Dream Inn — Hotel in Santa Cruz

“Relaxing Vibe & A Dedicated Staff Make This Gem A MUST Stay!!!”

The layout & clean 1960's Surf-themed throughout the hotel echoed calming waves of the laid-back Santa Cruz vibe. The entire building and its grounds were as pristine and calm as the Monterey Bay. The entire facility was better than advertised on its website, which was my initial reason for choosing The Dream Inn. What's more, the hotel is right on the beach and within walking distance to all of the major attractions of Santa Cruz.

But what TRULY made my stay so special & memorable are the PEOPLE who work at the Dream Inn:

The Valet ---- Upon my initial arrival (as well as each of my daily departures and returns) I was greeted by Luke, Emmanuel, Nick, Eddie, Cameron, Anthony, Rick, Allie, Ben, & Blake. The valet team are welcoming, efficient, & expeditious, when greeting guests, handling baggage, and safely parking cars. When it comes to making lasting first impressions, they get the job done right and they do it with precision & professionalism!!

The Front Desk --- Lindsey, Dee, Andrew, Maris, Ken, and Phylicia are congenial, knowledgeable, dedicated, & friendly. I'm a pretty low-maintenance guy but I marveled as I watched them multitask during check-in & check-out times, all the while providing 5-Star customer service to guests' requests and inquiries. The Front Desk team always made me feel like I "returned home” each time I walked into the lobby of the Dream Inn with their own special way of greeting me with a "Welcome Back!"

Hotel Room / Housekeeping --- Upon arrival, I found my room on the 10th floor spotless & immaculate with an absolutely breathtaking view of Monterey Bay. I went to bed every night with the sliding door open and the ocean as my bedtime music. In the morning, Lidia, Isela, along with another gentleman (I didn't get his name but he should be commended) worked EXTREMELY HARD to keep the room clean. They were always accommodating and went out of their way if I needed more time to get ready for the day since there were many mornings I didn't want to leave the gorgeous views from the balcony. (Beware: Staying at the Dream Inn may cause total relaxation and an unnecessary need to be anywhere anytime soon!)

Verve Coffee & Breakfast Bar --- Upon finally making it to the lobby for coffee, I was greeted by baristas Dee, Ella, Alex, and Dillon. As we all know, who or what we encounter in the morning has the potential to set the tone for the entire day. The ever cordial and easy-going Barista & Breakfast Bar team mirrored the Santa "Cruz Control" mood for the day!

Outdoor Pool --- Upon walking through the double glass doors to the outdoor heated pools, I was warmly greeted by attendants Eric & Jason. I observed them carefully setting up the pool area for the day as if it were their own home. Eric & Jason effortlessly mirrored the professional yet relaxing mood of the entire Dream Inn as they made sure that my stay was enjoyable as possible.

Jack O'Neil Restaurant & Lounge --- I only had the pleasure of eating dinner here once as I wanted to try other eateries in the Santa Cruz area. However, the food was delicious and the entire staff were attentive, professional and friendly. My only regret of my entire stay at the Dream Inn is that I didn't frequent Jack O'Neil's more often and that I didn’t get the names of team members that made my dinner a delight!

In conclusion, the Dream Inn is a one-of-a kind hotel located in picturesque Santa Cruz. But what really captures the laid-back & friendly Santa Cruz attitude is its all-star cast of team members that made my stay unforgettable.

Eric...

I was pretty disappointed in my stay here. No doubt the views are the best part of this place, but I feel they are relying on the view only. Our room was not in good shape at all. We were planning on staying once a month or even more while our house gets remodeled but after this last stay I am looking elsewhere. I’m really excited for the new hotel down the road to be done in a couple months. I really love the view and I wish the Dream Inn could step up the maintenance/cleanliness situation.||Pros: location is excellent. View is awesome as well. Customer service is pretty great, everyone is friendly and accommodating. At least the people we encountered in our last couple stays.||The valet guys are outstanding. Except for one blonde haired valet guy. The three times we encountered him, he was rude each time. The other guys though.. 10/10 they are great.||Cons: Maintenance, esp the bathrooms… mold everywhere, messy caulking job, hot water is intermittent, water pressure is non existent and it’s just overall dirty. Our bathroom ceiling had a dark hair on it when we checked in.|Baseboards had old food stuck on them.|Furniture is old and falling apart.||Housekeeping was vacuuming outside our door at 7:45 one morning and 8:30am the other mornings! Each morning when we left the room, the lady working the housekeeping floor asked up if we wanted service despite no sign on our door stating that we wanted privacy. I had to wear earplugs to get decent sleep and even then was awoken up early.||Safety: this is the first hotel that I bought one of those safety locks for hotel doors. The elevators say you need to scan your key card to go up and down the elevators, we found that to be very untrue. Only one time out of probably 20 did the elevator not work when we pressed our floor button without scanning the key card. I think it’s more for looks and gives guests a false sense of security.||Also one day we came back there were police in the lobby and apparently something happened a couple doors down from our room and we needed to be escorted to our room. There was no reassurance to what happened and my son was very scared and despite me reassuring him, he was talking about it the whole trip and was always making sure our door lock was on which was unfortunate. Turns out the police activity was a person bleeding from some injury- not sure how but was also surrounded by drug paraphernalia!||I asked for a quiet room yet we were placed in an adjoining room with neighbors all around us AND right next to an elevator! Seems they did the exact opposite of my request.||Unfortunately what I hoped would be a relaxing staycation, turned to be the exact opposite.|I left more stressed than when I arrived and couldn’t wait to go back home which is really...

My overall experience could have been positive if the front desk managers were professional and if the room didn't smell like marijuana. Upon entering room 826, the smell was unmistakable, even Adam, the valet, confirming it was unacceptable. Despite having already switched rooms once to get queen beds, we decided to stay thinking it would get better if we leave the door open, but it didn't! We also didn't want to inconvenience Adam because he was friendly and helpful already. However, when we informed Ben at check-out about the smell and gave him feedback about the smell of the room, he rudely dismissed us with, "What do you expect? This is California!" We were shocked with such comment! We left right away with confusion of such inappropriate comment! The later, I discovered an extra $100 charge on my bill, we called right away with another manager named Andrew. He was similarly unhelpful and rude, saying, "This is America!" It's shocking that managers would speak to customers like this. Both times!!! Also, how can he not able to tell me why my bill was overcharged, simply no explanation at all?? I even had the receipt. When I told him I would write a review about my experience, Andrew said, "Go for it!" ...as if he didn't care about his customers' feelings! This level of rudeness is unacceptable, especially in a supposedly nice hotel. I've stayed in many hotels worldwide and never experienced such treatment. I expect an apology and will dispute the charge. The hotel should have refunded us given the rudeness and smell. The smell made me feel unwell for two days. Charging something extra on my credit card without consent is not legal, and their dismissive response is unacceptable. I suggest checking your credit card if you stay there, as apparently they think they can charge without consent just because it's California. I hope the owner provides an explanation. It's unacceptable to treat customers this way, and I don't recommend this hotel to anyone. This was my first time staying there and my friend spoke highly of this place because of its views! But I would rather stay somewhere with friendly, understanding, and compassionate managers who care about the well being of their customers! Ben and Andrew's behavior was appalling; they shouldn't be working at the front desk if they can't treat customers with respect. I don't feel safe going back there again, with such rudeness and...