This hotel was visited by Tom, his friend Mort Blaisdell, and Tom’s date, Barbara Price, in September of 1944, while on leave from their pilot training.
From Wikipedia:
Claremont Club & Spa, A Fairmont Hotel is a historic hotel situated at the foot of Claremont Canyon in the Berkeley Hills and located in the Claremont districtwhich straddles the city limits of Berkeley and Oakland. At its elevation (400 feet), 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,[1][2][3] and the resort’s mailing address is Berkeley (41 Tunnel Road, Berkeley CA 94705).[4]
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.[5]
The Claremont has 279 guest rooms, a 20,000-square-foot (1,900 m2) spa, 10 tennis courts, and 22 acres (8.9 ha) 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.[6] It is a designated Oakland City Historical Landmark.[7]