Aqua Breeze Inn — Hotel in Santa Cruz

I recently stayed at the Aqua Breeze Inn twice during a road trip, and after reading a few of the reviews I just wanted to give my piece. Everyone in the staff was extremely polite and professional, I had no issues whatsoever with the staff. I stayed in a one bedroom for my first stop (overnight), and a two bedroom for the second (two nights). Some points:

I saw a few reviews saying that you should bring your own towel and pillows as the rooms may not have them. In preparation, I brought mine, however both rooms were fully stocked. Not quite sure what the context is for needing to bring your own items of these sorts, but I found that there was no reason to as the rooms had them all.

I saw another review saying that some of the staff can be confrontational or the like; again, I did not catch even a whiff of this. Everybody up front (Kamal, and four others whose names I forgot sorry) was nothing less than courteous, professional, and kind.

Another review stated that there were issues with needing to provide a credit card at the desk for the deposit. Granted, I haven't stayed in too many hotels before, but the process was straight-forward enough. Gave them my credit card, they applied the deposit, done and done. Easy peasy.

Saw one review saying that the staff will not let you park in the lot when checking in due to no parking pass. I didn't experience that at all; they were 100% fine with me parking in the lot while I checked in. No issues.

The one bedroom room was a bit small, but nothing horrible. Had a microwave, coffee machine, and fridge. I believe I stayed in room 205; there were only two issues: the black rubber divider under the door came off easily and I was unable to put it securely back on, so I just put a towel to cover the crack. The bathroom sink plug also stopped working randomly and I was unable to open the drain; this may have been a larger issue had it happened earlier in my stay, but it only started doing that as I was out the door to leave. Seemed like an easy fix, but again I was on my way out, so it ultimately wasn't an issue.

Everything was clean and tidy, the location is fantastic, everything is very walkable. You're right next to the boardwalk and several walking trails, and although you can hear some of the rides from your room, it is faint and not really an issue, plus the boardwalk closes relatively early in the night so you won't be hearing amusement park rides at 10p/1a or anything like that.

The price was phenomenal, and during my second stay (Room 109) I have to say the bathroom was amazing. SUPER space-ey, I could stretch out, and I will dream wistfully of how nice that bathroom was for many years to come. I should also note that my second stay had no issues with the room whatsoever - nice space both in the main room and bathroom, everything clean, etc. .

They were also very accommodating to my dog; she has real bad anxiety and this was her first trip and so whenever I was not immediately near her she would freak out (Sorry!! I tried to minimize that as much as I could), but the staff was very courteous the whole time. They let me know that there are no dogs allowed in the lobby or randomly in the parking lot unless you're moving them in/out of the room, or taking them on a walk away from the inn etc., so as to not have a scene with multiple dogs borking at each other which honestly is fair af. The parking lot was a bit tight but there were enough spaces and additional parking on the side, so it wasn't an issue to where I couldn't park there on either occasion.

Side note for pet owners - There is a beach immediately in front of the inn (as well as the boardwalk), however NEITHER of them allow dogs. I found I was able to walk my dog along the sidewalk of the boardwalk, but couldn't enter. That being said, there is a dog-friendly beach (West Cliff Dog Park) about a half hour's walk from the inn, which is where we usually went. Worked out totally fine.

At the end of the day, it was a very nice and cozy experience. Looking forward...

I don’t even know where to start. I’m at a loss for words.

I’ve traveled to many different countries and I’ve stayed in some “interesting” places, to say the least, so I tend to not be so picking. We knew this hotel didn’t look ideal, but it had a GREAT location.. so we thought, how bad can it really be. Ha.. I was in for a shock!

At check in, the lady checking me in was horribly rude. She never once smiled! Not once the entire week stay. She didn’t welcomed me. And the she went off to yell at someone. To really get things off on a great foot, a “guest” walks up to the desk and says “ I think I found a job, so I’ll be staying another week, getting clean isn’t easy” I’m sorry what...? yes! They have MANY PEOPLE living here that are on or coming off drugs. Both rooms on either side of us where “residents” and neither looked like people you would want near your family.

As for the room, it will be the least of your concerns, if you choose to stay here. it’s old, very poorly maintained, walls peeling, we had a wall stained with what looking like old blood, and dirty towels. the fridge hadn’t been cleaned out from the last guest. Etc. But, all of that I can live with.. I expected it to be bad.

The kicker was seeing the police out front nearly every night. And ‼️HAVING OUR CAR BROKEN INTO!!! ‼️We had someone break into our car that was right next to our door! There is sooo much noise and people yelling at night, we never even heard them. For for my Mother’s Day gift I got to spend the morning calling to have my cards canceled and fill out a police report. This was a first for me. And again the lady at the counter was RUDE !! I just had my families stuff stolen, and she was treating me like I was inconveniencing her! She said they had tapes, but wouldn’t let us see them. It was just madness.

Her horrible customer service and people skills came to light yet again, when someone parked so close to our car that my door would only open ( I measured ) 4 1/4” ! I explained I couldn’t get in my car, and that my 2 children couldn’t get in either. She came back with “ you can’t get in the other side and climb over the middle?!” I told her no I can’t , which she replied in a snarky tone “ you can give me yours keys I’ll move it” .. Not happening. Every day and night just went on like this.. for the whole stay, and although this motel is painted “kid-friendly” it IS NOT❗️ it’s very very dangerous‼️ I know the location looks appealing but please hear my warning. Between rude staff, drugs, vandalism, and drunks thumping bass at 2-3am.. it’s just not worth it.

We have stayed at a few other hotel/motels in the area and one that is very close and much safer and quieter Was The Torch light INN, it’s not much more of a walk, similar in price and they have a pool and do breakfast. We stayed there with a baby and were very happy.

I give this motel 1 star, and it solely goes to the younger guy working at the front desk. I would like to give one very big thank you and acknowledgment to him, he was ALWAYS, smiling! Upbeat! Happy! Wanted to help! He let us park near our room, he was the only one that cared that someone broke into our car.. he was everything I would expect of a host. He should take that girl out back and teach her a thing or two...

After reading numerous reviews on Yelp, Google, Expedia, and a few other websites I settled on the Aqua Breeze Inn. Now when choosing a place to stay this close to the beach you have to go in with the right expectations. If you are looking for a 5 star resort or an all inclusive experience that is not what the Aqua Breeze Inn or most the hotels that close to the beach are geared towards. What they offer is a safe & comfortable stay that is incredibly close to the beach and at an amazingly fair price. If that is what you are looking for then this is a great option. My daughter and I stayed from Easter Sunday to 7pm Monday and had a wonderful time. The young lady at the front desk as well as the cleaning staff were very sweet and willing to help. We arrived pretty late Sunday and were still able to find a spot in their main parking lot, but had we not, the young lady working the front desk made it very clear there were two other lots available that she would walk us over to if need be. Once checked in I did a quick once over of the room and everything was clean and tidy. We were in room 203 and the bed was very soft and inviting, the AC/Heater worked great (please note the controls are on the wall, not on the unit), the shower was spotless, and it had all we needed for a quick beach adventure. In terms of location, you are an 18min drive from Roaring Camp Railroad and the redwood forest, 9min drive from downtown where there is every type of food under the sun, and a 2minute walk from the boardwalk and beach. Staying here saves you the headache and expense of finding parking elsewhere every time you go to get food or want to go to the beach, which if you haven't been to Santa Cruz before can be a real pain.

A few things to note: The coastal climate is a hard on buildings due to the humidity and salt in the air. This means paint is going to peal quicker and metal is going to rust faster. This is just the nature of coastal living, it doesn't mean something is "dirty". Being on the second floor we could hear the people above us walking around every now and then and then a few peeps out of our neighbors, but no different than most hotels. If you are sound sensitive, maybe bring some ear plugs. If you have kids, this location is amazing as you can go back to the beach, then back to your room, then back to the beach as many times as you want without having to pack up the entire car and...