Berkeley Lab Guest House

We stayed at the Lab Guest House in May for my daughter’s UC Berkeley graduation. I reserved our rooms in July 2014, and spoke with the hotel staff often in the months before.
Despite this advance planning we encountered a range of problems during our stay. Our attempts to resolve them with the staff and Manager Jennifer Zerfas were mostly unsuccessful. Our discussions with Ms. Zerfas were consistently unpleasant. We were left feeling very unwelcome.
Since the Guest House is on the premises of the Lawrence Berkeley Lab it is apparently governed by many and various security regulations. Unfortunately these are not outlined in the «Policies» section of the Guest House website, and are poorly understood and communicated by the hotel staff. How are guests expected to know what these requirements are at any given moment?
We don’t live in the Bay area, and had guests from Europe and the east coast as well as relatives from California and some of my daughter’s fellow students joining us for six days of graduation events. We were informed on the day before graduation that the celebrations we had planned in collaboration with the guest house staff over the course of months were off. As I was attempting to re-​book our get-​togethers I was also treated to a telephone call from Ms. Zerfas, who called not to assist or apologize but rather to accuse me of being ‘disrespectful’ for daring to question how everything we had planned had fallen apart.
I’ve stayed at hotels, guesthouses and b&bs of all levels throughout the world and never encountered a manager who would chase down guests in their establishment simply to berate them.
But a subsequent encounter with Ms. Zerfas confirmed that this was her style. We returned from a full day of sightseeing at 4:15, and hoped to rest for a few minutes before heading back out again. Our room was not made up, the second day it had been left until very late in the afternoon. On a third day the room had been made up but we had no towels or toiletries.
Ms Zerfas was unsympathetic, and said that I would have to «meet with the Housekeeping Supervisor» on Thursday. A hotel manager with no responsibility for the housekeeping staff? And obviously the problem we had at that moment was unaddressed.
Fortunately Ms. Zerfas soon left for the day and another staffer kindly intervened. He simply contacted the cleaners and set them to work on our room. He then asked, «What time would you like to have your room cleaned tomorrow?» By the time we came back on Thursday afternoon the room was clean.
This intelligent, professional resolution of a small problem was what we would expect at any level in the hospitality industry. Instead we encountered hostility and rudeness.
At one point Ms. Zerfas noted, «We’re not hosting parents for graduation next year!» If this was typical of what ‘hosting’ means at the Guest House then that’s a good idea. I would hate for any other family to repeat the experiences we had. It’s a beautiful facility overlooking a gorgeous campus, but I can’t recommend a stay there.

Spartan accommodations, but you can’t beat the location, the view, and the value. Although I would rather stay at the Claremont, I’ll happily pay one-​third of what the Claremont charges for its cheapest room and stay here instead. Lots of wild turkeys, deer, raccoons — and even the occasional mountain lion — wandering around the grounds. Parking is easy, rooms are mausoleum quiet, and staff is great. If you qualify to stay here, just do it!

This is not a luxury hotel. It is a beautiful, modern, minimalist, energy efficient, ecologically designed guest house for people on official business with the University or the National Lab. It has a killer view of the Bay and the San Francisco skyline and Golden Gate Bridge as well as a birdseye look down over the Berkeley campus. Just hope there is no fog!
The staff is friendly and helpful in every way. You need a guest pass to get up here, sponsored by a campus or lab host, but it is accessible with a car or the lab shuttle bus. I have been here a few times and I would be happy to stay here again if the opportunity presents.

I thoroughly enjoyed staying at the Berkeley Lab Guest House. Super views, clean and comfy rooms, and a great staff made our trip to Berkeley special. Even though the guest house is located up the hill in the science campus, it is well worth the extra drive. We can’t wait to go back!

Nice accommodations, along with amazing views of the Berkeley/​Albany areas. On clear days, you can see all the way to San Francisco!

GREAT place to stay with amazing views and a very friendly staff. The rooms are nice, VERY clean. The suites come with everything, you don’t need to leave your room. Mini fridge, microwave, toaster, coffee pot, 2 range burner, dishes, glasses etc! And with a room with a view, you DON“T want to leave!

Great place to stay in Berkeley! Amazing views, sparkling clean, modern, attractive, nice staff, free parking, free internet, free shuttle, free coffee, convenient, reasonably priced — we would definitely stay here again!