Fairfield by Marriott Inn & Suites Santa Cruz — Hotel in Santa Cruz

As a Marriott Titanium Elite / Lifetime Platinum Elite Guest, I made a reservation for my five (5) night stay in early August 2025 at the Fairfield by Marriott Inn & Suites Santa Cruz as my base of operations in Santa Cruz before picking up our youngest daughter at the conclusion of her 7-week summer STEM internship program at the University of California Santa Cruz. I made this reservation using my Marriott Bonvoy points approximately four (4) months prior to my arrival date.||Within hours after making the reservation, I emailed Mr. Brendan Shelton, the General Manager, and advised him of my future stay as well as my special requests. Shortly thereafter, I received a thoughtful reply from Mr. Shelton and he readily granted all of my special requests. The prompt response Mr. Shelton did not come as a surprise given how active the management of this property is in reading and promptly replying to past guests on Trip Advisor as well as the Marriott Bonvoy website, which is a clear sign of management’s commitment to exemplary customer service.||Not only is the hotel conveniently located in walking distance of the Natural Bridges State Beach, West Cliff Drive, the Wilder Ranch State Park, the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk as well as the Monterey Bay Sanctuary Scenic Trail but it is a short drive to UC Santa Cruz as well as Downtown Santa Cruz. I actually left my car parked at the hotel (FREE parking) and walked to ALL of the places listed above throughout the duration of my stay!||My initial visit to the Fairfield by Marriott Inn & Suites Santa Cruz did not disappoint. Upon my late arrival, I was greeted in the lobby John and the check-in process was a breeze, although there was a little wrinkle that occurred with my previously "blocked-in" suite, which Mr. Shelton handled promptly and professionally with assistance by John.||Further, upon entering my King Suite with a balcony a few minutes after checking-in with John, I was very pleased because the King Suite with a balcony was HUGE and very comfortable in terms of bedding and ample desks, tables and chairs for relaxing. My King Suite with a balcony had two separate sleeping areas, one full bathroom and a closet and dresser as well as a view of the Pacific Ocean! The housekeeping staff provided me with sufficient towels, replenished bath products as necessary and provided several bottles of water daily. Further, the cleanliness of our King Suite with a balcony was exemplary and for this I want to recognize the entire housekeeping staff. The complimentary Wi-Fi provided to me as Marriott Bonvoy elite guest was excellent throughout the entire hotel.||Now, onto a description of the food and drink offered during the breakfast buffet, which I attended all five mornings during my stay. The highlights of the breakfast buffet include piping hot coffee, hot chocolate and hot tea (excellent variety herbal and caffeinated teas), delicious orange, cranberry or apple juice, various milks and nut milks. There was a nice variety of hot items each morning, including waffles that you make yourself, as well as eggs, bacon or sausage, oatmeal, bread, muffins, cereals, assorted yogurts and fresh fruit (oranges / apples / bananas / fresh cubed watermelon ). In short, the food and drink in the breakfast buffet was incredible and limitless!||I also really enjoyed the fully-equipped fitness center (which had an ample amount of free weights, cable machines as well as cardio machines) as well as sitting by the fire pit every night. See my twelve (12) pictures of the hotel attached to this review since a picture is worth one-thousand words.||The generosity and hospitality shown by Mr. Shelton and John as well as the rest of Mr. Shelton's team throughout my stay was extraordinary. Every team member with whom we came in contact during our stay, including the individuals listed above, the helpful staff members at the reception desk and the other food & beverage staff as well as the house-keeping staff really went out of their way to make me feel welcomed. Not surprisingly, the notable customer service that we received before and during our stay as well as the incredible accommodations in my King Suite with a balcony, made this hotel a twelve out of ten in my book!||If your travels take you to Santa Cruz, please don't hesitate to make this hotel your base of operations ... you won't be...

If I had to sum up my five nights at this hotel for a work training in a handful of words, I'd say: great waffles, smelly rooms. If I'd come here on vacation and paid my own money, I would have asked for a refund and booked a new hotel after the first night.

I'll start with the positive - I love a good self-serve hotel waffle maker, and this one did not disappoint. Nothing like a free waffle to start your day.

On the negatives, if it weren't for the first issue this could have been a three star review:

The main issue (which other reviews have mentioned) is that my room had a persistent smell of body odor throughout my stay. At first I struggled to identify the source - I thought maybe it was coming through the air conditioner from the RV and boat storage lot next door. But I eventually realized the smell was concentrated in the closet, leading me to believe that a previous guest had stored some truly awful smelling items there long enough that the odor permeated the pseudo-wood.

I asked to switch rooms and was told it probably wouldn't be possible, but I should check back at 6am the next morning. After my colleague informed me that his room had a similar smell, I decided there wasn't much I could do but buy some air fresheners which unfortunately only kept the odor at bay for 30-45 minutes at a time. My window only opened a crack to begin with, and this created a minor improvement but was not sustainable at night as my room was on the ground floor facing the parking lot.

I should add that I've stayed at a lot of cheap motels in my life, and have a fairly high tolerance for less than ideal conditions. I've stayed in rooms that reeked of smoke with cigarette burns on the mattress, rooms where I could hear crazy noises all night, and even one hotel in Tahoe that was later condemned by the city and now sits abandoned. But the intensity and persistent nature of this BO smell made this experience worse than all those other places (for 3-5x the price).

Another concerning thing (also mentioned by other reviews) is that there seem to be people living in the RVs stored on the lot next door who wander in and out of the hotel. At one point I encountered a woman rifling around the office behind the front desk (no staff were present at the time) who seemed startled by my presence, asking if I needed anything and then quickly clarifying that she doesn't work there, saying she was just looking for a package. She then quickly left through the back stairs without taking anything, which seemed odd.

As you can see in the photos below, the desk was frequently left unattended for long periods of time. I discovered this when I went to speak to someone about the odor in my room and found that the desk was empty for over an hour between about 5-7pm on Monday 5/6. I felt especially bad for the guy who had been waiting to check in for over a half hour before I gave up and went back to my room. I was also concerned for guests who had packages delivered to the hotel, as there was a pile of unclaimed deliveries sitting in plain view of the main entrance unprotected (or maybe the folks living next door are using the hotel for their deliveries? Unclear...).

I noticed several little bugs throughout my stay - one in my room and a couple in the elevator. Checked the mattress very thoroughly and didn't have any bites so I don't think any of them were bed bugs, but still not ideal.

Various things seemed to be left open that shouldn't have - the control panel in the elevator, the door to the fire access control room (which let out a high pitched whine, presumably because it wasn't supposed to be left open), and a disproportionate amount of things seemed to be out of order (one of the ice makers, plus the whole pool...

Bacon for breakfast. A new hotel.., with the new hotel smell. If you look on google maps you will only see a swath of earth empty of everything but a bulldozer. I've never stayed in a new hotel before and found it not all that different from other hotels. Of course, everything was new and unscratched, but overall I guess all the other good hotels I've stayed in are doing a great job of maintenance. I hope the young lady at the front desk is feeling better or whatever was bothering her has cleared up. I always appreciate being thanked for being a "platinum member* and when I'm not.. well, it's obvious. She was professional, of course. I just didn't receive the "happy to see you, how can we make your stay better" demeanor. All the other staff were great. (no loss of stars for this though, who knows what others are going through, and as long as it stays professional, I'm ok with it) room linens, common areas were clean, no obvious odors of any kind. Hot tub was HOT (Yes!) about 102-104 degrees. 99% of the places I stay keep it at "bathtub" temperature. It was sooo helpful for relaxing muscles after a long day. Pool was clean and refreshing. A workout room with all the needs and a firepit for those cool ocean breeze nights. Basic cable with HBO Ubiquitous breakfast (scrambled eggs, sausage patties, waffles, etc.) except no extra toppings like cheese or salsa. However, they did have bacon (which always gives an extra 1/2 to full star, no matter everything else..). This is a VERY quiet location at night. The hotel is situated about a mile away from the rest of the "tourist" areas, on a small street not well traveled, surrounded by residences, schools and other businesses. There are no other hotels nearby, I felt perfectly safe here. Even though the streets outside are dark and quite empty. Also, there isn't really anywhere within walking distance to eat or shop less than 10 minutes away. nearby Attractions: There is the "Natural Bridges" beach, about 10 minutes walking distance south. There is only 1 arch/bridge left now. The 2nd one finally fell during a 1980 storm. the one that's left is easily seen during low tide. Next to the beach however is a "Monarch Butterfly Sanctuary". A marvelous place to spend an hour or more during the winter months in the midst of the pines and eucalyptus trees, with all the aromas and other scents looking at the leaves on the trees as you realize they are actually clusters of butterflies. Simply awe-inspiring. did I mention bacon? Definitely 4-5 stars and highly recommend. **NOTE: Parking spaces need to be at least 6-12 inches wider. Full-size cars (and larger) will barely fit between the lines with almost no room to open doors. Thankfully there are plenty of...