More about Rose Garden Inn
What a beautiful and friendly place
by A TripAdvisor Member
I visited the Rose Garden Inn now for the fourth time and I never had any problems. It is a wonderful and charming little place and offers everything you can expect from a B&B. What it makes so special is the pleasantness of the staff. The are very cooperative and help you wherever they can. Furthermore, the breakfast is gigantic and for free!!! The rooms I stayed in are very cosy. If you are in Berkeley than the Rose Garden Inn is definitely one of the best choices you can make. You won't regret it, for sure.
Lovely time!
by A TripAdvisor Member
This is the second time I've stayed at the Rose Garden Inn. We had a wonderful garden room with a fireplace and it was just what I'd hoped for, quiet and romantic. Breakfast was plentiful and quite nice, even close to the end of the breakfast hour. Regarding a previous visitor's comment about the showers, I LOVED having such a nice hot shower, and I didn't even have to wait for the water to warm up.
Not the B&B experience I was expecting at this price
by A TripAdvisor Member
My wife and I stayed at the Rose Garden Inn for two nights in March. Before booking my reservation I read the review on this web site from a previous guest who said “The room looked like it had been assembled and painted by a three year old”. I thought this was an exaggerated complaint and saw the hotel manager’s response refuting the complaint. So I went ahead and booked 2 nights in a junior suite at a nightly rate of $209. I wish I would have listened to the complaint.
I was told that this was one of their nicer rooms. While quite large, this room is simply not, in my opinion, a $209 per night B&B room (even in the pricey Bay Area). In short, the room just looked kind of shabby (compared to what I was expecting). The furniture had chips and dings making it look a bit junky and the upholstered chair was down right grungy. The carpet had seen better days and had some stains. There were carpet patches along the edge (apparently to repair damage) but they were coming up in places, and really made the room look bad.
A recent review referred to the bathroom being “as sparse as a jail cell” – that’s not an exaggeration, in my opinion. The plastic shower curtain, thin towels and fiberglass bathtub are just not what I expect from a $209 a night room. The shower worked fine and did the job, but I expect more at this rate.
The suite itself is large and has high ceilings. The 2 heating vents were simply not adequate to keep the room temperature comfortable (or maybe the thermostat was not working properly). One of the vents was apparently installed as an afterthought, with a crudely cut hole (with visible pencil marks) in the wall that the vent did not completely cover. I set the thermostat as high as it would go (90 degrees, I think) and the room was still freezing the whole night.
If you are looking for a quaint, romantic bed and breakfast, you may be disappointed. But, if you'd be happy with a Victorian-style motel located convenient to U C Berkeley, then this place may suit your needs. The staff was courteous and the grounds are nice, but my #1 criterion for judging a hotel is the actual room I’m staying in. Everything else is secondary.
After reading several negative reviews about the Rose Garden Inn, I noticed the management responded to each and every one. Perhaps the hotel management thinks it’s easier to refute the complaints one by one, rather than accept the criticisms and improve the place so that it better reflects the overall B&B experience presented on their website.
Web site not accurate, bad beds, closets for rooms
by A TripAdvisor Member
I was looking forward to staying five nights at the Rose Garden Inn, but have now checked out after just one night and have been charged a one night's extra charge for doing so. Please use caution paying in advance for this place as the web site is much better than reality. As this charge may be policy, this Inn's Web site should accurately reflect what it is selling. First of all, the night desk clerk was not helpful or friendly. I struggled with bags up steps into the lobby, down steps into the garden area and then up a narrow, poorly lit stairway to a second floor room. I had upgraded to a fireplaced room. The firplace was there with one cheezy chemical log ready for me. I have been in closets that were bigger than this room. I am not a nut about big rooms, but I could barely get around the bed and the tables and chairs were wedged between the one window that didn't open and the soft bed. The bathroom was as sparse as a jail cell. Most importantly, the Bed Was So Soft, My Back Still Hurts. The place is a bit run down although the grounds are nice. The parking was full and I had to park on the street. The day time staff was friendlier. The Breakfast consists of frozen waffles, stale cereal, styrofoam coffee cups, greasy homefries, scrambled eggs, nice fruit. On a noisy street. Should have given me my money back as I looked at the reviews here before I booked and the management looked reasonable with responses and complaints. I have found that the Managment's response on this site does not accurately reflect the real attitude towards refunds and/or guest complaints. They did show me another room that was part dungeon, part room. The name is the best part of this Inn reflecting good marketing, but not reflective of the manager's attitude towards guests or the overall quality of the place. It is also not that convenient to walk anywhere.
Quaint Loveliness
by A TripAdvisor Member
What a relief to find accomodations that catered to my every need! The gardens and rooms were lovely and restful. My heartfelt thanks to the helpful staff. I will be returning in the future. Thanks again.
Great location for Berkeley
by A TripAdvisor Member
What a great little place to stay when you need to be in Berkeley! Easy access by any mode of transportation. Prices are good, food is great, and the service is the best. They go above and beyond to make you feel at home.
Can't help but wonder what it would have been like to really live in the inn when the origional part was a home!
Stay a night or two and you'll see what I mean!
Lovely old Inn
by TripAdvisor Member ashear
We stayed here in early September and it was lovely. We were upgraded from a garden room to a junior suite. It was quite spacious with a gas fire place, two queen beds and a nice sitting area, a sort of built in couch that someone could have slept on. The breakfast was very nice, eggs, bacon, sausage, toast, pastries, cerial, etc. Its not some brand spanking new glass and steel hotel. Its an old Victorian. We loved it, but if you want it all shiney and new it may not be for you. Everything was clean and quite nice, but not new. Also, beware that if you get there late you may not be able to park in their very small lot and if you park on the street you have to move by 10 am during the week (though by then there is probably a spot in the lot).
Great disappointment
by TripAdvisor Member SeaBum
Spent one night in this Inn and would never return.
The room looked like it had been assembled and painted by a three year old, patched baseboards awful paint and unclean too. We arrived late and found no hot water in the morning to shower. Front desk advised it must have been used up due to other guests.
Strange that the water in the sink was hot....no answer to that one and no adjustment on the room rate.
Add a surley attitude to that and it pretty well sums up my experience.
Did not resemble pics on the website.
by TripAdvisor Member GSJ
This B&B was a disappointment. Does not appear at all similar to pics on the website. Poorly maintained; shabby interior/exterior + linens/furnishings; flooded entry to the building; fay building smelled musty; our room was very small and poorly-decorated. The shower had so much water pressure it hurt and sprayed all over the bathroom. On the flipside, convenient location to visit someone at CAL; basic but full breakfast; friendly staff; small (free) parking lot where we could usually find a stall. Basically okay, but I'm not sure I'd stay there again.
Quiet and lovely
by TripAdvisor Member asitisandasitisnot
Arrived about 1:00am PST from EST city, tired and foggy--desk clerk was friendly and helpful. The public rooms are beautiful! I wanted to skip my conference and sit down in from of the fire and read. Garden room was good size for the Bay Area and the compact fridge a nice addition. Full breakfast included, a great deal, and if you are there for a longer stay and tire of traditonal bacon and scrambled there are plenty of places in walking distance for a latte and scone or pick up something from from Andronicos market a block away. The best: walking distance to Cal even in January the garden court yard was magical.
Photos
Berkeley, Calif., next to M. Twain at Doe Library
Berkeley, Calif., hall way at Doe Library
Picnic
Goat
Forum Posts
One Day parking
by wiamy
Hi! I need one full day parking in Berkeley downtown, where I can find the cheapest garage in the area? I dont want to take BART since I will be leaving late at night
RE: One Day parking
by Agraichen
All depends on where you need to be and where you need to get to. Parking right at BART can be the palace. Also, "leaving late" is relative in Berkeley so BART is always an option unless you mean "late" as in-between 1-5 AM. There are plenty of on-street parking areas that are safe.
Sign in with Facebook
