Yak milk bone (for dogs) and goat milk soap (for people) - these are but two of the more…read moreinteresting things we discovered during our stay at this dog-friendly bed and breakfast. Sitah and Dale (the owners) and their staff went out of their way to make us feel welcome. Their affable mien, as well as their superb culinary skills, made our stay memorable and deeply satisfying. We chose the East Room. It is lovingly decorated, spacious, and well-furnished. The queen size bed, desks, sofa, mini-fridge, and heater that warms up the toilet seat provide just about all of the creature comforts one needs. The room also has a fire stove to delight the pyromaniacs and a huge, deep stone soaker tub that can easily accommodate two sumo wrestlers (or half a dozen jockeys). A couple of things to note: (1) There's no cell phone reception (at least not T-Mobile or Sprint). But there is free WiFi. (2) While the windows and skylights may infuse the room with a bright and cheery feel, they may make it hard for you to sleep in late. So don't forget to pack your sleep mask.

I've been holding off with my review for nearly 8 months because I wanted to be sure that the…read moreRedwood Croft would live up to my expectations of a 5 star establishment. I am so delighted to now say that Sitah and Dale made the most special day of my life a total dream. After searching up and down the California coast for a place to get married that felt "right", I was feeling pretty disheartened and was ready to throw in the towel. But, on a whim, we decided to take a trek to Bonny Doon on our way to another venue location and I happened upon the Redwood Croft for a potential place for out of town guests to stay. And wouldn't you know it, they mentioned they host events on their website! My now husband and I took a day and drove down the coast from San Mateo and stopped in to chat with Sitah about her home. The place was (is!) stunning and from the moment we set foot on the grounds, we knew it was the perfect place to get married. Sitah and Dale charge a reasonable amount for the 2 night rental of their whole B&B, plus having nearly 100 people on-site for a wedding! It was so magical to spend the night there before the wedding, then to wake up and eat Sitah's homemade blueberry pancakes (which she made a batch gluten free for me! So amazing!) and spend the rest of the day primping and relaxing before we said "I do!" on their beautiful back lawn and garden. They made everything go so smoothly and they opened their home to my family for the weekend -- it made the wedding weekend just sublime. Before we had our big day, the hub and I spent an impromptu overnighter at the Croft, just to get a feel for it. Our night was peaceful (we stayed in the East Room) and I can't wait to go back now and spend special weekends and anniversaries there. Thank you, Sitah and Dale, for making our day a true piece of romance. Our memories will be sweet and our life will be grand and you had a hand in making that come true for us!

We had some minor issues the first night but everything was quickly taken care of. Nice clean…read morecabins. Great location. Hosts were very nice.

Felton is stunning--majestic redwoods, peaceful river vibes... or so we thought. Unfortunately, the…read moreproperty owner had other plans. We arrived Mother's Day weekend hoping for serenity and got a front-row seat to her personal 40th birthday rave. The main river access? Taped off for her party from Friday to Sunday. The peaceful sounds of nature? Drowned out by a DJ and enough bass to rattle the trees from 5-9pm on Saturday. Other guests looked just as confused as we were. Things really peaked when our assigned parking spot was taken by a party guest after we came back from dinner, and the "emergency" contact basically said, "Good luck--there's a party going on." Nobody in the office, of course. The cabins themselves? Think sad summer camp meets thrift store chic--hot, musty, and uncomfortable, with a creaky bed and WiFi that gave up faster than we did. The location has so much potential, but, unfortunately is neglected by an owner who doesn't care about you or your stay. In fact, she passed by my family a few times and did not appear to be friendly. If you're looking for peace and nature, this place might deliver--just not when the owner's throwing herself a bash like it's Coachella.

I can't say enough about this place!…read more Mary our hostess was so nice welcoming and helpful. She made us feel like we were staying at a friend's house. Our room had an incredible view. I can't believe the description was a partial view. It definitely was more than a partial view. We had a soaking tub with whirlpool jets. A king size bed and a fireplace. A miniature refrigerator, and bathrobes to use while we were there. They have a wine and cheese hour from 4:30-5:30 every evening and it also had chocolate chip cookies and veggie tray. The breakfast in the morning was so delicious with an assortment of breads, homemade granola and muesli, fresh fruit, quiche and fresh baked cake (lemon, banana, and blueberry were the flavors the days we stayed). The location is walking distance to the pier, boardwalk, and downtown. Depending on how far you like walking we walked to Natural Bridge State Park and it was 2.7 miles. The view along the way is spectacular

We stayed at West Cliff Inn a week ago and were surprised to find it didn't have air conditioning…read morewhich means we had to choose to either be way to hot or leave the windows open and it be loud and bright. So while the beds were comfortable we didn't sleep at all while we were there. Proximity to the beach, Ward and board walk are amazing. However, someone did break into our rental car and steal $250 from our golf bag. That's our bad for leaving clubs in the car but it is a bummer that the facilities are not secure in any way. The breakfast is just a continental breakfast and is over marketed as something much fancier and one of the staff told me the wine and cheese is just from Costco so not local pairings as I would have expected. Overall, it was advertised as a boutique experience but really it was pretty generic and just over priced for the location.

Simply wonderful. Beautiful setting, gorgeously maintained. Rustic yet clearly cared for with love,…read morehard work, and dedication. The grounds are beautiful, whether you just look out from the stately house, or if you wander on some of the trails -- maybe set for a spell on a bench. If you're looking to exhale and then breathe in amazing nature, you have found the place! The room is very comfortable, too. Our bathroom was plenty big and roomy. Loved the big bath (whirlpool, if you like). The 'full breakfast' is fantastic. Jen is a wonderful baker (a breakfast bread pudding one day; mini churros another day), and each morning we had a varied and hearty breakfast that was delicious and well-balanced. The house itself is big and inviting with hip old timey jazz pipedor more modern-day chanteuses gently piped in. Enclosed porch for reading or just relaxing. Our room had a private porch, too. So much here. So many ways to really unwind. Walking around the grounds is inspiring. I ran into Derek a time or two who was relaxed but busy on the many projects that keep him focused here. The whole place looks perfect for a wedding, or a family gathering, or even a business get-away. Or, of course, just a simple, lowkey retreat. Lovely hidden (but easy to find) gem. Can't wait to return.

Really beautiful venue for a wedding, beautiful displays on tables. (However, food: was so-so. )read more

It's a fine place, good walking distance to the boardwalk and nice outside. My family and I have…read morebeen going here for about 15 years and over that time the price has slowly crept up (which is to be expected, and I didn't have a problem with). But, I just looked and the cheapest room in June over $600 a night, which is insane. Update: they did reduce the rates to $400 a night, but they were over $600 a night when I first posted this. Either that was a mistake on their website or they're trying to gaslight me. I even took a screenshot that I've attached.

Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful!!!! It is an older building, but you would not know. It is gated…read moreand protected. Right on the water. The views, amazing!!! I highly recommend the second floor rooms. You can still see the view from the first, but they have plants growing up over the fence so it is harder to have the full view. They serve fresh cookies, breakfast in the morning, and always have tea, water, and coffee in the office. It's nice and cozy in there with a couple tables to enjoy your food or drink. There are also tables outside. Unfortunately they do not have a spa or pool. They do have some rooms with a spa tub. Our room was on the smaller size. There are no air conditioners in the room. In the closet was a fan and a space heater. We had our window open at night for the fresh ocean breeze and that kept Us cool enough for an August evening. We had a mini fridge, microwave, and safe in another closet. No coffee maker or complimentary water in the room. That is all located in the office. The bathroom was a great size for two of us. It was stocked with shampoo, conditioner, body wash, lotion, and soap. I don't recall seeing a blow dryer. The bed was ok. Not uncomfortable, but not comfortable. Location is great. The pier and boardwalk are all walking distance. Lots of restaurants and shops. The hotel is on a cliff so there is not direct access to the beach. You do need to walk a little bit down the street to gain access, but it is a very short walk. I highly recommend staying here. I can not wait to go back.

The Aloha Cottage is Amazing. It gives you so much privacy and is in immaculate condition…read more Everything is brand new but still has that welcome home feel. You can definitely tell the owners really have put a lot of thought and effort into their cottage. It is just a block from an amazing surf spot and the neighborhood is very welcoming. For all you get the price is ridiculously good. Has everything you need for a perfect getaway; even has a BBQ and full kitchen!!!

I recently stayed here for a short vacation with my little family. I noticed that this place has…read morerecently been upgraded. And I loved it. The rooms were big and modern. It is a self check in which made things really easy for checking in. One thing I will say the I had bad service and took me a while for the email with the code to the door to load. That is a small detail and still would say it is a great place to stay.

Place is clean, staff freindly and location is conveninent…read more The only con is that it just needs to be updated a bit. The shower curtain has a funky smell. Otherwise, it's a decent place to sleep.

Made reservations and let them know we would be arriving after about 7 or 8 pm. They said late…read morecheck ins are no problem, we just need to call a # for entry as they lock up the lobby and leave at a certain time. We arrived and saw the paper on the front entrance with the number to call for entry.... no answer. We texted and called numerous times, all while standing outside in the dark. We never got in. Had to find a hotel last minute, which we did, thankfully! The following week, I got a text with no apology or no reason as to what happened- just a short text saying " we will refund you". Would never reserve a room here or attempt tp stay again. TERRIBLE customer service.

My wife surprised me and booked us a trip to Santa Cruz for my 40th birthday. We stayed at the…read morePacific Blue In and we both really enjoyed it. The room was small, but the bed was super cozy and I really loved the bathroom with open concept shower. The room had a window AC unit and a fan, which we really didn't need because the weather in Santa Cruz is basically perfect. This hotel is within walking distance to the beach, a gorgeous wine bar, amazing local food spots, coffee shops, and downtown Santa Cruz. In fact, during our last night here we walked all over downtown Santa Cruz grabbed a drink and some ice cream and felt 100% safe doing so. They don't offer room service, as this is a very small mom and pop style hotel, but I believe they do have a kitchen? I kept smelling food, but couldn't figure out where it was coming from. The staff here is awesome and really made our trip special. My wife was able to coordinate with Alondra, in the front office, and she set up a 40th birthday surprise cake and balloons in our room before we got there. It was awesome! I can definitely see us returning to this hotel for our next Santa Cruz visit.

Decided to stay here myself to see what's what. Wellstone Center in the Redwoods sounds like a…read morewriter's paradise, but buyer before - as others before have mentioned, it is assuredly not. (Check the filtered/hidden reviews.) Wellstone is marketed as a retreat center for aspiring writers, but it does indeed feel more like a shoddy youth hostel. The main house may have once been majestic, but it has fallen into a state of disrepair. The accommodations were poorly maintained and unsanitary, with ripped furniture, non-functioning lamps, and mildew in my bathroom. The grounds were in a sad state, with a filthy pool and unusable hot tub that had only a few inches of dirty water. The mattress was so old, uncomfortable, and sagging that I simply didn't sleep. The bedding had some unidentifiable stains that appeared to be fluids, which was quite concerning. When I brought it up with the hosts, they seemed completely unconcerned and dismissed me. The bath towels were old, scratchy, and smelled of mildew. As others have mentioned, the hosts request that you use cloth napkins - which is great, except that they do not wash theses napkins between meals. They instead instructed us to re-use other guests' napkins at subsequent meals, which is dangerously unhygienic. Reminder that I came here to write. It was a terrible place for me to write, in part because there's a loud family that lives in the house, and in part because there were no lights. That's right -- no lights bright enough to read by. A few mood lamps, nothing more. I am not a morning person and do most of my writing in the evenings. At sundown, I was forced to be done with all reading. It was too dark to read my book drafts, which I'd printed out; let alone any primary sources, books I was using for research. Unless you happen to bring a headlamp or a bevy of your favorite floor-lamps, you will also be out of luck. Make sure to read the other reviews that have been filtered out before you decide to apply for this "writing retreat." For me, it was neither a retreat nor a useful place to write. I wish I'd booked a hotel instead. You might want to consider the same.

Beautiful space to work as a writer. Peaceful, delicious food and invaluable feedback from fellow…read morewriters.