Islander Motel Santa Cruz

The room was lovely and the location was great but it smelled like bleach and the AC was suuuuper loud.

They was very rude over inn front desk check -inn ain’t not good Hospitality. Still ask me 100$ for Deposit.

Clean and renovated room.

The room was nice and clean. Nice staff. We didn't like waiting 30 minutes for our room to be finished at check in.

Straight forward basic motel. Good location, central to many Santa Cruz destinations. Aged decor. Room was not well stocked (started with 1/2 roll of toilet paper for 4 people) and had to go to front desk to ask for more. Then used 3 tissues and box was empty had to go get more.

Had a wonderful stay thank you

Older motel with clean rooms... Parking was a bit tight, but we managed. One of the MOST comfortable beds I've ever slept in a motel. The room was unusually dark, which was amazing.

We arrived to check in, the guy at the front couldn’t find our names. He tried telling us our check in was for the following day, not the day we arrived, and I was baffled because I know what I booked. I even showed him the confirmation, roughly 2-3x times. He also mentioned he couldn’t find our room with the confirmation # I received. He finally found it after roughly 10 minutes and gave us our key.

But place was clean and convenient for the price. In morning when I checked out lady was nice.

We enjoyed our stay. All staff were helpful and able to accommodate an additional night’s stay.

This motel/hotel was super super clean, with nice bathrooms and very comfortable beds. Would come back in a heartbeat!

Good place to stay if you need to sleep. It’s just fine. Staff is friendly and the property feels pretty safe. Great for the price and location.

You can't beat the price and the accommodations were fine, considering. The owners were pleasant and helpful. Given the price, you might be surprised there's a pool and from my experience it's probably more accurate/helpful to think that they don't. Looks fine from the parking lot but nothing you'd want to get in when you see it up close. Again, it's a great deal if you're looking to save a buck.

Whenever I come to Santa Cruz, I always stay at this motel. Great staff the room is comfortable always clean. Highly recommend.

Good place to stay. The room is a bit cramped but it was clean and the bed was comfortable.

Convenient location Super clean Nice staff The stairs are hard to navigate with luggage . Rooms need area rugs

Staff and dirty toothbrush next to sink

👍

Check in and check out was both good by a nice Lady, Coffee was really good, room was clean and also a nice comfortable bed . It was definitely worth the price I would say

The staff is very unfriendly. We checked in and noticed that there was no hand soap and no tissues. We called down and were greeted by a nasty reply that “it shouldn’t be empty”. When we explained that it was we were told someone would bring it. An hour later we still hadn’t seen anyone so when we called back down we were met with the same attitude. We come to Santa Cruz multiple times per year and will never be staying here again.

Person that I’ve missed

A lil bit noise from cars but I put the fan on and it helped.

Again, if TV remote hasn't been cleaned or lotion dispenser refilled in Room 217, then please do so.

Bare bones and small room but ok. Very good bed, which made it more than okay for an $80 room.

We have stayed here many times and are always very happy with the staff and amenities. This time however, we were overcharged in our stay. They charged us a hundred more dollars than we were quoted on Hotel.com.

Gave gave two low ratings because (1) TV remote control in Rm 217 needs to be cleaned and sanitized and (2) lotion dispenser in same room needs to be refilled.

Need to clean TV remote control in Rm 217.

Location is perfect for my needs

room was comfortable and clean. had numerous issues with the internet hook up, the remote for the ac didn't work. the management was very helpful. the pool was open, the ice machine was clean and working well. there are shops and restaurants in walking distance.

The Islander is one of the most nicely remodeled and maintained classic motels that I have stayed at in a long time. It's nice to get the vintage vibe while having an otherwise modern experience. Munaf and Rose were awesome and friendly.

The staff was friendly and helpful with directions. I liked there was a lot of trash cans in the room. The room was clean. Our only concern was the parking. It was too tight. When we got back to our room all but one of the spaces were taken. The only one left was by a concrete wall and we had to squeeze into it. We were told there was street parking but we didnt feel comfortable parkingthat far from our room

For the price you are paying for the room they should offer Coffee

Fast check in/checkout. Great rooms. Easy parking. Friendly and helpful staff

All good about the property. Continuous noise of passing vehicles though.

Nothing

N/A

clean room, good location, attentive staff

Clean, cozy and close to everything

The man was very rude..tight parking . Rooms were clean pool was clean.

Clean room comfy bed and helpful staff Nothing it was perfect

Parking on site and free. Check in was simple. Staff was super friendly. Nice pool. Very convenient location.

The motel was 2 blocks from the place we were having a meeting so it was very convenient. We didn't try to use the pool so no comment on that.

No pool activity. Just needed quiet time.

We stayed in the room that is intended for people that fall under the ADA category. Especially the bathroom was excellent. Very roomy, easy to move around in. The shower had a build-in bench. Perfect. Nothing, really.

Very good location near a wonderful authentic Chinese restaurant and within walking distance to the boardwalk It’s a great property but minimal amenities although I’m not complaining because it was clean and comfortable beds and you get what you pay for

Great staff, fairly comfy bed, convienent

do not stay here if you are transgender. staff were rude and incredibly inflexible. talked down at me and nearly canceled my reservation because of a slight discrepancy with my ID. forced me to change my reservation to my deadname (myself, refused to do it themselves) to match it up with my driver’s lisence even though i had proof i had paid for the room and govt-issued ID that matched the name i gave them. have been staying at big and small hotels across the coast and this has NEVER been an issue. tiny towels as well and poor ventilation in the room, and the owners kept stink-eyeing me.

Great location and the room was clean. Would stay there again.

The location is good. The beach is a 5-10 minute walk. There’s a decent bar restaurant across the street as well as a dispensary. It didn’t feel clean. There was hair on the bathroom floor.

It was an amazing stay staff was friendly very clean Nothing I really enjoyed my stay really only meant to stay show and sleep it was a great place

BED BUGS BED BUGS, NASTY WOMAN AT FRONT DEST YELLED AT ME In 50 years of travel, this is the first really bad experience

Excellent room with amazing bed and quality pillows. Very clean and spacious. Keurig coffee in lobby. Low price but high on quality.

The sparkling cleanliness was obvious as soon as we entered the room, and our room (which looked brand new like it had recently been remodelled) was also cleaned the next day, even though we were only staying two nights so in this day and age we weren't counting on it. We saw the cleaning staff literally watching for us to leave the room so they could start cleaning! We were luckily given the room farthest from the street, so we didn't get quite as much traffic noise. (This motel is by a busy intersection in Santa Cruz, but it did seem to quiet down late at night.) The bed, pillow and bedding were all very comfortable, and towels were replaced daily. Check-in was friendly, The location was supremely convenient for walking to Pacific Ave., Midtown, etc. and had a large parking lot. The motel is a great value. The room's heater/cooler and bathroom fan were a bit noisy, and the flushing of the toilet was almost like in an airplane! We were glad to see the coffee machine in the front lobby, but when my husband went down in the morning and selected "cappuccino" no milk seemed to come out, so we ended up drinking what amounted to black coffee. The next day he added some of the powdered creamer he found by the coffeemaker, but it turned into a strange glutinous glob at the bottom of my cup (maybe because he neglected to stir it), which was kind of scary. It would be good to have some actual milk available, either in or next to the machine. But these are minor points; we would definitely stay here again!

Convenient location and quiet property. We always stay here when we visit Santa Cruz. N/A

The lady at the front was kind enough to let me check in super late. I would have been stranded. Thank you

The room was spotless as always. Check in and out was effortless and managers were pleasant and accommodating. We will definitely stay here again!

Excellent choice for the super low budget motel. Very clean , super comfy bed , room seemed recently updated and close to everything. Definitely recommend.

?

The whole place smelt like stinky feet first off!! The lady behind the counter was extremely unprofessional and rude and they ran my debit card on file three different times before even arriving and i had selected to pay in person when I made my reservations online. Thankfully my bank flagged it for suspicious activity! I was there at 3:46 pm check in isn’t even till 3:00pm and because it was Valentine’s Day most places were sold out, so of course so was this place!!! she sold my room out from underneath me for almost double what I booked it for and then she said that it was my fault I had no money and for us to leave. My fiance and I Drove 6 and half hours to just escape for a night at the beach we had money. veryglad we didn’t end up having to stay here. TVs broken air conditioning stunk and barely worked so we went down the street closer to the ocean and stayed at Hotel Santa Cruz!!! highly recommend especially after our horrible experience at the islander…. Don’t stay here

Had a great stay here at the Islander. The room was clean and smelled good, the staff was friendly and helpful, and check-in and check-out were easy. Great stay!

Room was clean, bed was comfortable, one washrag looked questionable and pillows felt a little flat

Walls very thin, can hear every sound in neighboring rooms. However, the environment is gratefully very quiet & everyone was respectful.

A hobby name of mine? Nothing negative to say?

yes.

Love this hotel

Always nice to stay here when we're in Santa Cruz. We love how convenient the location is to downtown. And the staff is so lovely and remember which room we like to stay in.

The room was clean and big and the bed was amazing. I’m not a fan of the deposit you have to put down when you check in, but I get why they may have to do it. But not everyone is going to trash the room! ?

The hotel is perfectly located within 5 minute walking distanced to main street area. 10/10 would stay here again!

Great staff

Great place

My go to hotel in SC. Clean Safe and the owners are wonderful!!!

Easy parking, friendly, helpful person at check-in, close proximity to the downtown. Good value for the price. Have stayed here before and will stay here next time I’m in Santa Cruz

The receptionist was friendly and welcoming.

It was good

Clean, comfortable and very accommodating.

I have stayed at this property 20 plus times. It is not fancy but quite clean and the staff is run by a family and they seem to really care. I stay here because I enjoy the owners (the family). Price is reasonable. Bed is comfortable, however the desk and chair is not great but I overlook this because I love the location and the people who work there.

The motel's in a good location, staff are friendly, and the rooms are clean and tidy, however the beds are very hard and uncomfortable - did not get a good night's sleep either night. There are also very bright lights along the outside walkways and the curtains don't fully block them so there was very bright strip of light in the room all night long (didn't bother me but kept my wife awake the first night).

Rooms itself were clean. the entire facility, however was tires. Just needs a refresh.

Very affordable

Comfortable and safe!

Room was comfortable and clean. The parking was right in front of our room so it was very convenient. The only thing I would mention is the noise from the parking lot in the morning got a little loud as people would leave.

Great

Pleasant short stay. Room was very small but had all the amenities we needed.

Okay do the reviews seem on par however i would like to add my 2 cents. Yes the rooms are affordable however i would never stay here again. There was a stain on my blanket and the pool closed very early. The couple who runs this place are the rudest people ever! We were so happy to go on this family trip but they charge extra per person which we did not know. It did not ask us how many people were staying and the front desk guy is super rude and sexist! He would not let me get a work in and talked over me. Very condescending towards women but once by husband stepped in it was a different tone. The woman is an instigator and they were speaking badly about us. The beds were not comfortable at all and its in a shady area. Parking lot is small and the rooms looked alot better in the photos than irl. Super disappointed, would not stay here again.

It was clean. Staff very friendly. Parking spaces are tough, very small.

Small parking lot. Be sure to call ahead with special requests for rooms. They don’t read requests.

Is was nice and close to tge beach, a little over priced.

We had a pleasant stay. Room nice and clean. Staff friendly.

We were in walking distance of Front street and lots of food options.

The room smelled bad

Great place to stay. You can walk downtown if you like. We had a car so it didn’t really matter. Great service. It’s an older motel but comfortable beds, very clean. It felt as advertised.

nice and good host

We stay here every time we visit family in Santa Cruz

Comfortable, clean room. Like having 4 pillows on the bed, 2 more puffy, 2 less puffy. Very comfortable bed. Staff friendly and attentive. Only coffee for breakfast but rather go out for breakfast anyway. Staff gave good recommendations on morning and evening dining. Could not recommend any more highly. Perhaps a bit of highway noise early in the evening that became neglible later.

Close to everything

Clean and convenient place to stay!

Definitely would stay there again. Pool could use a cleaning

One night stay and perfect location for us. Clean, comfortable and quiet as we had a 2nd story room away from the busy street(223)!

When I went to check in, the man at the front desk was kind of a jerk. The rooms were nice, easy parking, and close to pretty much everything, but again the desk man was overall not pleasant

Convenient to downtown and walkable to the Boardwalk

Good experience overall. Good location. Management was responsive to requests.

We loved how comfortable the beds were. Everything was clean and neat, and there were plenty of amenities in the room to have a comfortable stay. Although we drove somewhere else for dinner, there are plenty of places to eat close by.

A nice budget option for one night in Santa Cruz for Wharf to Wharf. The room had everything we needed, including a microwave and mini fridge for some heat n eat meals and race day breakfast, and check in and out were quick and easy. Other guests were a bit noisy, but I can’t fault the motel for that. My husband did find someone else’s undies in a drawer as he was double-checking before we left, yuck! Other than that, no issues with the cleanliness of the room, the bed was comfortable and the larger pillows were appreciated, and this was a convenient place to stay with easy access to grocery stores and the freeway. Thanks for hosting us!

Always an enjoyable time here. Staff is super welcoming and professional. Will be booking again!!

Staff is warm and welcoming. Location is very central to downtown.

Overall, we had a great stay…!

Nothing special about the hotel . The owner was not that friendly. His wife was. The room was clean l hope . The area was in a good location, next to a lot of stores and fast food restaurants .

Great location, excellent staff, comfortable bed. Older property, however very clean and well kept. Only note is no in room coffee option. Would definitely come back!

The rooms were clean and no bed bugs, the restrooms were nice. Only issue was customer service my hotel room was under my name but my husband was going to pay. The manger said no and then said he was charging a 100 dollar refundable deposit which i understand but the way he spoke to us was a little rude. Other than that everything else was very great!

Room I stayed in could definitely use a new paint job. Window was left open in room and room stunk when I checked in. It’s in an ok location. Pretty noisy with all the cars going by. People outside my room were noisy at like 1 am. Management def was not willing to listen to suggestions. Make sure you take your license plate number or else they won’t give you a room key! Will not be returning due to the management!!

Great location and comfortable room

The property was located conveniently in the middle of Santa Cruz and around some wonderful restaurants and businesses. The owner was very polite and went out of her way to help us and bring us fresh towels. I also enjoyed chatting with her. The space was clean and there is a small swimming pool in the front of the complex. We had a relaxing and joyful time there.

The staff was very helpful when we realized that it was not pet friendly ; that Expedia claimed. They still allowed us to stay and were very pleasant.

Friendly staff

just a cute no hassle surf hotel.

It was comfortable. I liked that they looked out for our vehicles in their lot.

our stay was great. Even though it is on a major through street, it was quiet at night

Overall room was clean. However front staff specifically Moe provided terrible customer service. Upon checking in, he couldn't confirm my booking and my credit card was charged twice.

Very clean. Simple and comfortable.

Rude check in

This has been an easy chexk

Very friendly and knowledgeable office staff.

Nice visit as usual. Rose was great and very accomodating. Will be back!

Pleasantness of staff.

This is a motel not so far from UC Santa Cruz and an ideal place to stay when visiting your "Slug." The parking was very lit and quite empty on Saturday night; the lady at the reception appeared very polite and with good customer skills; the prices were competitive; the shower - updated; the bed - comfy and there was even an iron and a drier, as well as a microwave and a fridge in the room. The only thing that was missing was a coffee maker and water in the outside Cold Drinks machine... but the coffee maker was not advertised as "available" in the description anyway, so I have nothing to complain about! I'd recommend this place to anyone who passes by Santa Cruz and UCSC!

Staff was kind and helpful

Everything is good

Very clean!

Very nice

Rose was wonderful! Will stay here again.

We loved the islander Motel. No hidden fees on Ac or anything of that nature. And very welcoming staff. 10/10 Would stay Again

Stains on sheets and easily opened door (thin) but nice hosts and convenient parking.

Great owners and comfortable bed. Clean rooms. Street traffic can get loud but that's why we have ear plugs.

Great off season value. Extremely comfortable and quiet rooms. Peet’s coffee in the lobby. 5 HBO channels. Cool pool. Local and friendly owners.

Easy access to all the Surfing spots..

Very good, good price

Liked it a lot.

The staff is very friendly had great interactions they really care about your comfort

Excellent motel. All around nice and comfortable

.

Motel was clean, modern and comfortable. The staff was excellent, accomodating our request for a particular room. We have stayed here often and have never been disappointed. Grea value too!

Good priced motel

Noisy people next to me

The hotel was recently remodeled, the staff was extremely accommodating, and the location was good. The entire hotel and room were clean and well maintained. I’m staying there again for sure.

Was clean and nice safe place. Comfy bed and various sized pillows.

Older motel but kept up and clean. Pleasant staff experience. Excellent morning coffee machine in lobby. Great central location for restaurants, boardwalk, downtown etc.

Nice staff and clean rooms!! Close to downtown which was perfect for us

Enjoyed our stay. Room was very private and quiet, clean and modern. Comfortable bed. Will definitely stay and recommend to family and friends. And...the price was right!

Great stay and lovely staff!!

The property was clean and the rooms were quiet and well decorated. The beds were cozy and everything smelled good. Overall this was a really nice hotel. Way nicer in my opinion, the best western next door.

Great stay. Would recommended and stay again. Parking lot was small but easy and felt safe. Check in was very nice and helpful. Quiet room in the back, couldnt hear any street or neighbor noise. Comfortable room and easily walkable.

Clean

Ok hotel. Small parking area. Room was in the back, last room inside an odd parking area. No in room coffee. Host could have been a little more friendlier.

Ii only picked this hotel because it said heated pool. But the pool was cold.

This is the second time I have stayed at this property and I will return! The managers take great pride and care of their facility. It is clean, safe, and welcoming. It is a cozy motel that is walking distance to downtown and just a few miles from the beach and the redwoods.

I had the best experience here! Staff were very polite and efficient. I felt very safe here. 10/10 would recommend to family and friends. Very convenient and very close to the boardwalk. Will definitely be staying here next time.

Our van got broken into and stole some items that were left in there.

Very nice, clean accommodations. Room was comfortable. Staff was very helpful and friendly.

Perfectly good for the price. Lovely pillows. But sadly very noisy next to the main road. All good.

Not enough parking space

The bed in the handicapped room needs to be replaced, sit on it & see for yourself.

Friendly. Accommodating.

It was a clean motel. Very small parking lots. Cute little pool

Fresh air, safe and convenient.

The motel was clean. Staff was friendly. It was close to boardwalk. Restaurants within walking distance. Only thing we weren’t to happy about was car noise from the busy street.

This is the first time that I was ever given trouble for not staying that I have 2 boys on reservation. I get it about stating all guest but my boys are 3 and 2. They almost didn’t want to allow me to stay at the hotel, and would have not refunded my $. I will not be staying here ever again.

Very clean and comfortable. The room was dark at night. The lights in the room are warm style, not that bright white LED type that I hate. Everything worked well (Wi-Fi, AC, water pressure in shower). Have stayed here twice now and would stay again.

night prepaid room charge and left and found another motel that met my needs. I have no real complaints about the property as I never actually spent more then 20 minutes there.

The Islander is so great!! I stayed here a few years ago and it was lovely. We came back and it was just as nice! Our room was clean and comfy. The air conditioner worked great, although we didn’t need it too much since the weather was perfect. The Islander is convenient to everything. The people who checked me in were delightful.I can’t recommend this motel enough./

Very comfortable for a Motel. Conscientious owners are eco friendly. Mattress very comfortable and towels are generous in size. Room was a little small but workable with a round table and chairs. TV cable not working well, I could only get local weather. I watched TV on my iPad. Otherwise comfortable.

Had all the basics. Older hotel but clean and well kept. Great location. Super nice and accommodating staff.

Had a very good stay at the islander ,clean room and bathroom , clean pool , we had a misunderstanding at check in but quickly was fixed , would stay here again ,good location

I stay here often. Some of the room are really tiny but the beds and pillows are great. And location is convenient

Clean property, good location, nice staff

I like it here

I wish that the fan/light in the bathroom was on different switches. It would be nicer in the middle of the night to not have the fan come one with the light. I love the room location in the motel and have fresh air thru the window.

I found the Islander to be just as described—clean room, well-located, good value, good welcome at the desk for my 9pm arrival.

We had a nice stay. We just spent the night but the room was clean and comfortable and not noisy.

We got exactly what we wanted. A very simple, no frills, reasonably priced room for a night. The lady at the desk wasn’t very helpful with recommendations but it gave us an excuse to explore the town. As it turns out the main downtown area is less than a miles walk across one of the nearby bridges.

It was nice

Overall great, just a bit loud because it’s next to a busy road.

Nice stay. Everything was perfect.