The Faculty Club

If you've ever fantasized about spending the night in a Bernard Maybeck structure here's your chance. The Faculty Club, on the UC Berkeley campus, was designed by the legendary Berkeley architect and is many things to many people. Most notably, it's:* A place to eat and drink;* A venue to rent out for events; and * A place to spend the night.I ate and drank there* but I also spent the night there and that's the reason for my 3-star rating and the focus of this review. The Faculty Club rents out rooms, some with private bath and some with communal bath, all situated along a long hallway up a set of stairs. If you've drank too much below, are in town to visit a student at UCB, or are just hankering to spend the night on campus it's not a bad option. The rooms for rent are functional (not fancy) and clean (but not new). "Utilitarian" is an apt description. A friend and I stayed in a room with 2 beds and its own bathroom and shower at a cost of $215. Rooms with shared baths are (obviously) less and an additional $15.40 will buy you a parking pass valid until 2 p.m. the following day at a nearby, on campus lot. I don't track the cost of lodging in the Bay Area but this rate seemed reasonable, especially considering the inclusion of a continental breakfast for 2 the following morning. Before falling asleep the night of my stay my friend wondered whether the Campanile's toll would wake us. Fear not; it didn't. Instead, 52 beeps from a garbage truck backing up was followed by the crash of glass recyclables being collected, all before sunrise. So, be sure your room is on the west side of the building if you desire a quieter experience. I can't imagine returning for an overnight here but I'd certainly be comfortable recommending it to others. It was fun and serene to step outside in the morning, right onto the beautiful Faculty Glade of the UCB campus. I can well imagine others enjoying the reasonably-priced experience. * Food and drink are reviewed under Faculty Club Kerr Dining Room

Came here for a wedding. Seemed like a decent venue and the food was fine. It's located about a 5 to 10 minute walk from the nearest campus parking structure, so it's a little inconvenient for a hotel.One big problem that I had was that that I was tasked with getting a number of large items to the wedding venue. After much trial and error, I finally found a place to park next to the faculty club, if you don't mind parking in a handicapped spot or double parking while you unload things.Here's how to get to that drop off spot:From Piedmont Avenue, go downhill on Optometry Lane and then turn right into a small parking lot called Cheit Lane. Then turn left down a single lane driveway named Minor Lane and go past the Women's Faculty Club on the right. You'll see the disabled parking and a few reserved spaces on the right.

I came here back in the summer (sorry for the really late review) to have lunch with colleagues. The menu isn't huge when it comes to main dishes and there's not many vegetarian options, but at least they offer Beyond burgers. There's a few different sections in the food area so you can order a burger by walking up to the grill. I got fries, which are waffle / crisscut style, on the side.I paid $11.50 at the time for the food and I did feel it was a pretty filling meal - I had trouble finishing off all of it since I tend to eat smaller than what are standard US portion sizes. I thought the food was pretty good, burger had been cooked fresh in front of me and the fries are also crispy and not too soft.If you're looking for their up-to-date restaurant/food hours, I'd recommend looking at the Faculty Club website; I'm assuming the Yelp hours show it's open 24 hours just because the venue can be booked at other times of day. I've also been here once for a retirement gathering and they do have outdoor patio space. However, there are multiple entrances to the building so you might have to walk around it a bit to find the right opening if not all doors are unlocked. Google Maps wasn't that great for navigating here either.

2.5 stars rounded down to 2. I stayed here while interviewing for a PhD program at UC Berkeley. As a hotel, it gets the job done but be warned that the rooms are quite old! I stayed in a single queen bed room and the bathroom desperately needs to be upgraded...the little cubby in the shower to put your soaps and things was so rusted and dirty that I did not dare put my toiletries there. Basically everything else in the room screamed "old," which I guess fits Berkeley since it's also hella old as an institution. I never felt like I fully had privacy because the some of the blinds covering the windows in the room were broken and had holes in them (I attempted to covered some of the holes with extra towels lol). Also I'm not sure if it was just my floor, but all the rooms in my area seemed to be accessible only by stairs for any ADA folks out there considering staying here.The good things about this hotel was the service of the staff and its convenient location on campus. It's definitely fine for a couple of nights, especially if you have business on the UC Berkeley campus! Otherwise, skip this place because you are not missing out on much

I always like to stay here at the Berkeley Faculty Club when I'm in the Bay Area: beautiful Bernard Maybeck building situated along Strawberry Creek in picturesque Faculty Glade steps from the Campanile. While average rooms in the Bay Area start at $300 per night, the Faculty Club offers beautiful spacious suites (including a refrigerator) in a gorgeous historic Northern California Craftsman building for $200 per night inclusive. I appreciate building a scenic walk into both ends my day. I'm typically gone long before continental breakfast starts at 7a but that's a lovely plus for those who partake.

Great Wedding Venue!My husband and I got married at The Faculty Club this past January and it was such a wonderful experience! We highly recommend TFC and their team. First of all, the space is beautiful, so unique, full of character, historic and versatile with both outdoor and indoor event spaces. There are also gorgeous sites for bridal party photos walking distance in all directions. We got photos outside, but had an indoor ceremony in front of the massive fireplace.Secondly, the site coordinator Erica, was amazing. She was so knowledgeable and easy to work with. She was so helpful and accommodating.Thirdly, TFC is modestly priced. So many wedding venues in the Bay Area are wildly expensive, especially indoor venues. The Faculty Club is modestly priced with a variety of rooms, but I recommend The Great Hall - it's really spectacular but you have to get uplights or string lights or else it's really dark in there at night. Also, their space comes with table, chairs, tablecloths, cloth napkins and all dishes/silverware and drinkware so you don't have to rent anything if you don't want to. We rented fancy chairs and gold chargers but that was it. (All our decoration money went to candles and table greenery as you'll see in the pictures,)They have in house catering that you're required to use, We did their least expensive menu option which was only $55 a person and included hors d'oeuvres, salad and a plated entree. There is a catering minimum you have to meet, but if you get married off season (like we did in winter) you only have to meet half of the minimum.I didn't stay in one of the hotel rooms, but I got ready in one and took pictures - they were pretty stunning. Book room 222 if you can. Pictures by Nicole Blumberg Photography.

I woke up this morning and remembered, "Yay! Free lunch meeting today at The Faculty Club!" I put on my school colors, blue shirt w/yellow tie. The Faculty Club has a new "seasonal menu" and my colleagues and I were looking forward to a great meal.Morning email, "Sorry, we need to reschedule out meeting today..." What? "Bump it!" I said to myself. "We're going there anyway!"Jane and Andy (Andrea) pal'ed with me for lunch and we had a great walk up the Memorial Glade to The Faculty Club. I thought, "How lucky we are to work at such a beautiful place?" as we entered the Julia Morgan designed Faculty Club.Paul, the ever present and friendly server, set us up in on a round table top for three in the Bar with Diet Cokes. To hear Paul describe each entree, the club could be serving stale bread and water, and you'd order it! He suggested the Lemon Thyme Chicken Breast, served with roasted beet risotto, sautéed Swiss chard and au jus. Andy and Jane both threw in for the chicken.I joking complained that the Hot Pastrami Sandwich with Waffle Fries has been replaced by a Tandoori Chicken Roll made with sliced sweet onions, tomatoes rolled in naan bread and served with mint chutney. It sounded of course, delish, but craving bacon, I asked for the new and improved Traditional, the triple-decker sandwich with roasted turkey, apple-smoked bacon, lettuce, and tomato on sourdough bread. Waffle fries? Hummm... Country Potato Salad, please.OMG! the Lemon Thyme Chix looked like it jumped from the pages of Bon Appetit. I had to take a double look! The onions were delicately fried, sitting on top of "beet red" beet risotto, and the chicken airline breast was well seasoned with Thyme. I'm not a fan of Swiss chard, but it looked just like Bok Choy!My House Club was quartered and presented with them little bamboo skewers. Each bite was so good with a surprise, avocado! I alternated bites with a Kosher pickle and the mustard potato salad.As we enjoyed our coffee, Paul asked how we like the meal. Of course, I had to share my dissapointment that the Lobster Risotto that my DC home girl and Cal graduate, Helen V. we both loved, is no longer on the menu.Paul offered, "I'm sure it will be back as a special." Booyah! I was so pleased, I put the lunch on my account!As we walked back to the office, I remembered, "Yay! Free lunch meeting tomorrow at The Women's Faculty Club!" More Yelps on the way!

We had a wedding here in Aug 2019 and it was perfect! The venue was more beautiful than I thought and the coordinators were great! We mostly worked with Erica and Gina and they were on top of everything!The inside of the great hall was a bit dark so we added some lighting from a preferred vendor (love in the mix), we also rented chairs and chargers from Stuart event rental who work with them regularly and they worked out great!

My second stay here, both times for workshops at the journalism school. Will likely be my last. Place is rustic and quaint, which is great, and rooms are comfortable enough if fairly rundown. But the overall sense of hospitality as one would expect at major university faculty club is lacking. This was most clear this morning at breakfast. It takes a lot for me to complain about a meal, but charred black toast and eggs over that were burned on the outside and runny on the inside (turn the griddle temp down!) were enough. I mentioned my concerns to the waiter and his response was that that was the way they served them and "everyone loves them." Seriously. To his credit he did not charge me. I really liked my first stay but doubt there will be another. Pity.

Talk about a hidden gem for breakfast!!I like big portions. I like good service. I also like eating on a budget.All three of these things came together in one magical breakfast experience in the Kerr Dining Room at the Faculty Club. The menu has a variety of items, ALL for under $10 per plate. The best deal is definitely the T.F.C. Sunrise, which my friend Sarah S. ordered. It comes with 2 pancakes, eggs, a breakfast meat of your choice, home fries, toast, AND if all of that wasn't enough to entice you, juice. ALL FOR $7.50. They even had grapefruit juice as an option.They also offer omelettes with a choice of 3 fillings - I ordered one with smoked salmon, onions, and cheese. The smoked salmon was a tad bit fishy but the sauteed onions helped to mask it. I wish I'd ordered the T.F.C. Sunrise or The Golden Bear instead. The food comes out on a magnificently large white plate and you can delicately wipe your mouth on a cloth napkin while sitting in what feels like a log cabin/mansion. Aaaaaaaand basically the entire dining experience kind of takes you away from the clutter of campus life.I definitely plan on coming back!