BI rooms are very small but clean. Each room is furnished differently and all are strangely eclectic. Parking in the hotel lot or on the street is an adventure due to size of the spaces and fact that meter ticketing starts at 9 am. Interesting note: outdoor hallways have surveillance cams, which you may either find reassuring or odd depending on your urban background. Also the WiFi is variable and requires repeated logins. The manager and his wife are cautious but run a tight ship.
Berkeley Inn is on San Pablo in the heart of the Berkeley urban mix. Lots of Indian stores but also Caribbean, Middle Eastern, and Spanish (as in from Spain). There are shops and restaurants from all over and unusual cuisine available at modest cost. AC Transit runs on both University and San Pablo to Cal campus and Oakland, also BART.

The room was not vaccuummed and when we went to go to bed the sheets were very dirty. I went to the front desk and he said all the sheets were being washed, finally he managed to get me a set but i needed two and he was not very friendly, but finally got me 2 more sheets. The shower was so gross i put a towel inside while i showered and i slept with a tshirt on my pillowcase. The phone and refrigerator did not work, and there was miminal parking. I would never recommend this to anyone.

My friend and I went to Berkeley and after having a lot of fun, decided to stay an extra day. Instead of paying $170 a night where we were staying at a 4 star boutique hotel, we felt that since we would be in the room for three hours as we were leaving extremely early in the morning, it would be smart to stay in a much cheaper place. We pulled into the Berkeley in and went to the front desk. We asked the owner if the area was safe and he replied that "nothing bad has happened here so far". That made us suspicious as I sounds like he knows the area stinks but no one has gotten murdered in the motel yet. We talked to this stoner in the parking lot who said that the place was okay as his friend was staying here for a few days, but also said, "oh yeah the owner is a little weird". When we got in the room, we noticed that it was probably the size of a large walk in closet. There was enough room for a 13 inch TV with stand, a minifridge, microwave, and a table with two mismatched chairs, one of which looked to have a white stain on it, the word is three leters and starts with c and ends with m. The lighting in the room made us feel like we were in an interigation room, and we then noticed the stains on the wall, hair weave strands on the sheets, and the smell of curry coming up through the shower drain. We turned on the TV and noticed that the remote was missing its battery cover, which was replaced with a cut to fit room key. There were no screens on the windows, the deadbolt was removed, and some tweaker put tissue paper in the peephole.

We laid bath towels on the bed to sleep on, and my friend put one of her dresses over the pillow so she wouldn't have to sleep on it, and then wrapped a scarf around her head for extra protection. We slept in what we were wearing all day.

In the morning didn't shower, or brush our teeth, we just bolted in the darkness and rain.

Only plus for the area is it is up the street ( about a mile up a dark street) from the BART station.

Traveler's tip, stay somewhere, anywhere else unless you enjoy doing meth, speed, or heroin, or want a good place to dump a murdered prostitutes body.

This is a good hotel for the price. It's located away from the bustle of Downtown Berkeley but within walking distance (.8 mi) of North Berkeley Bart and thus close to the action. Settled in a fun multiethnic neighborhood, there are fantastic restaurants right outside the door: it's next to a building whose entire lot, including spacious patio, has been converted into a cozy teahouse/cafe. Very relaxing for a late-morning breakfast of scones, tea, and email. There's a good and affordable Pakistani restraunt down the way and a bunch of other, many Indian, food stuff down at the corner at University. Walking through the neighborhood is a joy although I'd be careful at night, as in much of Berkeley.

The hotel itself is really nice: the staff is friendly and helpful. I stayed there for 4 days and on my last night there, I asked the lady working her shift (it seems to be run by a family: yay!) if there was an ice machine on the premises. She said no, but offered to give me some ice from her refrigerator! I was like, no thanks, but she insisted! Super kind of her.

The rooms themselves are somewhat lacking in sound insulation. Don't turn the TV up super loud and don't host a dance party there and you'll be fine. Really though, I do wish they would do something about leakthrough. Each room has heat and A/C, a fridge, and a microwave. Good sunlight (if you open the blackout curtains) streams through in the morning and afternoon. The beds are cozy and have overstuffed pillows. I felt safe while staying there. Overall, a cozy and cheap place to stay in a nice and interesting neighborhood. The bus to Shattuck comes at University Ave every 10 to 20 minutes, so you're also close to downtown without all of the mess, hassle, and expense (not to mention the headache of rowdy college kids) of staying right there. Walk down University for a taste of North Berkeley, including a library branch for your printing needs.

Free wi-fi with code when you check in.