Casablanca Inn - Santa Cruz, California

Helen Whyte

My granddaughter and I stayed there while on a college tour. It was perfect for us. Clean, very comfortable beds, great shower, etc. we could walk to places to eat, as well as out onto the boardwalk. Great place!

Pete

Stayed 8 nights, was very happy with room.

Complimentary fresh morning coffee at check in area a plus.

Stayed several times and would stay again!

Special shout out to staff, who are all SUPER nice, professional, friendly, welcoming and accommodating.

Had the pleasure of seeing Jessica the most, but also with Ellen and Cody.

Kyle D.
Los Angeles

Andrew Rios

So my opinion is this was a motel 6 type room & service with a pretty good view. The front desk clerk did not care for her job, did not care for people around her and we were not greeted at all. Now I understand this may be the type of people you encounter at a motel 6 type place but didn't expect here. We all have bad days but just voicing my experience. The room service bulletin inside your room states if you need anything to text or call a number after 2pm and they'll try to accommodate, weird for a "nice" expensive place. The balcony view of the beach was pretty good. The room was literally motel 6 vibes, you'll know what I mean when you book. Growing up I've always wanted to stay at this place with that view. Now I know and I won't be staying there again, nothing fancy and lame attitude/demeanor from the desk.

Alberto

Positive: Great location, great ocean views, helpful and accommodating staff. Hotel was clean enough, but it is old with a fresh coat of paint (which is already chipping and peeling).. overall it is a good place to stay and was reasonably priced. Negative: Rooms with ocean views also have view of the room from people using the decks and the walkway so it is lacking some privacy. I think the windows may have tiny, but not sure.

Adam Luke

Really wanted to like this place and I never leave reviews but I felt this was needed for other people looking into it.

Here’s some background. We were traveling with our under two year old. Stayed for three nights. Arrived after dark and put the baby down when we got there.

Location was wonderful and next to the pier and volleyball courts. Check in and out was easy. That’s the last of the good.

Room was not toddler friendly. Gas-like metal pipes sticking out of the wall. Wall outlets half broken with wires exposed. Some holes in corners of walls where it looks like someone stuffed scotch tape to cover. Dirty floors on arrival. Minimal privacy with where our room was at with just light curtains that were too far from window to do much. Non Connected room with sketchy looking door with no handle and latch on it. Walls sounded like they were made from cardboard. We could hear the lobby bathroom every time someone used it.

And finally. Bedbugs. My wife noticed some bites our second day. I had them after we got back home. Zigzag bites. No other reason to have insect bites that came from no where. Mattresses looked like they were 20 years old and my wife noticed a large indention in hers (we had two queens).

We paid almost 450$ per night on Wednesday-Saturday Labor Day weekend.

Unfortunately I didn’t think of taking pictures so it’s only my word. In my opinion the location does not justify how little they take care of their hotel. Choose elsewhere.

Michael Hoffman

Right next to beach and the santa cruz pier. Had our own private balcony with a beach view. Pet friendly. Staff was courteous and friendly. Definately worth it and will stay if ever in the area again. The lobby portion of the property is historical.

Marena Tedaldi

I recently stayed at this hotel and, while I was greeted with warmth and kindness by the front desk staff, there were a few issues that affected my overall experience.

Unfortunately, my room was quite noisy, with sounds from neighboring units, the street, and nearby construction making it difficult to relax. On top of that, the TV wasn’t working, and the WiFi was down, which made it impossible to use my devices to help drown out the noise.

There were also cleanliness concerns. I noticed footprints in the shower and dust and hair on the floor, which left me feeling uneasy.

Due to these issues, I ended up leaving around 7 PM as I couldn’t settle in comfortably. While I spent less than an hour in the room, I hope this feedback helps improve future stays for other guests.

Alan Almeida

We love everything about the Casablanca Inn. My family has been vacationing in Santa Cruz going all the way back to the early 1900s. I grew up going to Santa Cruz as a child, and Casablanca was one of our favorites, then, in the 60s and 70s. Our most recent visit here last week added to those memories. The Casablanca Inn appears to be one of the last surviving beach hotels in Santa Cruz, with a long, rich history. It's original buildings, which are a beautiful example of Mediterranean inspired architecture, blend seamlessly with their newest addition. (Note: I prefer older, classic hotels with character over the latest steel, glass, and concrete offerings.)

All buildings here are well maintained and offer 3 levels of the best views of the adjacent Main Beach (right across the street, with sidewalk gated access), and nearby Casino, and Wharf.

The hotel staff including Jessica, Jada, Cody, and Ellen were very friendly and helpful. Our room, which was on the lower level, has a shared balcony overlooking Beach Street. This is a great feature and one we enjoyed throughout the day and night. With the door and windows closed, there was virtually no street noise.

The room was clearly renovated recently, and was clean, providing comfortable beds, a mini fridge (that actually could freeze things), a microwave, K cup coffee maker, hairdryer, and iron/board. I must add, the large screen TV with Dish Network (with 2 remotes) had the best picture quality I have ever seen at a hotel.

All this and dog friendly, too. Our dog was right at home here and we welcomed the enclosed gravel and grass dog run “potty area”, which also provided plastic bags and a trash container.
We look forward to our next stay.

Note: If you are staying in a lower level Ocean View balcony room, you can temporarily park on Beach Street, adjacent to the sidewalk access gate to unload your luggate, etc. From there, it is just a few steps up to your room.