Seaway Inn — Hotel in Santa Cruz

Stay away! There is nothing straight forward about this motel from the very moment you go on their website. Bare with me on this magically horrible experience. ‘Click’ and you’re taken to a reservation area where you add your name and card without being informed about any pet policies other than the ‘amenities’ area of a Google search. Simple enough, right? Wrong. We thought about splurging on a place closer to the pier, being that it was less than a hundred dollar difference. Save your money and go elsewhere. A $250 1 night room, turned into $450 total because of a $100 refundable charge for damage 3 days after check out ( Ok, but where was this mentioned on your website? ) and a $50 charge per pet. Again, not mentioned on the website before the reservation is made. We did not use a 3rd party website either. We arrived at 1pm. Check in at 3pm and we’re driving cross country with a small trailer, so they were gracious and allowed us to park our trailer and go explore before the room was ready. That was a bonus, because I was actually willing to pay for the extra two hours parked on the property. She also ( front desk ) notified me of a pet fee of $50 per pet. Ok, again. Super annoying the website didn’t mention it, but we made the reservation 15 minutes prior and already gave our card information, so whatever. The room is small, but cozy. The shower tiles are outdated and displeasing to put your foot on to shower. Microwave, check. Half of a mini fridge, check. Two spots for a/c. One is a plug-in wall unit while the other, a basic house thermostat. My husband got the a/c started, while I verified my license with the front desk. Then, we put the pups into their kennels to enjoy the town before coming back and taking them out to the dog beach. Upon arrival back to the room, the a/c was off. Not, ‘just turned off for a second’ but enough for this tiny room to be inhumanly hot. I forgot to mention I have two huskies. Two huskies that were panting like crazy, dripping saliva and eager to get to water and out of the room. I rushed down to the front desk, who was a different person. I’m angry. I tell him what’s going on, it’s unacceptable, and it needs to get fixed. Another woman walked in and I walked back up to the room with a general understanding the gentleman would get maintenance or something. My husband got it back on by the time I came back. The front desk guy had a major attitude in response to a terrible situation. He began by stating “We’ll, we don’t allow dogs here.” And, “You’re not gonna bully me.” while he wagged his finger at my face after I insisted to now be shown this new found pet policy in the office. By the way, I asked for them to take off the dog charges for their suffering. They refused. a/c systems- they are claiming these basic wall window units are “possibly motion sensor” activated. Guess what that means ladies and gentlemen?! You’re room will be HOT unless you stay in it and move around?!! Not dated enough to be true. Oh, and he’d interrogated me asking if my husband and I had been drinking. When I said no, he said “Well you’re husband was.” Guess what? He had 1 sour beer during dinner. How incredibly unprofessional. But it gets worse. This guy now tells me he’s getting his manger and asks me to leave the room. I do. I get my husband. He now tells me the manager will be calling me. Great! What I’ve wanted this whole time. She was informative about their policy that they don’t allow dogs unattended the entire stay, and that the employees should have mentioned it and didn’t do that was clearly their fault. I, again, asked for the pet fees to be taken off. This manger refused and said “maybe” I can speak with another manager tomorrow morning to get 1 fee off. Are you kidding me? I’m so sick of writing now, I hope you all get the point. By the way, they’re only taking off 1 $50 charge after this disgusting experience. Never again. I hope this money was worth...

Manager called my 76 year old Mom a LIAR - TERRIBLE Customer ServiceIn a blatant and egregious exchange with the manager Inez, this is my experience:

My mom called to cancel 3 hours past the '72 hour' cancellation deadline.She was told by the front office clerk that she would check with the manager about not charging her the 1st night fee.

Clerk called back several minutes later and said my mom would NOT be charged. I was on speaker phone and heard this live.

The next day, the Seaway manager, INEZ, called my mom to tell her she would be charged. My mom told her what the clerk had said and Inez said there was no record of that conversation - so it didn't happen and my mom was LYING.

My mom was charged. I live in Santa Cruz and went to the Seaway in person to talk to Inez.

The first time I went, the clerk said she wasn't there and I left my number for her to call me. She NEVER called me.

I went in person again and Inez was at the front desk. I sat down and recounted the exchange between my mom and the clerk and asked that my mom be refunded. Inez said no - SEAWAY is a BUSINESS and they have a right to charge for cancellations.

This is true, however, hotels survive on CUSTOMER SERVICE and reviews. Inez had the authority to issue a refund, SHE CHOSE NOT TO.

She chose a short term gain of $250 rather than a REPEAT CUSTOMER that would have spent $1000 EVERY TIME my mom comes to visit me.

THIS IS SHORTSIGHTED and when I pointed this out to Inez the conversation got heated. INEZ repeated countless times that Seaway is a business.

I said the result of that way of running a HOSPITALITY business is TERRIBLE customer service which will be reflected in online reviews.

ADDITIONALLY, this review is based on MORE THAN ONE experience at the Seaway. I have stayed at the Seaway before. The rooms are tiny, the bathroom door did not close all the way, and the sink was very scratched up and clogged and overflowed onto the bathroom floor in the middle of the night. I guess they need every $250...

It's so disappointing to stay in a hotel several times over the years, only to show up in 2022 and have it be SO UNBELIEVABLY poor it's like management has just thrown in the towel on service and cleanliness. I'm still kind of in shock that this is the same hotel my family has visited when we come "home" to Santa Cruz (lived there for 15 years during high school/college) and had previously good experiences. This time around? I took my 14 year old daughter to the Seaway and the microwave smelled of old food, was burnt in several places in the interior, the carpets were stained, and there was black fur/hair all over the pillow cases. The room smelled like cleaning solution and old food. Front desk staff? She was training someone new, which was fine, when we checked in. But instead of saying anything to me when I walked up, the customer service staff member looked like she couldn't be bothered and her demeanor was as such. She didn't smile, wasn't very welcoming, and was more focused on training her new hire (who actually was better at customer service than her trainer!). In any case, the service was poor and the room? For $230 you would never advertise let alone SELL a room like that. It was worth about $60 if you were desperate ....was reminiscent of what you think a cheap roadside motel would be like, minus the fleas. Management was interested in feedback, but didn't take any responsibility for the state of the room or service. They offered me an $18 discount and a few excuses for the dirty room and poor service as a "concession". I worked in hospitality a long time before owning my own business (10 years) - I know how hard it can be. I also know what good service is, cleanliness, and what an experience should be at any level of price. The Seaway Inn has gone downhill in all 3 categories. It's sad because it's a great location and used to be a place we'd to like to stay in when visiting our hometown. Save your money. Go stay...