My only choice when staying in Berkeley. Great location, and the cafe alone is worth the stay. Rooms are comfortable and quiet. Very few hotels in this area but plenty of great, mostly inexpensive restaurants. More

The French Hotel is centrally located in the strip of great restaurants along Shattuck Ave in Berkeley, just across the street from the landmark Alice Waters destination restaurant, Chez Panisse. The hotel is reasonably priced and quite comfortable, with a NYTimes carrying newstand across the street, and a superior cafe with excellent coffee and pastries to start your day. If... More

Good location and friendly staff make up for what else can be only described as a run down old hotel. Thick old carpet needs vacuuming badly and if you suffer from any kind of dust allergies, don't stay here. No AC, so windows need to be opened to noisy outside Shattuck Ave. Downstairs coffees shop makes very good coffee! More

We had stayed at a decent, clean hotel farther from Shattuck, and also at the Durant, but wanted to be more in the middle of the gourmet ghetto, so this is really the only choice. It does remind me a bit of less expensive pensiones in Europe, as one reviewer mentioned. My husband and I are middle aged travelers, in... More

In making our reservation we were promised a "junior suite." This turned out to be one large room with two beds. The room was filthy with torn carpet, dirty box springs, and a chair that was split open and foam hanging out. As it was late and we were not familiar with the area we had no choice but to... More

The location is good. Just near the weekly farmer's market and right in the Gourmet Ghetto. Indeed, Alice Water famed restaurant is almost opposite and the region's best pizza and delicatessen cheese counter is next door! The rooms were overpriced for the facilities. They were adequate though. More

If you're looking for a cheap room in the heart of Berkeley's Gourmet Ghetto, this place can't be beat. Great cafe in the building, Chez Panisse across the street, the Cheese Board a few doors down ... oh, don't get me started. But if you're the sort of traveller for whom the actual hotel experience is key, it might not... More

I ended up here thanks to the guide du routard, rated there as "very chic", what a joke! I found this hotel extremely expensive, in regards to the nicely centered hotel (Union Square Plaza), I've been in SF. The problem is that there is nothing cheap and decent in Berkeley, except the YMCA! More

In my opinion the French Hotel has the best coffee in the East Bay. But it's not everyone's cup of tea, as it were. The place is run-down, not particularly clean or cozy, but it is a very local haunt. The same people have been sitting there for decades, every morning, discussing how to save the world from itself. I... More