Luxury Hotels Atlas / Places / United States / Berkeley / Claremont Resort & Club
Claremont Resort & Club
Berkeley, California, United States · Independent · Core Luxury
Charles W. Dickey's Tudor Revival Claremont opened in 1915 on 22 acres of the Berkeley Hills, the pale White Castle on the Hill that a Key System train once ran to from the San Francisco waterfront. Construction started in 1905. It wore a Fairmont badge from 2014 until 3 March 2025, then became Claremont Resort & Club under HEI Hotels. Historic Hotels of America membership and AAA Four Diamond still mark the house.
- 279 rooms
- Opened 1915
- Neighborhood: Berkeley Hills
- Architect: Charles W. Dickey; Julia Morgan
About Claremont Resort & Club
- The spa at Claremont has held a Forbes Four-Star spa rating.
- UC Berkeley's campus is a mile down the hill; the Bay Bridge is about six miles away.
- Bayview Terrace is a recently renovated event space looking toward the Bay.
History
Claremont Resort & Club has anchored the Berkeley Hills since 1915, when it opened as a grand East Bay retreat overlooking the San Francisco Bay. The hotel’s own history materials emphasize that it has spent more than a century welcoming guests for stays, celebrations, and events, and describe it as a Berkeley Hills icon with historic charm and classic architecture. The property’s branding also preserves one of its most recognizable nicknames, “the White Castle on the Hill,” a reference to the pale, castle-like profile that has long made it a landmark in the hills above Berkeley and Oakland.
The resort’s contemporary website places strong emphasis on continuity: it says the hotel “perfectly blends its storied 19th-century heritage with modern luxury,” and notes that the building sits on 22 acres in the Berkeley and Oakland Hills. It also highlights the property’s long-running role as a setting for weddings and social events, along with its Bay views, spa, tennis, and club facilities, underscoring how the Claremont evolved from a historic hotel into a broader resort destination.
The resort’s current positioning also points to recent refinement rather than a reinvention: Bayview Terrace is described as a newly renovated space, and the property promotes an award-winning fitness club and a Spa at Claremont that has been acclaimed as a Forbes 4-Star Spa. While the hotel page does not name the architect or enumerate formal historic designations, it clearly presents the Claremont as one of the East Bay’s defining historic hospitality addresses, with a century-plus of continuity in one of California’s most recognizable hillside settings.
Construction began in 1905 and the resort opened in 1915, originally served by a Key System transbay rail line that brought guests from the San Francisco waterfront directly to the property.
The setting
Nestled on 22 acres at 41 Tunnel Road in the Berkeley Hills, Claremont Resort & Club straddles the Oakland-Berkeley border beneath its instantly recognizable Tudor Revival white castle. Construction began in 1905 and the resort opened in 1915, originally served by a Key System transbay rail line that brought guests from the San Francisco waterfront directly to the property. The Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive is twenty-nine minutes by transit; the Ferry Building forty-five minutes — close enough to San Francisco while offering the seclusion of sweeping Bay views, tennis courts, and a full spa in the temperate East Bay hills, with the intellectual vitality of UC Berkeley at its base. 1 mile from University of California Berkeley campus. 6 miles from Bay Bridge.
Restaurants and bars
- Limewood — Restaurant
Experiences
- The Club wellness and aquatics — Fitness, aquatics, tennis and pickleball at The Club, plus a Kids' Club.
- Wine tasting on the grounds — Wine tasting on the expansive grounds, alongside aquatic activities and tennis, per Forbes Travel Guide.
Amenities
- Spa
- Pool
- Sauna
- Hot tub
- Fitness center
- Kids' club
- Tennis
- Pet-friendly
Awards
- AAA Four Diamond (2026)
- Historic Hotels of America member
Open Claremont Resort & Club in the atlas for live weekend rates, photos, and the full folio.