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Hayward · Hotel shortlist

Cheap hotels in the university district, Hayward

Stefan Bauer

Stefan Bauer The American west

Updated 1 September 2026 · 7 Hayward hotels assessed

These are my five favourites in Hayward, out of the 7 that qualified. I read what other travellers scored them before I picked, so the order follows the guests, 3.6 down to 3.2.

Every one comes in under $130 a night, and the one I would book first is $65.

Driftwood Motel

Highest rated of the five

Driftwood Motel

★★★★★3.6 from 95 reviews

Driftwood Motel comes out on top of this list, and not narrowly: 3.6 from 95 guest reviews is a score that holds up at that volume, which is the whole test here. A perfect ten from nine people does not beat it.

It is found under the university district and around $65 a night on the dates we checked.

7 hotels in Hayward qualified for this list and five made it. Sierra Crossing Motel is the one I would book if the first is full.

Why it works for this trip

  • Air conditioningthe one that decides a summer trip
  • Parkinga real consideration if you are driving in

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All five, ranked

  1. Driftwood Motel1

    Driftwood Motel

    ★★★★★3.6 from 95 reviews

    • Parking
    • Air conditioning

    Check rates Read more

  2. Sierra Crossing Motel2

    Sierra Crossing Motel

    ★★★★★3.8 from 281 reviews

    • Parking
    • Kitchen
    • Kid friendly
    • Air conditioning
    • Accessible

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  3. Sun Park Inn & Suites3

    Sun Park Inn & Suites

    ★★★★★3.5 from 198 reviews

    • Parking
    • Kitchen
    • Kid friendly
    • Air conditioning
    • Accessible

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  4. Rodeway Inn San Bernardino - Colton4

    Rodeway Inn San Bernardino - Colton

    ★★★★★3.2 from 170 reviews

    • Parking
    • Kid friendly
    • Air conditioning
    • Accessible

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  5. Starlite Motel5

    Starlite Motel

    ★★★★★3.2 from 91 reviews

    • Parking

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How this list was put together

7 Hayward hotels qualify for this list. We ranked them on guest rating, then on class, and took the top five.

Two things decide these lists. The first is my own time in the city: every hotel on this page is one I have stayed in, walked into and looked at, or gone back to check. That is where the shortlist starts, and it is why some well reviewed places are not on it.

The second is the numbers, and those are what set the order. The rating and review count come from the big travel sites, pooled through Google, so a score here reflects Expedia, Booking, Hotels.com and the rest together rather than any one of them. I also read the review breakdown by topic, which is where the figures on service, breakfast and location come from. Hotels with fewer than forty reviews are left out altogether, because a rating that thin is not a rating. No more than two come from one neighbourhood.

What I do not do is move anyone up the order. The ranking is the guest score, highest first, and nobody pays to be on the list.

Distances are straight lines from published coordinates, so the real walk is a little longer. Amenities are as recorded by Google Hotels and can change without notice. Rates are an indicative nightly figure for a midweek autumn stay, not a quote. Check the booking page before you commit.

Stefan Bauer

Stefan Bauer The American west

Chases total solar eclipses. Seven of them on four continents, from Wyoming to a fishing town in Chile. Banks days off through the on-call rota and books the trips years ahead, because eclipse dates do not move.

Trip Grapevine earns a commission on bookings made through the links on this page. It costs you nothing, and it does not change the order of the list, which is set by the measurements above.