Santa Cruz Dream Inn - a Joie de Vivre Boutique Hotel, Santa Cruz

I drove to Santa Cruz in 1992, and I had never been so close to the ocean! I spent the night at the Dream Inn and I had one whole wall of glass doors opened with a perfect view of the beach, ocean, and boardwalk as I listened to the waves and smelled the surf nearly all night! It was a heavenly (and yes, even dreamy) place for me and I treasure every moment I had at the Dream Inn. Santa Cruz is such a quaint little city with the beach right downtown! Great little shops and restaurants. The mountain is amazing with so many different sites on the way up -along with the Redwood trees that were magnificent! I'm so glad to see that the Dream Inn is still making memories of the ocean for others! I'm changing my usual vacation to make a reservation at the Dream Inn and drive hi-way 101 from LA to Santa Cruz. It's beautiful! Even though I was alone, it was the most special and memorable trip I have ever taken

We thoroughly enjoyed the Dream Inn. A beautiful spot and lovely hotel. Great staff, very friendly and helpful. Great location, near the wharf and down the street from the on-the-beach amusement park ( great for kids of all ages). The restaurant is very nice and the wharf has many choices if you desire more. Nice pool area too and right on the beach. It was not cheap but for that location and and that level of hotel we thought it was worth the price.

Checked in at 5:00/room not ready. Rainwater shower head was painful. Handheld lever left on and got a spray of cold water right in the face. Lever was also loose. Bath towels scratchy as burlap. Room service menu very limited. Food plated extremely minimally and was cold when delivered. Lime green shutters and a bright yellow plastic chair better suited for a fast-food restaurant than a high-priced hotel. When we filled out the survey Dream Inn sent us - their response to our opinion of the decor was: "we took a risk and felt this was appealing to California families. Sorry this hotel is not for you." Wow! We dropped over $800 in an overnight stay at their place and restaurant and this is the response we get when asked what our opinion was. How many "California families" go to Santa Cruz to drop that kind of $$ ? Needless to say, this "California family" will not be staying at the highly overrated Dream Inn nor at any of the other chains facilities. I'll take my money elsewhere.

Pros: Wonderful comfy bed (King Deluxe), great view of the bay. Cons: Robes were flimsy and scratchy; shower felt like needle pricks. Way overpriced, even for the beach.....next will stay next door at the Sea and Sand Inn.

We had a fantastic stay at this funky little location. Tucked away across from the boardwalk is this truly mod california-esque charmer. Our room was colorful and functional and the view of the pacific ocean sun set and sun rise is as fine as you could hope to imagine. We stayed the weekend before the season actually began and found the location, the people, and the accomodations to be wonderful and engaging. Highly recommend this Hotel. "Dream Inn" is not overstating our stay.

Went to Santa Cruz for Memorial Day Weekend 2009. The hotel has had a great renovation and has the look of a retro hotel with the comforts of a newer boutique hotel (the restaurant is still undergoing renovation so it was closed, even though the signage says opening spring 2009. Room service is available from 7am to 5pm). Stayed in the top (10th) floor Cloud Suite. The room was spacious and has a separate sitting area along with a "bedroom" area. Both areas contain a TV and fridge (one used as mini/honor bar). Room was very clean, view was amazing with a private balcony. The bedroom area has a door you can close to the other sitting area to block out any noise. The only issue with this room is it is right next to the elevators. That causes the elevator motor noise to echo through the walls. It was easy to get used to. There is a heater/air conditioning unit in each area so you can control the temperature separately. Pool was heated for those colder nights and was open until 11pm. Hot Tub area is small and was pretty full all weekend. All in all it was a very good stay and I look forward to returning.

I wanted to do something special for my wife's birthday, so I booked a room here, not knowing how amazing this hotel is. It took us a little under three hours to get here from Sacramento, which is a nice short drive. The staff at this hotel is SPECTACULAR!!! They were all about us enjoying our stay. They accomodated us at every opportunity. I mentioned it was my wife's birthday and there was a really super nice birthday cake waiting for us in the room when we checked in. Our room was amazing with a breathtaking view. I reccommend roon 827. It was spotlessly clean and the decor was tasteful and hip. We asked for a room that would not be subjected to the construction noise and the room they gave us was PERFECT. We didn't hear a single construction sound, and we were there on weekdays. Speaking of sound, the rolling waves are a constant presence and we had the patio door open the whole time we were there. I reccommend you go eat at the Shadowbrook restaurant in Capitola. It's only ten minutes away and the combo of that and the hotel made her birthday one she will never forget. We spent all day wandering the boardwalk and pier. So much stuff to browse. Of course I let her kick my ass at air hockey at the boardwalk... To sum it all up: 7 out of a possible 5------

I stay at the Adagio Hotel in SF often, and like JDV hotels for their hip decor, friendly staff, and good prices. We were in the Dream Suite, which was totally updated, and very nice (includes a fireplace). The price was discounted since the restaurant wasn't open and room service wasn't available, but there are so many great places to eat in SC, it really didn't matter. I look forward to staying there again this Spring/Summer. Good value and excellent location.

Fantastic pillows, luxurious down comforter. Newly remodled room. Front desk service was excellent. Plenty of hot water and a million dollar view of the ocean. Dream Inn provided an incredilble experience.

My Boyfriend and I wanted to have a little getaway and this hotel was PERFECT!!, It had the best view of the ocean and the room was very nice and clean, the sevice was wonderful and just down the street was the boardwalk, per my boyfriend we will be staying again