Our family (two parents, a grandparent & kiddo) decided to get a place for a 2 week trip where staying in a hotel or similar would have been really painful, especially not being able to really cook (or being very limited). Evan's place showed up close to some family we wanted to see, but who do not have space for guests for 2 weeks so it was the perfect location near them, shopping and transit. The kitchen was well stocked with all the things you might need and we could cook most our breakfast & lunches and most dinners when we weren't out visiting folks (including a wok which is useful for the kind of cooking I do!). There was plenty of space for everyone and having a good size dining table was good for dinner and games. Plus, two bathrooms so little waiting. :)
There's lots very close by including multiple parks, a brewery on San Pablo, the best grocery store ever (Berkeley Bowl West) nearby and BART isn't that far a walk. We had a car because we had friends to visit that would be pretty inconvenient by transit, but if we'd had fewer of those visits planned we wouldn't have needed a car at all.
Overall: a great location AND great house to stay in.