Claremont Club & Spa - A Fairmont Hotel in Berkeley

Review №1

2024-05-28 17:07:35

My recent stay at Claremont Club & Spa - A Fairmont Hotel left me with mixed feelings. Let me start with the positives - the hotel itself is stunning, with excellent amenities like the gym and pools. The cafe also offers a pleasant atmosphere to unwind.However, my excitement dwindled when it came to dining experiences. The restaurant and bar were major letdowns. Despite the prime location, the food was sub-par at best. The $30 charcuterie board was a disappointment with its meager assortment of crackers, old jelly, and oversized slices of ham lacking any presentation or authenticity.Hoping for redemption, we sampled various menu items including shrimp, sliders, and salads, only to find them all lacking in flavor and quality. Service was mediocre at best, indicating a need for management to invest in staff training to uphold the standards expected of a high-class hotel and restaurant.What truly soured our experience was the pervasive negativity among the staff, from check-in to the bartenders, who openly criticized management even in front of guests. The disjointed ordering system, where a simple coffee order became a hassle of being shuttled between the bar and restaurant, added to the frustration.As someone who had eagerly anticipated staying at this location for years, its disheartening to say that the poor dining experience alone would deter me from returning. Its a shame that such a beautiful property is let down by its dining offerings.

Review №2

2024-07-01 19:38:19

This is not a luxury motel. this is why airbnbs are thriving. will never stay here again or recommend it. location is amazing if youre visiting in south berkeley. beautiful exterior. That said: no amenities in the room- coffee, tea, even no complimentary filtered water was supplied. Neither lamp in the room worked- probably due to faulty electrical. it kept flickering on and off. you cannot turn the ac down in the room lower than 65. you can achieve an icy cold room even in the cheapest motels. the ac blew right on the bed. you cannot use the fridge for personal items as it is locked. that, combined with a thick down comforter and no ability to open a window, made us sleep with only a sheet. checked out and paid 50 dollars a day in resort fees (we used no facilities or services) and 30 dollars a day for parking tacked on an additional $250 for a three night stay. 15 dollars for two mediocre cups of coffee downstairs. for people who dont care about being exploited. stay here!!!

Review №3

2024-03-13 14:11:01

I stayed here for a conference and it was fantastic.The building itself is huge and has historic charm. Its gorgeously decorated and includes many photographs from the history of the building on the walls. There were great views from inside and out of the building and its very close to trails .The staff was also great.

Review №4

2024-04-24 00:15:20

I will definitely recommend and try to come back here! I was only here to visit my friend for a short time but it was worth it. Beautiful grounds atop the hillside, expansive activities with the tennis courts and pools, great views! The room was comfy, bed was one of the best hotel beds Ive slept in. Nice and quiet rooms, we had a great view of the city. The room is a little small the one we got, but the view was worth it from two huge windows. Very long hallways so get ready to walk haha. Mostly all of the employees were very hospitable and courteous, and even were super accommodating when the computer system was down when I was leaving. I loved the Le Labo toiletries haha

Review №5

2024-05-20 05:15:24

Claremont Hotel has definitely destroyed my graduation vacation. I and my parents were a guest in the hotel in total of about 10 days and the room quality was horrible. They asked me to change my room in the middle of my stay because of their construction and got me a new room on top of their restaurant grill which constantly smells like burnt pork chops and I am a vegetarian. On top of it, the room had an incredibly loud AC that sounded as if it was gonna blow up any second. Also, when they were transferring stuff from the old to the new room Insured me that my safe was gonna keep being closed until I went there in person, but without me being in the room, they open the safe and put my stuff into lost and found. The worst part of the hotel apologetic behavior they never throughout the whole conversation of these problems with my state apologized ones or tried to amend the wrong things theyve been doing. I asked for a room that didnt smell like burnt barbecue 24 hours a day they told me that the only room availability During the nights of my My day was rooms with a single bed obviously, I couldnt accept that. It is surprising how a Fairmont hotel has a service and stuff that is very unresponsible what the client needs and is further away from finding a solution to the problems that are sourced by them. The team is incredibly disorganized and constantly referring to their colleagues mistakes other than finding a solution after their shift is done the one that comes after it does not know what the previous colleague has told the customer and speaks super differently. I can stress unresponsible over the phone and in person when you get mad about the problems, they act as if its so surprising how you can be mad at them because they are not the person that you talk in the morning, but they cant solve the solution under two hours, so you have to talk with multiple people because their shift basically ends. They ruined my graduation. I cant believe I chose Fairmont, hotels and Berkeley to stay during my move out and graduation process. It has been an incredibly horrible experience. Ive been staying all around the world in Fairmont hotels and Ive never seen bad hotel business service like this one.

Review №6

2024-02-15 03:55:51

We booked the Claremont for our wedding suite and couldnt have been happier. The room was spacious and had a beautiful view of the bay, and the grounds had a 20th-century, luxiorious feel without seeming too outdated. Each member of the staff we coordinated with was very friendly and flexible as well.

Review №7

2024-01-02 06:10:56

We just got back from our one night stay at the Claremont Club & Spa, celebrating the New Year. The experience was horrible. I could not wait getting out of that room to get home. Is it really a 4-star Fairmont Hotel? The price is definitely there but neither the hardware nor the software matches the star rating. The room is small, old, smelly with paint chipped and stains on the couch/chair and on the wall. Its just not inviting at all. The sound insulation was terrible with the noise coming either from the hallway or from upstairs. Spa seemed to be separate from the hotel. One cannot charge it to the room and the service was inconsistent. My husband had a great massage but mine was like chicken scratch. The room service people were the highlight of the stay. They were nice and friendly but our room was missing a bath robe and slippers. The food at the Limewood restaurant was not bad but definitely on the heavy side. The dinner does not come with bread, which did not surprise me nowadays. However, the only bread one can order was the rolls with bone marrow spread. I noticed on the menu that there was one dish coming with sourdough. So I asked our waiter if we could get some sourdough bread. His response was curt: No, you cant. And when I asked for some fresh pepper and salt, our waiter brought out salt and pepper shaker bottles. For a restaurant like this, I consider both behavior unacceptable. Needless to say, we wont come back.

Review №8

2024-06-02 18:58:52

The Claremont Hotel in Berekley is a beautiful historic place with a hard working staff who know how to roll with the punches. We had a difficult situation where our bags were unfortunately placed in the wrong room. Innocent mistake! The night manager Nick and his diligent crew went door to door from midnight to 2:00am to recover our bags! I am very sorry for the guests who were disturbed by these efforts, but I cant give enough appreciation and respect to Nick and his staff for leaning into the problem and recovering our belongings. Its easy to manage when things go correctly. When the going gets tough, a great manager will put themseles in the line of fire and handle their business. My hats off to you, Sir.Thank you Nick!!!!!!

Review №9

2024-04-22 16:43:48

Stopped in just to walk around the grounds & look at the Christmas decorations. The valet staff was friendly. Refreshing water was available in the lobby as well.

Review №10

2024-04-22 14:25:04

First rate hotel in a desirable location an beautiful setting. Dining is a bit pricey but the area has many options if you’re willing to go offsite.