Aiden by Best Western Berkeley

This was such a great lil hotel on the main strip and perfect to get you to your destinations. I appreciate the valet parking and helpful staff. I felt welcomed and safe. I'll definitely be back. Also the bed and pillows are to die for! Super comfy.

This is a fairly new, smallish hotel. The room and beds were comfortable. Cleaning staff, if I remember correctly, cleaned the room every other day, which was fine for us. The room with 2 queen beds is long and narrow, with a useful seating area at one end but not much storage, and a bit of a tight squeeze between the bed and the desk. Bathroom is nice and clean. Our room faced the back of the hotel (away from University Ave.), which made it quiet; other side might be less so. There is no restaurant in the hotel but several nearby, including an excellent Indian restaurant one block down. The optional breakfast-burrito delivery was inexpensive but so-so. If you have time, you'd be better off having breakfast at the bagel place down the block. Front desk staff was professional and helpful, and retrieved our car from the adjoining garage within a few minutes each time was asked. (Parking costs extra.) The UC campus and downtown Berkeley are about a 20 minute walk from the hotel. University Ave. itself is heavily traveled and not all that pleasant, but there are nice quiet neighborhoods to either side of it. Berkeley is an expensive hotel market, but the Aiden is surely one of the best options -- not luxurious, but solid.

Room was very clean and modern. There is parking by valet only. We stayed just one night and felt well cared for and welcomed.

Berk’s hidden gem as far as hotels rate in the bay area: clean, affordable, safe, and a great welcoming staff.