BERKELEY, CA

 Northern California, East side of San Francisco

Recently Kev and I had the chance to take the weekend to do an overnight at Berkeley’s Graduate hotel. The boutique hotel sits conveniently close to campus (as in RIGHT next to it) and walking distance from downtown’s Telegraph Ave, which has plenty of food and vintage shops to keep you occupied. 

The hotel is a 144-room occupancy making it one of the best places to book in the area, especially if you're visiting someone on campus or plan on seeing a concert at The Greek Theatre. Since we were there on a media stay we were lucky enough to gain parking in their back lot, which if your driving doesn’t offer many spaces. The lobby is a mix of eclectic decor all themed around the celebration of the Berkeley Bears. I especially loved the attention to detail behind the front-desk which houses thousands of National Geographic magazines with the hotel's signature logo. It’s little decor elements like this that make for a fun and engaging environment! The seating area is styled with oversized rattan chairs and communal style desktops, which encourages plenty of gameplay.

We were booked on the hotel’s 6th floor and had great views of downtown all the way to San Francisco, which, thanks to the clear afternoon we were able to see. Now, even with the relatively small room size, it felt cozy enough to not get the feeling of being claustrophobic. The attention to detail continued through the single King room giving us plenty of things to chuckle at, including the bong lamp bases and cheeky Graduate movie poster. Overall, I thought the designers of the hotel did a great job adding nostalgia without it looking tacky or overdone. which is a hard feat to accomplish in themed hotels! The bed's velvet-tufted headboard immediately caught my eye and had me visualizing it in my own space.

Although not initially planned we ended up grabbing a drink and appetizer at The Graduate’s onsite restaurant and bar, Henrys. If I wasn’t already in a design frenzy, Henry’s definitely put me in one. The bar itself reminded me of something that could easily be found in New York, much less downtown Berkeley. A neutral color palette of black, brass, and tan was complimented by pastel walls, leather tufted booths, and round drop-pendants, which were to die for!

We ended up ordering our usual Gin and tonic and were pretty pleased with their gin selection. Even though we had dinner reservations elsewhere we did try their wings, which were uniquely textured and quite delicious! I did peruse their dinner menu and thought it looked well-rounded for an American based fare.

Have you ever been to Berkeley? If so what are you're go-to places to visit?
 

xoxo,

Birdie