Staying in Sacramento to visit UC Davis (West Sacramento: spring break, renting)

[jessemh431]

So, this spring break I'll be doing a campus tour of UC Davis. We were thinking of staying in Sacramento and just renting a car to drive to Davis for a day. Is this practical?

Also, is the downtown area a safe place to stay? We will either stay at Embassy Suites Riverfront, Hyatt Regency, or Sheraton Grand. Would it be ok for me and my mom to stay there, maybe even walk around a bit? Which hotel is better?

Thank you for any help.

-Jesse

[Beth26]

I think I would go with Embassy Suite Riverfront. That way you can walk to Old Sac. It is safe down there.

I also think staying in Davis would be good. You would get a better idea of what college students would do in Davis. Most students stay around Davis (I went to UC Davis). It is definitely a college town.

[jessemh431]

Cool. Thanks.

Yeah. We couldn't decide which one to do.

[clairerandall]

Davis has fewer hotel options and can be surprisingly pricey (Aggie Inn). The Holiday Inn express in south Davis is probably the best deal.

Hyatt has great food but is ridiculously overpriced and dingy. The Sheraton is also overpriced and has worse food. Neither are in the safest parts of downtown after dark (although are getting better). I agree that the Embassy waterfront is the best.

Renting a car is easy and a good idea, although it can be hard to find parking on or near campus. Park near the Mondavi center if you can--it's easily off the freeway and centrally lcoated to both campus and downtown Davis. There's a visitor center right before the Mondavi center and they can give you a map.

You might also consider walking to the Amtrak station from the hotel and taking the train to Davis one of the days you are there (but don't walk back from the station to your hotel at night--come back while still light or take a cab). It's a nice little trip and then you don't have to worry about parking.

[ElleBebe]

This is ridiculously late, but I'm going to post in case someone else views it later on

I definitely recommend staying in Davis, in downtown. It's close to campus so you can walk or bike, downtown is absolutely lovely and great to wander around in, and you get a real feel for Davis life. The Aggie Inn is one of the most expensive hotels in Davis, but I've stayed there and I really enjoyed it. There's also a Hallmark Inn and and two Best Westerns (one nice one, one budget), and there's a bed and breakfast across the street from campus.

I think right now they are building a hotel right next to the Mondavi Center; I don't know when it will open.

But if you really want to get a feel for Davis, definitely stay in town and eat at the local restaurants and walk around downtown.

[coredneck]

Even though this is moot but for future reference, if you want a cheap place in Sacramento, there is a Hostel at 10th & H Street. When I stayed in Sacramento precious times, I stayed there. They have a parking lot so you don't have to park in the street but it is an extra several dollars per night. TO get to Davis, the easiest way is to get I street, take it across the American River (left fork) and take that road all the way through West Sacramento and get in I-80 by the IKEA Store. You miss a lot of the traffic on the Interstate in downtown.

[ElleBebe]

Originally Posted by ElleBebe

and there's a bed and breakfast across the street from campus.

the bed and breakfast just went out of business. too bad.

[mddong]

I really liked staying in a Hotel right in Davis. Ask for the student discount and tell them you are staying to visit the University. I forgot exactly which hotel but it was reasonable...80 or 90 a night. My wife is applying to the grad school at Davis. if you e-mail me I will get the exact name of the hotel; I remember it is right across from the theatre. I love UC Davis. Went there as an undergrad. Good luck.

Matt

[bfire52]

For me the best part of Davis is the quaint downtown area where all the little stores are and coffee shops. They also have the best ACE hardware store I've ever been to. If you like Chinese food there's this really great Chinese restaurant there whose name I forget but it's on the second floor of a bank building. Davis is also a very safe place to be and I felt save there walking around at 3am. The air is also really clean too unlike most cities today. They also have really good local bus service for a small city.

Davis is great, I wish I could move there, but unless you have a job in the university or own a business jobs are a problem there unless you're willing to travel into Sacramento to work. Somebody should start a new thread about Jobs In Davis, maybe there's something I'm missing about jobs there?

[ElleBebe]

Originally Posted by mddong

I really liked staying in a Hotel right in Davis. Ask for the student discount and tell them you are staying to visit the University. I forgot exactly which hotel but it was reasonable...80 or 90 a night. My wife is applying to the grad school at Davis. if you e-mail me I will get the exact name of the hotel; I remember it is right across from the theatre.

Sounds like the Hallmark Inn. It's across the street from the F street theater in downtown.

Originally Posted by bfire52

If you like Chinese food there's this really great Chinese restaurant there whose name I forget but it's on the second floor of a bank building.

Davis is great, I wish I could move there, but unless you have a job in the university or own a business jobs are a problem there unless you're willing to travel into Sacramento to work. Somebody should start a new thread about Jobs In Davis, maybe there's something I'm missing about jobs there?

The Chinese place is Hunan. I love the atmosphere there; it feels big city with windows that over look the street.

It can be extremely difficult to find a job in and around Davis; there are a larger number of applicants with advanced degrees which makes the competition fierce, and a lot of industries aren't as prominent since there are universities and governmental agencies. Many students leave Davis after college simply because it's so hard to find a job here.