My wife, 21-month old son, and I needed a place to stay in Santa Cruz for one night over President's Day weekend.

It was hard to find a hotel - everything was booked up. We did a search and nothing looked good - most of the places that showed availability were cited as being run down, not clean, unsafe....several were even cited as having bed bugs!

When we came across the Hampton Inn, it was a big relief - a room opened up just prior to our heading out for the weekend.

The reviews on Trip Advisor were good - and I can corroborate these other reviews from personal experience.

We had a king size bed - cost $139/night + tax. The hotel is located just as you get off Route 17 coming into Santa Cruz. The location isn't perfect - you're a little bit away from downtown and the boardwalk....so you'll need your car to get around, but hey, that's California.... And the atmosphere is generic/anywhere America - you don't necessarily get the ambience of being in Santa Cruz.

That said, the hotel is new, very clean, the room was large, and the bed was comfortable. Lots of pillows - even a lumbar pillow. Nice clean bathroom and the shower was hot with good water pressure. Furniture was new as well... And everything well taken care of.

And Hampton Inn is a good deal. You get free Internet (so I can check those work emails and Yelp for local restaurants), they have an indoor pool (small, but perfect for little kids), and an extensive breakfast buffet. Yes, the food isn't organic or local - it's very standard American supermarket stuff....but it was very clean, very well attended (the person managing the buffet kept coming out to refill items and keep everything clean), and very convenient. Again, with kids, the less hassle the better. They even brought us a high chair...

And the managers both in the evening and the morning were VERY friendly and nice.

All in all, a very well managed property and a pleasure to stay in. You won't be coming for atmosphere - it's corporate - but you will be well taken care of and have a reliablly good stay, And again, when you've got kids, you don't need any extra challenges...

So all in all, strong recommendation. And I'd be inclined to stay at a Hampton Inn when we need to travel to other places...

We enjoyed our one night stay at the Hampton. It was extremely clean and pleasant. The hotel staff were particularly helpful and very nice. There is a small indoor pool which was very nice also. I would definitely stay there again.

Recently my husband and I returned from a 2 week holiday in San Francisco and surrounding area. We stayed at the Hampton Inn for 3 nights while exploring the coast during the days. We were very satisfied with our room - it was clean, had a "new" feel to it, and the king sized bed was heavenly. We were in a corner unit on the 2nd floor and although there was an intermittent hum from some sort of machinery below us, we soon became accustomed to it and didn't feel it necessary to ask for a change of rooms. Large closet but not too many drawers (traveling for 2 weeks, we had a lot of stuff). Small vanity in the washroom but the room itself was quite large - some hotel washrooms are so small, there is no space to turn around. The complimentary breakfast was a great feature - we could eat and then get on the road. Although by no means was it an elaborate buffet, there was enough variety to satisfy both our tastes. The dining area is bright and clean and the breakfast was well presented. There was a very attentive lady making sure everything was re-stocked. Location of the hotel is excellent - directly off the highway. It's a busy spot and I wouldn't go there to relax but for our needs, the Hampton was great. We parked at the back of the hotel with no problems - it's a well lit area and your room key unlocks the back entrance. Parking spaces are quite tight but we managed. We're not pool people but it was obvious even to us that the pool really is very small. Overall, we would certainly recommend the Hampton.

The Hampton Inn Santa Cruz is clean and comfortable. The staff is accomodating and polite. ( Thank you, Sue) We appreciate the hospitality!