I want to like this place a lot- it is a beautiful facility, but as a hotel it is a little dysfunctional. The truth of the matter is that things like carpets and matresses can only be cleaned so many times before they need to be replaced. This place is 20 years late on that process. Also they really don't treat the place like a hotel: we booked online on a Sunday morning and went over that afternoon. Apparently the admin who receives the online orders never faxed it over to the desk, so whada ya want us desk clerks to do? There is no ownership of the process at all: the desk thought it really unreasonable that we had just dumped the order on the place- expecting it to get done and not making sure that it had made its way through 'the tubes' and into their little hands. I think they really felt I should have called admin to make sure she was going to fax it. Because they did not receive the order the maid left for the day before we arrived, and when we went upstairs to our room we found an unmade bed and dirty sheets. When we went down to tell the desk they looked at us like we were crazy- of course the room had dirty sheets, they sent us up to a room that had been used and then not cleaned that day. Did we expect the sheets to clean themselves on our way up? That was the only room with a queen size bed available. We left right after. So the room was only $140, which is very reasonable in this area. However, the BCC hotel is a little to flophouse for my tastes. It needs to borrow a bunch of money and modernize a bit before I would recommend staying there. Which is a shame. PS watch out for the side of the building that looks like it overlooks a sundayschool playground. That could be a rough sunday morning. read more

Zero stars. Why did my review go from five (glowing) stars to zero? Simple: unauthorized credit card charges and no management answers. Fine. I'll take it up with the bank and post reviews everywhere to let people know. Never again. I don't care how great the architecture is. You fuck with my wallet and it is over. Fin. read more

My wife and I had our wedding at the Berkeley City Club in October 2010. This is a very difficult review for me to write, since I'm grading against a variety of factors, not just the execution of the event and the appearance of the rooms and the taste of the food on the day of the wedding. When it comes to the look and feel of a venue, the Berkeley City Club is certainly among one of the most dynamic sites in the Bay Area. Its everyday decoration and design really lend themselves to a romantic environment, and the rooms are all distinct and graceful. The wedding itself went off without problems, and the staff was very courteous and helpful from the beginning of the event until after the guests left. All the food was well presented and tasted good, and many of the guests commented that they were really impressed that the catering was so accessible, given that we served an all-vegetarian menu. The problems we had were in the planning and communication stages, basically from the point at which we asked for a contract until the day before the wedding. I won't go into all the details since others on Yelp have already covered this territory, but the event management, catering, and sales staff all proved very difficult to work with throughout the process. The biggest problem was that they were extremely non-responsive, especially given there seemed to be three people handling not that many event contracts. We honestly went up to four weeks without getting responses to a number of e-mails and phone calls, the tone of which ranged from hopeful and polite to furious and insistent. Although we were sometimes offered excuses, there's really no explanation for this type of conduct -- it's just not professional. The second big problem was inconsistency in messaging. We had some problems with things like menu selection and food service options, and we were told several conflicting things by several different people without much clarity on what our actual options would be in the end. A low point was asking for revisions to the contract prior to signing, which they refused to make, then having to deal with the possibility that the City Club would breach its own contract due to its initial unwillingness to make changes. To the staff's credit, they made good on some of the key commitments in the end, but it felt like pulling teeth in the process. Last, and most important, was the renovation that started about eight weeks prior to our event. I won't go into depth here about this, since it's covered by others' reviews, but I will say that this turn of events was initially handled terribly, and the staff was not consistent, thorough, coordinated, or transparent about its process or response. We re-negotiated the contract several times and, as a result of a complete failure to follow through on a series of promises, we weren't sure we would even be having a wedding at the City Club until the day before the event. What a nightmare! In the end, the wedding turned out beautifully, and the management and staff made good on several key commitments. However, dealing with the City Club during the six months leading up to the wedding was incredibly stressful and filled with uncertainty and anxiety. Looking back, I'm impressed at how well everything was executed on the day of the actual event, but I don't think I had a moment's peace or confidence in the interim between signing the contract and getting married. I enjoyed my wedding immensely, largely because the Berkeley City Club is such a beautiful space and the details were just right. However, I can't recommend that another couple plan a wedding at the City Club because my experience working with the management staff was just far too stressful and unreliable. read more

Nothing short of spectacular. The chance to stay here was a privilege, and the experience even more so. Ignore all negative reviews; some people don't understand exactly what they've purchased: the chance to stay in one of the most beautiful and architecturally renowned historic hotels in the Bay Area. The experience of staying as in a hotel is completely irrelevant as far as I'm concerned, but it was a great experience nonetheless. The staff was very friendly and accommodating, but not over the top. We stayed in the sixth floor suite room overlooking the city and the bay, and it was probably one of the most beautiful views I've ever had from a hotel room. If you can, seek it out. But the true delight was being in the center of this piece of history and enjoying it as a living museum piece. The hotel is beautiful, the architecture stunning, and while old, it's very clean and well kept. For the chance to actually stay in a part of California and Berkeley's history: priceless. As a place to stay: delightful. Don't pass it up! read more

What a terrible shame that this elegant building does not address the needs of people with disabilities. Yes, it says it is wheelchair accessible but that means only someone in a wheelchair can get into the building and use the elevator to access the upper floors. I was at an event there yesterday. I got into the building. Did not see a sign for where the wheelchair access is and you have to get up some steps to ring the bell to get in. I must have missed the sign. The reception for the event was held in the garden. There are steps there, with no handrails. The ground is uneven, the few seats available are too low for elderly people or for those who arthritis. There was a guest who used a wheelchair who couldn't access the garden at all. This place is not fully wheelchair accessible. I'd love to be a member and I can afford the fees but am excluded by the lack of regard and handrails read more