Santa Cruz Inn Riverside — Hotel in Riverside

I feel a little guilty giving the place only 3* because it's not like I had high expectations to start with. This place is pretty much what you'd expect for the price here in downtown Riverside where the Mission Inn is nearly $300/nt, Hyatt is $190/nt and the Marriott is $190/nt.

However, after reading this, you might think that I gave it too high of a rating as there are a lot of thing wrong with the place.

Let's start with the curious odor of the room. I can't quite put my finger on what it is and it's not overpowering...it's just a bit funky. The only thing I can think of is that it's a funk that is trapped in a carpet that should have been changed out a decade ago. My son (17 years old) said that when he first went into the bathroom that it smelled like "someone just took a massive dump in here, Dad!"

And then there is the mattress. It should have been changed out with the carpet...and then two more times since. When I sat on the side of the bed, the mattress caved nearly to the bottom side. I'm a big guy at 220lbs but I'm not obese by any stretch of the imagination...no mattress of even middle quality should do this.

The shower - it has an adjustable head that when you turn it changes the spray pattern and intensity. Many of the settings don't fully work and none of them gave us a decent amount of pressure. Not a big deal for me as I shave my head but my son has a head full of hair that he had a tough time rinsing out the shampoo.

Those are the main things that impacted our experience. But one other thing that I was quite curious about...the white paint on the inside of the bathroom door and the door frame - specifically around the door handle and latch. So much had been chipped away that it gave the appearance that someone had been locked inside there and tried to claw their way out. It's an easy thing for someone to fix and make pretty again., strange that no one has bothered.

So, if you book this place (and I'm not really trying to influence you not to), be aware of these issues and don't expect too much. If these are things that you can overlook, you will find that the hotel is quite quaint...interesting tiled water fountains dating back to when the hotel was built (maybe 100 years ago or a little more). And the location could not be any more perfect...two blocks from the Fox Performing Arts Center, three blocks from the Mission Inn...as well...

I really wanted to like this motel. This is a super cool historic structure really close to the convention center. I think many of the rooms are different, I thought I was booking a normal room, but it was almost a small apartment with a kitchenette area and small balcony. This place could be fantastic and cater to the convention center crowd with a little more care.||||The entrance to my room was inside of a building. The door COULD have been shut and accessible only with a room key. But it never was. So this wide open door led me to find a homeless man sleeping outside of my room at 7:30 am as I left for my conference. I told the front desk person, and she sent someone to send him away, but her manner suggested this had happened before, and they’ve just chosen not to prevent it.||||One of the hallway windows seemed to be stuck open.||||I understand this is a historic building, so the windows are OLD. They don’t seem to block out any street noise. I wear ear plugs to sleep anyway, so this wasn’t a deal breaker.||||The smell of cleaning products is strong. I could tell something had been cleaned, but there was still mysterious hair in the bathroom. Also, the towels are scratchy, thin and could stand to be a bit bigger. The sheets were scratchy too, luckily I travel with my own pillow whenever I can, so I didn’t have to scratch my face against theirs.||||The parking lot is tiny & street parking is oddly restricted. I felt very lucky to have secured parking. This may be a major deal breaker for the convention goers and it doesn’t seem like there is an easy fix.||||I want to cheer for the little guy and people preserving historic buildings, but in this case,...

We stayed in room 118, which was cute and not connected to the other rooms in the hotel. ||||The Pros.||||It was super clean, spacious, had lots of character and was well-equipped with a fridge, microwave and a mini breakfast nook with stools and chairs. The beds were clean and comfortable. The bathroom was clean and equipped with towels. The parking situation didn't affect us at all, because we arrived before check in. The location is well within walking distance to everything. They let us check in a half hour early, which was appreciated. ||||The cons.||||1. A call from the front desk after checking in to ask how many people were in the room. It clearly stated in my reservation how many people would be in our party. I have never been asked that by any other establishment upon checking in.||||2. Some freakin' dude with a lawn blower decided that 9 a.m. on a Sunday morning was a great time to maintain the grounds. He made sure to circle our room a few times, which woke us up. Check out time is 11 a.m. It is RUDE and INCONSIDERATE to do lawn work while guests are sleeping! Wait until after check out time when you have a THREE HOUR WINDOW to work with.||||3. The soap that was provided was VERY CHEAP and no shampoo was provided.||||All in all, it was okay. But at $125.00, I expected a bit more...