We are flying into Oakland to attend our nephew's high school graduation. We need a place to stay for two nights. Does anyone know of a hotel/motel that is in a good neighborhood and is clean and comfortable?

Need the information ASAP.
Thanks,
Grandot

Not knowing your budget or location besides Oakland, it is pretty hard. There are a couple at the airport. there are some at Jack London Square, Hilton and Marriott downtown. Need more specific info.

Don't stay near the airport if you can avoid it!

Oakland is quite large and its neighborhoods are very diverse. Where is the graduation?

Our niece lives in Oakland, but we don't need to be very close to her. In fact her neighborhood isn't as nice as we would like. We plan to go into San Francisco the day after the graduation, but we'll return to Oakland at night. (We expect to take some relatives into SF with us so we will need to return them to Oakland.)
Our budget is flexible. It depends on the value. Is staying downtown a good idea?

We read that staying in Jack London Square tends to be noisy, and we do need to sleep at night.

Hope that is enough information to clarify our needs.

Grandot

Oakland and nice neighborhoods are sort of mutually exclusive concepts. Not totally but close. Where is the graduation?

Jack London Sq may be busy -- but it is also safe and has restaurants you can walk to, which can't be said about a lot of areas.

Or you can check out the Claremont in Berkeley.

Oakland downtown is not the place to stay if you want to sleep. There are night trains that blast their horns in the wee hours as they go through. I've stayed inthe downtown Marriott and didn't get much rest.

Try Alameda hotels. Google "Alameda CA hotels" and you'll come up with a list.

I'd suggest the Hawthorne Suites. It's far away enough from the water and the RR lines (which run parallel to the channel if you look at the map).

Alameda is just across the water from Oakland (very short tube connection), but is much nicer and safer to stay in. The downtown area has some interesting restaurants.

If the high school is located near a BART station, you don't even need to stay in Oakland. If it were mine, I'd avoid staying in Oakland altogether and choose someplace in San Francisco or Berkeley, as Oakland tends to be fairly dicey in comparison.

Regardless, I've heard that staying near the Oakland Airport is definitely not a wise idea, as the area's supposedly not at all good and generally lacks amenities. Note that there's apparently a shuttle that goes to the BART station from the airport -- it's apparently not directly served by BART. And that station will likely either be swamped with sports fans (Oakland's stadia and arenas are all there) or rather desolate, and the immediate area around the stop is also not at all good.

First choice might be the Claremont Hotel in Berkeley (at the Berkeley/Oakland line). It is convenient to a couple of freeways to take you anywhere in Oakland, and it is in a beautiful setting. It's an older, grand-style hotel that sits near the top of a hill and has fabulous views from many of the rooms as well as the dining room. It is in a great walkable neighborhood with shops and restaurants (the Claremont area) and is also within walking distance of the Rockridge area of Oakland. Well-worth it. www.claremontresort.com
Next choice might be Hotel Durant in Berkeley. It is easy to find and right near the Berkeley Rep Theater. Shops and restaurants and the gorgeous University of California campus all within short walking distance. http://www.jdvhotels.com/hotels/sanf...eastbay/durant

I've stayed in the Oakland Marriott (at the downtown convention center) many times for work, and have had no noise issues--it's a high rise and can't remember hearing even a little bit of noise outside. DIt's convenient to BART and the only place I'd recommend downtown. The Hilton Garden Inn, by the Bay Bridge to the north (it's really Emeryville I think), is also pretty good and has very easy access to I-80, if you will be taking the car into SF. There is freeway noise if you are on the freeway side of the Hilton. I have always been told the hotels at Jack London are terrible (our office has a branch in Oakland, so we all go there frequently). I agree Berkeley could also be convenient.

Wow, Christy, you must sleep well!

You don't hear the trains having to blow their top as they go through the city sections of Oakland?


Here are some reviews of the Jack London Inn which is about equidistance from the tracks, except that it's on the other side of the tracks at Jack London Square.

"Amtrak every hour or so on the street right out front."

"Light sleepers beware. In addition to hourly Amtrak trains which run on the Embarcadero,..."

http://travela.priceline.com/jack-lo...s-hotel-guides


At any rate, the best thing to do is to avoid the Oakland hotels. Some of the other suggestions are good: Claremont or even going up to Berkeley.

If you tell us where the graduation is - we can probably give more specific advice. But in general Alameda/Jack London Sq/The Claremont are probably your best options.

Emeryville has good choices like the Hilton Garden Inn. It is just across the Bay Bridge from SF. There are other brands there too but we have always found the best deals at Hilton. You can even get a water view.

easytraveler, I'm actually a light sleeper, I've stayed at the Marriott many times, as have my coworkers, and I've never heard of noise issues. The tracks are on the other side of the Nimitz freeway--I imagine if the train were "right out front" as you describe from the Jack London Inn, it would indeed be annoying.

But, it's probably not the best hotel for the OP anyway.

I should have added I WAS bothered by the highway noise at the Hilton, so I think it's worth paying extra for the bay side room there (yes, they charge extra to not be next to the interstate).