Best Hotels in Santa Cruz County, United States

We stayed at the Seacliff Inn when it was a Best Western. I made my reservations last spring before it was a Hilton but was curious to see what changes were made as a result. As I did not make my reservations through Hilton and it was made quite clear to me my Hilton Honors standing had no meaning here, not even the usual welcome bottle of water and it took several tries for my no-cost internet connection; it kept prompting me to pay for internet or join Hilton Honors. Had I made reservations through the Hilton Honors website, things may have been different. The exterior is being painted from a deep brown with blue trim to a grayish color with blue trim. The restaurant has changed its name and the interior decor is now very sp**** and severe. The outdoor dining is still very nice. The gardens are well kept and the outdoor dining area is next to a lovely pond and waterfall. I ate at the restaurant once for dinner and once for lunch, service and food were very good. I honestly do not remember the front desk area before but it is very nicely appointed with some seating, the desk staff have all been helpful and pleasant during my stay. They removed the laundry facilities but do not offer clothes cleaning services. The amenities are mixed, no shower cap or body wash and only one bar of soap for both the tub and sink, but good Starbucks coffee for the in-room coffee maker, a little refrigerator, and a large TV. Internet has gone out several times during my stay, which unfortunately wipes out the Television as well. It may just be my provider, but cell coverage is little to none so when the internet goes out I cannot even use my phone as a hotspot. There were no elevators when it was a Best Western and there still are no elevators to the second floor rooms, not sure if that is in the plans for updating the property but there are 6 separate buildings so that may not be in the immediate plans. The corridors and doors can be loud, on a busy weekend night that can be disruptive as people are more likely to boisterously wander the halls at all hours. Again, not sure if some mitigation for noise is in the works for future plans. As if making a war on comfort, they removed the comfortable chairs from the rooms and put in a stool and an extremely uncomfortable chair at the desk. The furnishings were replaced and look very utilitarian but are quite functional. I don’t think they replaced the beds, there are two in the room and both very firm. The bedding is nice and up to the usual Hilton standards. I was surprised to find out that they are charging for parking, although it is completely unsecured. I was told I could get cleaning every 4 days, but only if I called to schedule it. I have been catching cleaners in the hallway to exchange towels and refill supplies and the front desk has been helpful too. The heating/cooling system is still the old motel style wall unit. It had signage that the unit was controlled by the wall thermostat. It wasn’t, I needed

Recently, an international brand hotel at the University of California, Santa Cruz. Although the sparrows are small, they have all the internal organs, swimming and fitness, the restaurant only serves buffet breakfast, lunch and dinner are not open, and the room does not have free mineral water.

We like this location because we have family nearby. The hotel is clean and comfortable. And the in-house restaurant is excellent. However, this ”housekeeping on request” policy is extremely irritating. Completely uninformed, we returned to our room at the end of our first day and it hadn't been cleaned. Apparently they only clean the room every five days. My wife called for housekeeping service and was told, ”they would try to fit us in”. Which they did. Including, thankfully, replenishing the in-room coffee supplies. This “full service” hotel actually expects you to collect your own coffee supplies at the front desk every day. I have been travelling for business and pleasure for over 50 years and I have never encountered such lame service at a so-called “full-service” hotel. And to add insult to injury, they call this housekeeping service-on-demand “complimentary”, aka “free”. Funny, I thought I was paying for it. Yes, there are fine-print placards everywhere that explain the policy, but I just tune all that crap out. I especially don’t like being scolded to “conserver water” when the faucet provides almost no flow and it has to run for five minutes before you get any hot water. If they want us to conserve water, they should install a hot-water recirculation system, as many other “full-service” hotels have done. Yes, a hot-water recirculation system uses more energy in order to use less water. Pick your poison. There is no free lunch. Next irritant: Pool and spa hours. Inside the pool enclosure, there is a permanent professional metal sign that clearly says the pool hours are from 5:00 am to 10:00 pm. Very reasonable. However, on the locked gate, there is a hand-made paper sign that says 8:00 am to 10:00 pm. A pre-breakfast swim is thus not possible. Not reasonable. Again, this might be expected at a two-star hotel, but not here. Next irritant: Lousy maintenance. In the fifth-floor corridor, 50% of the overhead lights are either broken, missing their bulbs, or hanging down from their wires. Not very classy. Next (minor) irritant: No task lighting over the coffee prep area. As you prepare coffee, you are literally casting a shadow over the work area. And all the lights in the room are very dim. Finally, a note about security at the front desk. We did not initially go to the front desk to check in. We checked in online while enroute and used a “digital” key to go directly from the back parking lot to our room. Which is very convenient because it’s miles (and two elevator trips) from the fifth floor (back building) to the front desk. Later, when I waltzed up to the front desk and asked for my plastic keys, the nice lady handed them over, with a very nice smile. Without asking for ID. Not good; I could have been any random criminal. I certainly don’t blame the nice front desk lady for this obvious gap in management policy. In summary, I might stay here again in the future, but if I do, my expectations will be way lower next time.

We found this hotel last minute and could not have enjoyed it more! The facility was extremely ‘cool’ and service was outstanding. The kids enjoyed the pool area, especially at night…. Absolutely recommend to anyone!

Standard American breakfast, free parking, gas station next to it, convenient for eating and shopping. It was nice to stop with the kids.

Breakfast is a very simple cold meal, placed on a small table in the lobby, only boxed cereals with yogurt, apples, snacks or something. It's better to go to the cafe to eat hot. Room air conditioners and refrigerators are noisy enough to affect sleep. There is a parking lot. The location is very good, opposite the large lawn of high school, very close to downtown. When checking in, you must ask for a room with a balcony. Otherwise the window is very small, as long as you stay, you will not change rooms.

The staff turnaround is awful and they will not honor what the previous employee offered. We booked about 35 rooms for 2 nights and they they could said they could not comp the room for the Bride & Groom. They said we could extend the bar for 2 hours at $150 per hour but changed it to $200 and said well the rate just recently went up. They charged $500 additional for ”outside alcohol” brought in which was in the contract, I personally did not see any outside alcohol, they said they told ”someone” no outside alcohol was allowed but did not contact the person that signed the contract. This was not a private bar night so who knows who brought in alcohol? In addition they charged $243 service charge on the $500 stating this was standard at 27% plus $111 tax on service but said it was not for service? So $853 additional WTH we could have had an open bar with food for that amount. To get a bill for $1254.44 to keep the bar open for 2 hours after we paid for all of our drinks and rooms is outrageous! In addition, they said the bar would be open until 11pm Friday night and even though are guests were at the bar they closed at 9:30. Breakfast in the morning took about an hour as they had 1 cook and 1 waitress although they knew we had a wedding block. They basically said too bad so sad. So frustrated and disappointed!

Palado is a hotel that I like very much, the environment is beautiful and natural, the room layout is reasonable, the service attitude is very good, the location is excellent, the hygiene is very clean, and it is recommended.

Great location, the newest hotel near boardwalk. Parking is extra ($20 currently), but at least it is in a secure gated basement. Great clean rooms, front desk staff was super helpful. Would come back again!

My first Fairfield experience for just one night using my Platinum status with Marriott. The check-in was very pleasant and the staff on duty were indeed very nice and hospitable. Room was nice and spacious which made the family feel happy. Appreciated a bath tub in our 2 Queen Room. Parking was in a gated covered garage which felt very safe and secure. Loved the experience at the pool. Was a good size and very clean. Hot tub was a plus point. Gym was small but function for just a short stay. Breakfast the next morning was great. Exceed my expectations and they even had waffles!! Overall, a very good experience and would come back again in future.