Good spot to leave luggage in Berkeley?

October 17, 2006 6:45 PM

Is there a good spot to leave luggage in Berkeley for a few hours?

My parents are visiting the Bay Area next week. They'll be sans car. Is there a convenient place in Berkeley that they can get to from the downtown BART stop where they could leave their luggage for a few hours while they walk around? They're interested in the campus and Telegraph Ave. area. They're in their late 60s but in good shape, so some walking is OK. I can't really picture them traipsing into Amoeba with their luggage in tow however.

Thanks.

posted by mpemulis to travel & transportation (4 comments total)

I would assume they could check it at one of the local hotels. There is the Hotel Durant, on Durant a block above Telegraph, which would probably take it; there's also a YMCA just west of Shattuck and Durant where you might be able to check it.

Also, you can check bags at the University Bookstore when you are browsing; there is a large coatcheck area. That's in the big union building, near Sather gate; I bet you could check bags there for awhile as you shop & visit the museum, etc.
posted by luriete at 7:49 PM on October 17, 2006

Second the hotel suggestion but I'd suggest you go high-end, not low-end. Their etiquette is invariably no-questions-asked, and they won't lose your luggage.
posted by randomstriker at 9:33 PM on October 17, 2006

That YMCA strikes me as moderately sketchy. I'd choose other places first.

The Hotel Durant or the University Bookstore sound like good suggestions to me. There's also the Bancroft Hotel, also close to Telegraph & campus, or the Berkeley Art Museum itself (Bancroft just uphill from Telegraph) (they require people to check bags, so your parents would have an excuse, and then they could ask them to hold the bags a little longer).

In almost all these cases, your parents should probably catch a cab to get there. These places are all a 10-20 minute walk uphill from the BART station. I probably would, if I had luggage. If your parents have more than one roller bag apiece, that $6-8 will be completely worth it. Then they can comfortably walk around campus.
posted by salvia at 11:17 PM on October 17, 2006

Great info as always and much appreciated. I'll forward this to them and get online to check out some of these hotels and locations.

Thanks!
posted by mpemulis at 12:54 PM on October 18, 2006