Harbor Inn - Santa Cruz, California

Tammy Buttelo

We had a two story family suite and it was horrible !!! It was tiny and cramped , overpriced , the beds were hard and uncomfortable , we kept hitting our heads trying to get in and out of bed due to low hanging walls around beds. The bathroom was tiny , the shower was tiny and we kept knocking the shampoo and conditioner dispenser off the wall try to wash our hair.

N

This is a clean, affordable place to stay while you are in the Santa Cruz area. It is obvious the staff and owners take pride in giving guests a nice experience. Charming. Coffee, bath essentials, airy rooms all provided. I had a small fridge and iron, blow dryer. Other small thoughtful items included. Definitely will return.

Alex Cernac

I stayed at the Harbor Inn in 2019 for three days in early April and again in 2022 for a full week, March 26 to April 2. I did obtain a larger room with its own bathroom, room 101, which faces 7th street. The room was quite comfortable for me and the noise from 7th cut off at night and it was easy to sleep. The price was reasonable, though it needs to be stated that the price per night does increase for Friday and Saturday nights, though still quite inexpensive. It did not bother me that there was no room cleaning service. There was a cabinet with clean towels and wash clothes. The location and the fact that I only needed a place to sleep, made this a very good solution for my needs. I endorse this establishment as a solid place to stay, especially if all you need is a place to sleep for a few days.

E Graze

We had a comfortable stay. Having read some of the reviews that the traffic noise on Seventh could be an issue, I asked for a quieter room. We stayed in 306, which is a ground floor room in the 2nd building. Be aware that not all rooms have private bathrooms. Although not listed on its website, basic toiletries such as shampoo, conditioner and body wash, and a hair dryer were provided. The water pressure in the shower was awesome!

K

Such a great deal. Staff was so helpful and cane right to my door when I needed extra towels and coffee packets. Place was very quiet and so close to the beach. I will most likely be staying here again when I visit Santa Cruz. My children loved the loft room. Overall great experience

Julie H

Homey and clean, friendly staff, wi-fi worked most but not all of the time. Appreciated the refrigerator, microwave and coffeemaker in room 306. The walls are thin, so I would bring earplugs just in case you don't have the quietest neighbors. The bed was fine for me, but soft and oddly slants a bit from the middle to each side. Unless you want to stop at the small deli/grocery about 1/2 way to the beach on 7th, I'd advise turning right at the first signal (Eaton, sign toward East Harbor) and walk to the beach via 6th Ave. - much quieter and you can see how folks have fixed up their homes and gardens (or not). For larger supply run there's a Safeway about 5 - 7 min drive away.

Russel Stuck

If you like a kinda rustic place to vacation with 2 teens this is the place to stay. Our 2 bed loft room with futon was perfect, check in was super easy, our room was well appointed and super clean. We are Vagabonds, so we don't need a big place to stay, and once we got familiar with Santa Cruz again, we found that the Harbor Inn was conveniently located to pretty much everything we wanted to do and see. The boardwalk is about a mile away by car, Harbor Beach is within walking distance, and Days Market is close. Needless to say we will be staying here again soon!

Diana C. MiLLer

Poor hospitality. I saw the rates were cheaper through third-party travel sites than harbor inn itself. To be more small-biz friendly, i phoned harbor inn to ask if I could book with them directly and get the better rate, to save them the middleman costs.

The receptionist wasn’t sure if she had the authority to do so and deferred to the manager, Trenton, who was nice about it and he answered my questions about the types of rooms, etc. Great. Imagine my surprise when he is nowhere to be found either day or night when we stayed, and that he claimed via the receptionist “not to remember” the conversation. It’s a difference of ten dollars a night—won’t make or break anyone, just shows your patrons that you’re honest and not a shitbag and care about them recommending your business to others.

They also charge your card in full BEFORE you stay there. Seems like a trashy and mistrustful system. Have never experienced this.

We had planned to stay three nights but the smoky air from the wildfires and the lame service combined to make leaving seem preferable.

Room was fine but cobwebby. There are some windows which can’t be closed (and have no screens) which might not be an issue except that the smoke from the wildfires had the air quality rather toxic during our stay.