The convention hotel? I stayed there for my brother’s wedding in 2009. There’s some good restaurants in the area, and a nice gaming store (“Endgame”). I had no concerns.
If you happen to be in Oakland at the beginning of any month and you like art, it’s well worth checking out the “First Friday” festival which takes place on Telegraph Avenue around 29th Street. (just a few blocks from downtown hotels. Probably cab distance if you’re not familiar with the area, but a short ride.)
It’s held on the first friday of every month, in the late afternoon/ early evening. I’ve seen more good, innovative, even groundbreaking art there than I’ve ever seen all in one place together. It gives me so much hope!
Parking at the Coliseum costs $17, but you might not have a choice. Some people park in the neighborhood surrounding the Coliseum, but I wouldn’t recommend this. I wouldn’t even park in the Coliseum BART lot, as it has no security.
One caveat here: NEVER stay and the Jack London Inn. Aside from its many, many other flaws, it is approximately 10 feet from very active railroad tracks.
Here’s an article about the Jack London Inn that should dissuade you from ever setting foot in the place.
Well, that was depressing. Remind me to take that off my walking tour list.
How about a trip report?
Sorry, Jeff! I missed this, somehow.
At any rate, the hotel was perfectly lovely (a fairly large and comfortable room). We ended up not doing any traveling by public transportation, or really much of anything touristy. We drove to both baseball games (and can I just say what a horrible sports complex the O.co Coliseum is?). Friday afternoon, we went to a macaroni and cheese restaurant called Homeroom in Oakland, which was pretty tasty. We took a drive over the Bay Bridge on Saturday morning, through the city and out over the Golden Gate Bridge, then north and around over another bridge and back into Berkeley to have breakfast on Saturday morning at a restaurant called Picante. We went bowling in Alameda Saturday afternoon before heading to the game. Sunday, we drove home through Monterey and down PCH, which was gorgeous (but made for a long day).
A very successful trip overall, despite the fact that we didn’t take advantage of a lot of the advice in this thread. I’m hoping to possibly get back up that way in October, as I have friends that direction that we didn’t have time to see. Thanks again to everyone who pitched in here!
The original eastern span of the Bay Bridge was closed for good last night. The new span will open on Tuesday. The third bridge you went over was the Richmond - San Rafael bridge.
And, yeah, I know the Coliseum is a pit. It was better before the Raiders made them build Mount Davis in center field - you could see the Oakland hills. Now it’s just a concrete bowl, and it’s been allowed to deteriorate. No one wants to maintain it, since both teams that use it are considered short-timers.
By the way, the next time you’re in Berkeley and want Mexican food, try Tacubaya on Fourth Street. It’s much better than Picante. It’s also more expensive, but not terribly so.
Too bad. I’ve heard there is no there there.
When Gertrude Stein wrote this, she was talking about a house, not the city of Oakland. She had returned to her childhood home and discovered the house was gone.