BEAUTIFUL 'URBAN COTTAGE' CONDO IN DOWNTOWN BERKELEY

A beautiful condo in the heart of Berkeley. Very clean. Excellent views. Well stocked for a week or months. Very confortable. An unbelievable collection of tiny treasures throughout the condo. Close to restaurants, the university, grocery stores and public transportation. The neighbours are a delight. There are wonderful residential streets to enjoy just around the corner. It's easy to travel by subway from the SF airport to downtown Berkeley - the condo is just a few blocks away.

This spot feels like a little oasis. The way the space has been decorated and designed (the colors, the way the light hits, the beautiful artistic touches, the ambiance) all contribute to a sense of peacefulness that makes this feel at once like home, and also like something of a retreat. My friend and I absolutely loved the space. It was a unique and beautiful experience, just getting to stay there and enjoy the over-all ambiance of the home. It was well-kept, clean, private and quiet, and very comfortable. It was a great location as well...we were able to walk to great restaurants. Even the European style parking added a little flare to the unique experience.

Figuring out the details was also a cinch...seeing as the owner was accommodating, welcoming and reliable. The whole process (from hammering out the details, to staying in the actual condo) was a relaxing and wonderful experience. I will definitely recommend this space to my friends, and actually would hope the opportunity arose so that I might stay there again!

This was one of the very best vacation rentals in which we have stayed anywhere in the world. The description is accurate (as are the photos) but these do not fully capture what a lovely living space greets the renter. We stayed as a couple for the 1st week of our rental period and we were joined by our grown-up son and his girlfriend for the second week. The configuration of the condo is such that we all had sufficient space, comfort and privacy. The kitchen and bathroom were excellent and very convenient laundry facilities are available in the building. Everything we needed for a comfortable stay was available in the condo. The assigned parking space in the building's parking garage was a huge plus as street parking in Berkeley is difficult.
The location of the condo couldn't be better. It is a very short walk from UC Berkeley campus and from Shattuck Avenue with its numerous restaurants and cafes. It's about 10 minutes walk from the BART station from where regular trains to San Francisco take approximately 30 minutes. This makes the condo an excellent and efficient base to explore SF, Berkeley, the Bay area, Napa and Sonoma (approx 45 minutes drive away). We also drove to Yosemite in less than 3.5 h from the condo and spent an overnight there. A further highlight of our stay at the condo was the opportunity to shop for our food at several outstanding stores - Monterey Market on Hopkins street is within walking range and has an amazing array of high quality produce, the Berkeley Bowl is a short drive away and vies with the Monterey Market in terms of quality and selection, the Pasta House on 4th street is a large and great deli with excellent cheeses, fresh pastas, and a huge array of luxury foods, and the excellent Acme Bread is available from source on San Pablo Ave. For immediate needs the Trader Joe's is within 1 block. As if all that isn't enough, the Saturday morning Berkeley farmer's market takes place about 3 blocks away from the condo.
Finally we have to say that the condo's owners Jim and Mary Fran could not have been more hospitable and welcoming. We really appreciated their efforts to make our stay in Berkeley memorable - this again contributed to a wonderful experience. In summary, we recommend this rental very highly. We had a wonderful 2 weeks there and, if we are ever back in the Bay area, we'd love to rent it again.