Claremont Hotel & Spa

Claremont Club & Spa, A Fairmont Hotel is a historic hotel at the foot of Claremont Canyon in the Berkeley Hills. The location provides scenic views of San Francisco Bay. The main hotel building is entirely in Oakland. However, a portion of the property, which includes the spa, the gardens and parking area, falls within the city limits of Berkeley, and the resort's mailing address is Berkeley (41 Tunnel Road, Berkeley CA 94705).The Berkeley Tennis Club leased a portion of the hotel grounds from 1917 to 1945. In 1945, the Club purchased this section of the grounds, and remains located at 1 Tunnel Road, Berkeley next to the Hotel.The Claremont has 279 guest rooms, a 20000sqft spa, 10 tennis courts, and of landscaped gardens. Romantic stories tell that it was once won in a checkers game. The Hotel was nominated and deemed eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places in 2003, but was not listed due to owner objection. It is a designated Oakland City Historical Landmark.The Claremont opened in 1915 as the Claremont Hotel, named for the Claremont district where it is situated. It was constructed by a group of real estate developers that included mining magnate "Borax" Smith. The group was associated with the Key System, and had already opened another large hotel, Key Route Inn, in Oakland at Grand Avenue and Broadway. The Key Route Inn suffered a serious fire in September 1930 and was demolished in April and May 1932.