Dunsmuir Historic Estate

Always thought Christmas tea celebration would make a wonderful holiday memory. Parking was $ 15 and up the hill. To get to the tea, one had to walk down the hill sharing the winding road with cars. There was free parking on the street, as close or closer.
There were two of us. The treats on our table were lovely and delicious. We were given one pot of tea. When we asked for a second, we received ½. When we asked for more, we were offered tap water. There was no more tea. We bought the tickets months ago and paid $ 45 each. I cannot recommend this event.

This is for the Easter Egg Hunt:
I went there yesterday and was disappointed. The egg hunt itself for the 7 – 10 year olds was too much chaos and I think they ran out of eggs. My child being 7 was the youngest in the age group and he was as fast as the older kids. Needless to say, he did not get an egg and instead along with the younger kids in the group– picked candy up from the grass. I felt bad for my child and traded 5 pieces of candy for an egg from an older child. In the end, I threw away the candy my child picked up off the grass as it was not sanitary AND it contained PEANUTS. It was the peanut taffy candy– abba zabba, I think it’s called. Never going back for Easter Egg hunt that’s for sure.

This review is for the 2015 egg hunt event we just went. The site itself is very beautiful. But the egg hunt event is disappointing.
Pros:
1. many crafts and activities
2. bunny dancing is super fun
3. it includes a simplified tour of the house
Cons:
1. crazy lines everywhere. We waited 30 mins to get into the estate, 30 mins for toddler egg hunt, at least 20 mins for facial painting, long lines to take pictures with bunny
2. there is only one round of egg hunt for 4 – 6 age group or 7 – 8. If you miss that round, you won’t get any eggs. There are 200 – 300 kids hunting for eggs at the same time. very scary!
3. volunteers/​staffs are not well trained. They don’t interact with kids at all. They don’t have the ability address issues appropriately or professionally, lacking experience of dealing with kids or parents.
Suggestions:
1. they should have more rounds for 4 – 6 or 7 – 8 age group. It can greatly spread out people and reduce the lines instead have 500+ people all coming at the same time before 1pm.
2. they should train the volunteers how to treat kids and parents with love and smile on their face.
3. if the amount of eggs is a concern, they should ask each family to bring a bag of eggs to contribute to the supply. There are many disappointed kids who are not able to get any eggs.
4. Compared to the egg hunt event hosted at UC Berkeley, this one is much worse, lacking of appropriate organizaiton.

I came here last year for a easter egg hunt. they had lots of activities for the kids and age appropriate hunts. I will definitely come back. Gorgeous grounds and we’ll cleaned

Went for Easter event 2013. «Staff» were teenagers but super nice. Toddler egg hunt line was painfully long and slow. My observation of the hunt was too many parents freaking out their kids would get anything so they grab the treats or yell at their kids pick it up as they point it out. The grass is cleaned out in 2 min and not worth it for us. We waited 30 min and left the line. I projected another 45 min wait.
Easter Bunny was nice and not creepy but once again, the line was too long so we didn’t get the picture we wanted. My guess was 45 min to an hour.
There were crafts but my toddler was too young. Might be good for older children but we won’t go again.

Every year, Dunsmuir puts on a series of tea parties for the holiday season. Our friend put together an outing for a group of 16 to attend the Children’s Tea which was located in the Dinkenspiel House, a small cottage on the Dunsmuir property. The holiday Children’s Tea is for children 6 years of age and older; my daughter is 4 and, had I known that they discouraged children under 6, I wouldn’t have had my friend buy the ticket. We took her anyway and no one asked about her age.
The Dinkenspiel House is a cute little cottage — it felt like stepping back in time! It was beautifully decorated and it was fun just enjoying the décor. The tea was staffed by Oakland Parks & Recreation volunteers, all dressed up in period servants’ clothes. It was very cute and they did their best to give us good service. There was a little bit of confusion when it came to seating our group. Since we had such a large group, we had reserved the patio room but when we arrived, they tried to seat us in another, non-​private room. It was soon sorted.
We were served a plate of tea sandwiches, cookies, and scones with jam and clotted cream. My daughter received a plate of peanut butter and jelly tea as well as a pre-​packaged gingerbread man. Tea was also served with cream and sugar and we were able to get as many refills on the tea during the hour tea. It was a full tea but if you are used to going out to tea (as we are), you will notice that the tea sandwiches were smaller than most tea houses, more like a ¼ of a piece of bread vs. ¹⁄₃ at most tea places. And… well, the food just wasn’t great. I can recognize a supermarket scone and cookie from a mile away.
Tea at the Dunsmuir is much more about the whole experience rather than the food. Santa Claus came in to wish us all a happy holiday and my daughter (the lone kid amongst our group of adults at this Children’s Tea) was very happy to get a chance to meet him.
Teatime included admission to the Dunsmuir House itself. It is a beautiful house with great features and it was decorated breathtakingly. The tour is self-​guided though there are volunteers in nearly every room. Honestly, I think the volunteers were less there to provide information about the house — though they would answer if you had a specific question — but mostly, they seemed to me to be there to remind you NOT to take photos. That’s a real pity, too, because there were so many interesting features that I would have liked to make a note off. Something else to note is that if you have mobility issues, watch out because there are lots of steps.

I went to the Dunsmuir Estate for the annual Gatsby Picnic put on by the Art Deco Society. Even though the area is open year-​round, it set the scene for a vintage get-​together perfectly!
The grounds are well-​kept, and it is far enough away from the hustle and bustle of 580 to really hear anything. There are fountains, grassy areas, and rest areas as well.
The only problem is getting to the area in the first place. It’s a little bit of a trek to get there, so bring some good walking shoes or come up with a plan of attack beforehand.

(See pics) Review #1270. This review is for The Great Gatsby event that was hosted on site and not inside the mansion.
The area is at the very south part of Oakland, bordering San Leandro and it took about 40 minutes from San Francisco with weekend ballgame traffic to get to.
The event provided parking but we did unload our picnic items since it’s not right besides it.
There is a small curved walk upwards to the site and once you walk through the forested path, it opened up to a very beautiful estate with the mansion on the left and a luscious green on the background. And since it’s in the East Bay, the weather was absolutely warm and gorgeous on the day we visited.
Because the party we attended had the 20s and 30s theme, more than just the clothes, everyone was also more courtesy. And maybe it’s the charming and peaceful environment, you can feel both the excitement of the music as well as the serene sensation. It shut out the noise from the city and because the parking lot is not nearby, you were really in the 20s.
The bathroom facility was clean and adequate. And since it’s more like a state park, it is not estate luxurious.
There is a ballroom banquet hall on the other side of the estate and it’s easy to see how this can be a good host site for celebrations that involve both indoor and outdoor music and dancing, and party festive.
And this review is also kudos to Art Deco Society of California for hosting such a wonderful event at such a beautiful location!

I’ve been to Dunsmuir several times during the Christmas season. Honestly, I wish a better review could be forthcoming.
First off, they charge for parking, which is totally unnecessary. Why nickel and dime people up in the hills of Oakland? It isn’t like you are in a busy metro area like the downtown streets, where parking spaces are at a premium.
Furthermore, the no picture taking policy is absurd. Call me a sentimentalist, but if you’re going to pay to play to get in, I want a picture of it for posterity. If you are afraid of damaging the displays due to flash photography, ask people to turn off the flash, but let them still shoot pictures.
I did give them a bump up of a star for the great Christmas decorations and massive Christmas tree which they garnish out to the nines for the visitors. Now if only they would loose the stuffy mindset regarding cameras and the parking fees, they’d be golden.

While my mom was visiting from out-​of-​state, I brought here here after we spent the earlier part of the day at Dickens Fair. The grounds are very nice — and they did a great job with all the decorations in the house — it was really over the top with christmas trees in every single room. The house was a bit crowded with gushing, noisy visitors — but we made our way through and while we enjoyed the visit — we both thought that the cost was way too much for the house visit! I would love to see the top floor if I’m going to pay nearly $ 20 per person to walk around a pretty old house!
Lots of excellent historical information and it really feels like you’re taking a step back in time — to an era when Oakland was «the country» and it took several days by land to get here from San Francisco or a very long barge ride (at least according to the papers — but heck — I would try to swim that, myself!)

The best thing I can say about Dunsmuir is that you totally forget that you’re in Oakland. Since you’re up in the hills in a tranquil green area away from the urban lifestyle you start to lose the image of crime story news reports and BART shootings.
I came here to attend a wedding. The hardest thing about this place would have to be the parking. There’s some parking on the inside of the fence for about six cars while everyone else has to park outside on the street. Then you have to walk a medium stretch of paved asphalt to the where the main estate is. The variety of plants is healthy but I wouldn’t say plentiful or particularly lush; although, you can tell someone is taking care of the grounds.
I didn’t actually get to go inside the mansion rather take photos of it. The dining hall is pretty nice. It’s located up on the hillside so you have a walk up steps or up the disabled path. The hall can seat a hundred plus guest wedding party. Outside is chill and there is a fair amount of concrete seating. For a warm night it’s pretty nice especially with the color water fountain going. The bathrooms are located in a separate building from the dining hall which is actually pretty good because it forces the traffic outside.
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I can’t talk about the mansion because we weren’t allowed in it. The location is tranquil and easy to throw a party. If you’re looking for amazing views this place doesn’t have many. If you’re looking for a place that feels both wide open and intimate, this could be it.

Very beautiful oasis in Oakland. I had no idea that this place existed until a few months ago when I was asked to be part of a weeding. I was pleasantly surprised about this garden and home when I arrived a few days ago.
The grounds are very clean and well kept. Their no smoking policy really does help the cause. Don’t break the rule, it’s an $ 800 fine if you’re caught.
Park on the street and get your daily cardio by walking up the steep hill. Your glutes will feel the burn as you hike up the curb-​your-​wheel worthy incline.

I don’t come to Oakland that often so of course I’ve never heard of the Dunsmuir Estate. I was looking for an Easter egg hunt event and the estate popped up.
So the day before Easter, my husband and I took our 18 month old son to the estate. There was no fee for parking but we did park along the street. It’s a steep walk to the entrance (you get a work out pushing a stroller). There is a parking lot.
We got our bands and paid the $ 10 fee ($ 5 each for adults) and made our way to the estate. There is a lot of greenery but nothing too special about the grounds. But the estate itself was nice. We later took a tour of the estate and it really looks nice inside. They even decorated with bunnies and easter eggs. No photography though. We didn’t pay for the tour though it seems from looking at other reviews for different events, you do pay for the tour.
The kids depending on their age were divided on different lawns of the estate and started at different times. For the children under 3, you basically just get the plastic eggs on the lawn and exchange it for candy. Then the volunteers throw the eggs back for those that didn’t get any. It was kind of chaotic and I do remember hearing some grumbling parents. I’m not sure what it looks like for the older ones but at least you don’t have the parents helping.
After that, you can have your own picnic on the lawn. There is a lot of space for the kids to run around. There was also a hot dog and popcorn vendor. The activities included egg dying, arts and crafts, tour the estate, potato sack race and take a picture with the Easter bunny.
It was a nice family Easter gathering and maybe we will come back again next year.

Sorry, Dunsmuir, you’re joining my blacklist along with Winchester.
No photography allowed = not worth my time or money.

We went to Dunsmuir Hellman Historic Estate to finally cross it off our list of local places to go.
They had a special Christmas Event on Sat 12÷4÷10 so we had to pay extra — regular cost to tour the mansion $ 5; we paid $ 12pp + $ 1.50 per ticket online fee. Parking is $ 7 + $ 1.50 for ticketing fee online. Don’t pay the $ 7, there’s some street parking near the paid lot & lots of residential parking nearby!
The mansion was built by Alexander Dunsmuir in 1899 as a wedding gift for his wife Josephine, but he died during their honeymoon, she end up living there until 1901. It took 9 months to build, 16,224 sq ft, 37 rooms, 20 bedrms, 9.5 baths & 10 fireplaces.
NO Photos allowed in the Mansion. That sucks since we paid so much money to see it. They only gave us a paper to do a Self-​guided tour.
First Fl — Veranda, Floyer, Parlor, Game Rm; Library, then upstairs you can see Dome; Gallery, line closet, green room, guest bathroom, oval room, master bedroom, girl’s bedroom, nurse/​governess’ room. Third fl: servants’ stairs; dining rm; butler’s pantry; kitchen; servants’ dining rm; basement, then Gift shop — end.
Just ok for me, we won’t be back.

We had our almost 200-​person wedding at the Dunsmuir House this early summer 2010 and it was really awesome. If you use the Dunsmuir, use Culinary Excellence Catering. Trust me! :)
Dunsmuir is a hidden gem! It has a beautifully stunning and peaceful atmosphere. Our wedding photos feature a lot of the natural beauty, trees, flowers and bright green pastures of the Dunsmuir property.
We did our ceremony in the lawn by the pond and then our cocktail hour on the grass. Between the ceremony and cocktails, we took a group photo in front of the Dunsmuir House, and then went into the Pavilion for dinner, with the bar on the patio. It was exactly what we wanted.
We hired a bus to take our out-​of-​town guests to and from San Francisco hotels, since there aren’t nice hotels near Dunsmuir.
I had searched all over the Bay Area for a venue that could give us this space, natural beauty + convenience of indoor dining. It ended up being so much cheaper to get this from the Dunsmuir than going to Napa Valley and trying to deal with wineries’ inflated prices and early-​closing times. The Brazilian Room in Berkeley was similar to Dunsmuir, but way too small for our needs. Plus, you can’t roam around the Brazilian Room property since so much of it is on a hill.
Culinary Excellence Catering has a great relationship with the Dunsmuir and they know how to use the space well and they can even deal directly with Dunsmuir in terms of billing/​contracts/​etc. Roz from Dunsmuir is great! She is really sweet and showed us around and truly cares for the gardens and space. But I had read reviews and heard stories that it might be difficult to deal with the Dunsmuir management. So, using Culinary Excellence solves this problem because they deal directly with the Dunsmuir and preserve that relationship.
The fact that Dunsmuir is «in the middle of nowhere» and next to a freeway didn’t bother me. Once you are on the property, you are transported to a whole new world. It is gorgeous in June. Also, the Pavilion isn’t a «spectacular» venue, but we enhanced the natural wood colors and high ceilings with natural green colors and under-​stated décor. Culinary Excellence brought in trees and an outdoor fountain to make the space really shine.
Bonus — I can’t wait to go back to Dunsmuir with my husband during their festivals and holidays to relive our wedding day memories on that beatiful property. Dunsmuir really is a magical place for me.

The Dunsmuir Hellman Historic Estate is A-​OK, but nothing special.
I recently attended a company picnic held by the carriage house and surrounding lawns. We really used our space, setting up food and seating on one side of the carriage house, a bar with finger food in the middle and carnival games on the other side. There’s ample outdoor space, so there was plenty of room for multiple volleyball and kickball games. Yay for bonding with coworkers!
The grounds are beautiful, just not well maintained. You can tell that all of the (limited) money they have is put into the mansion itself. There were areas cordoned off with caution tape and No Trespassing signs on buildings that looked like they were about to fall over.

Dunsmuir Estate– it’s not what I was expecting. But it is really neat and a cool get away in Oakland for festivities and a history lesson.
What’s odd is you have to pass through a 80’s Business park to get there, but once you make it though the gates of the estate, you are on the grounds of an old 1800’s estate in Oakland! You can hear the freeway, but it feels very green and isolated.
I went for a picnic on the 4^th of July last year. My yard gets shady in the afternoon, my roommate and I were bored, and this event they host each year sounded nostalgic and could serve a a surrogate BBQ and Picnic event since we didn’t have one to attend. There was an entry fee at the gate, not more than $ 5 a per person, but look into prices before you go.
It ended up being really cute. There is a modern structure which has bathrooms, before you reach the house itself, and then there’s an expansive lawn in front of the house itself.
That’s where the festivities for the 4^th, and others, like the Highland games, take place. The landscaping is nothing spectacular, in fact, I’m concerned some of the bamboo in the water area (which has ducks, the kids love it!) has these crazy tunnels kids can hide out in, and I think it may someday take over the entire place! :) But it’s got lots of nice trees and the vibe is good.
Lots of room for kids to run around safely, they even had a mini pony! The lawn is great. It seems geese free, a respite from the poo! You can bring games and lounge and do whatever. We brought wine, I think that went over OK, no one was breathing down our necks.
We decided to pay a small fee and check out the house. It was worth it, but once was enough. It was a self guided tour, and honestly I didn’t walk away with too much information, just an awareness that a rich white man and his family had owned the house.
The weird (surreal!?) thing about it was they decorated the ENTIRE house with Teddy Bears. There were Teddy Bears everywhere, in all the rooms, sitting in parlor chairs, seated at the sumptuous fake banquet laid out on the dining room table. Bizarre; and they claim to do if for the kids… you know, make it more entertaining. Rigght.
If you hear of an event taking place at Dunsmuir estate, I would encourage you to check it out, it’s especially good for little ones.

A wonderful landmark of Oakland. Yes it needs some fixing but the place is gorgeous! The little shows and crafts @ the stable and pavilion are cool. I wish more people would go see. The price isn’t bad for a great history lesson. It takes more than 2 hours to get the experience of the whole estate. Be careful of rainy days… no carriage or pony rides :(
I’m interested to go to their events… Halloween, Easter etc…

I attended a Christmas special event last year at the Dunsmuir House and Garden. The house was completely decorated for the Christmas season. There were carolers outside on the veranda as I entered the house singing lovely traditional Christmas songs.
The ground were beautiful, the house decorations were beautiful but I was creeped out for the mir fact that the place is historical and historical stuff kind of grosses me out since I tend to like hip, trendy, cutting edge tech type stuff.
There was a horse and buggy that I saw traveling around the grounds and the driver of the buggy was dress of course as in days gone by (old looking style).
The day I was there is was pouring, I mean POURING rain, dark and grey outside so that didn’t help ease the creep out of me.
I’m sure its an extremely lovely place for many people but for me… naw.