My husband and I love to stay at the National 9. The owners take good care of us and if we have any requests, they do their best to accommodate us. The rate is very low, which allows us to go to Santa Cruz more often than if we stayed at a more luxurious motel, and that is the choice we make. It's not as nice as a lot of places, but the value is great. We ride our bikes from the hotel to the boardwalk and all around town, and even have enough room in our motel room to put our bikes overnight.
Complainers need to remember that this is a good deal and to treat the owners/managers with respect. They will return that respect, rest assured. Kindness begets kindness.

Asked for a room to be held saying would arrive in 5-10 minutes. Had an accident enroute and called to say we were unable to stay in Santa Cruz. Even though it was a holiday weekend and the property coul easily have sold the room to another traveler, they refused saying "it was in the computer and they could do nothing to reverse it". I know beter. Based on their attitude and the other reviews I would recommend you avoid this property.

The National 9 Motel is quite possibly the worst place on Earth. I was eaten alive by bedbugs at the National 9 Motel. I woke up with over a dozen welts between 1 and 3 inches long after I spent the night at the National 9 Motel. The room at the National 9 Motel looked clean but had a very strange earthy smell, and by the time I gotten past the National 9 Motel's con artist at the front desk I was too exhausted to argue for my money back and find another place. Warning! The National 9 Motel in Santa Cruz should be avoided like the plague!!!

Here is what happened:

My son and I flew into San Jose from Portland, Oregon with the plan of staying one night in Santa Cruz...then driving Big Sur.... and staying in Santa Barbara for a few nights. My son is 8 years old and thinks every motel room is the most exciting thing ever..but even he was ready to get out of there after this mostly sleepless night.

The first thing I noticed was that the room was incredibly warm. I quickly discovered that the heat was on and there was no A/C. Just a fan. I called the office and was told that because Santa Cruz gets very cold at night, we would want the heat on and wouldn't need the a/c (even though it was hot when we arrived.). By the way, we are from the NW and never use the heat at night and I felt it couldn't possibly get THAT cold in SC at night. It was sunny and very warm outside at 5 pm. So, I turned the heat off (so I thought) and we went out for dinner and the arcade. When we returned a few hours later, the room was scorching hot. Apparently the "off" button failed to turn off the heat. I called the manager and was told the pilot light had to be turned off and only they could do that. So..a very nice man showed up at our door and turned it off for us. No problem, I figured. All seemed better....till about 6 am the next morning. My son woke up complaining of being "itchy" and apparently had been up many times throughout the night. I turned on the light and he had little bites on his back and legs. Oh crap!! I didn't have any kind of medication for him, so I first suggested he take a warm bath to perhaps get some relief. But..oh yes...I almost forgot..NO HEAT at 6 am in the morning on the central coast. Yes..she was right. It WAS cold and we had no way of getting any heat without tracking down someone from the office. My son decided to make it quick and deal with it. But then....the next problem was the tub drain. The drain plug didn't fit, so there was no way to keep the water in....so no bath. He ended up taking a shower and then froze when he got out. I was so cold, I skipped my much needed shower and just wanted to get packed up and leave.

When we checked out (which turned out to be quite early because we could not wait to get out of there), I told the woman at the desk about our bite ordeal. She quickly and defensively denied that it could have possibly been bed bugs. She said it must have come from somewhere else. I told her I just wanted her to be aware..but she became clearly upset and left us standing there!! We had already returned the key and paid or $53, so we left, vowing never to return.

I saw so many positive reviews, but they must have stayed in a different room....or just caught this place on a good night...or something. Obviously, I won't stay again.