After reading other reviews on TripAdvisor and searching for lodging in the Santa Cruz area that was dog friendly, I settled on making a week-long reservation at Pelican Point Inn while visiting family for the Thanksgiving holiday.

My first-floor room was just perfect -- a nice living room area with comfy sofa and daybed and a TV, a well-equipped kitchenette with good sized fridge/freezer, coffeemaker, microwave and toaster, and gas stovetop, clean modern bath, and a separate bedroom with another TV. The bedroom was at the back, away from the road, and looked out onto a nice bamboo grove and privacy fence.

The owner, Ann, made me and my golden retriever feel very welcome, and we both thoroughly enjoyed our stay. I won't be looking anywhere else for lodging the next time I come to Santa Cruz -- this little motel is a real gem.

This was our first time visiting Santa Cruz and what I found was that hotels are pretty pricey! That being said, after reading reviews on Trip Advisor, I decided to book here. We had a great experience and will definitely be back.

First, the one con that kind of put me off: When I called to make the reservation, I was asked what time I was arriving. I said 1pm and they said that was fine. When we arrived at 3pm, the room wasn't ready. So we went to grab a bite to eat and returned. The room still wasn't ready. So we went to the beach for about 45-60 mins and when we returned, it was ready. Parking is a little tight but manageable.

Pros! The room was very comfortable. I LOVED that it had a kitchenette!! There was a fridge, freezer, sink, microwave, stove, dishes, utensils, it was great. And I can see staying here for a longer period of time and putting it to good use. The beach was totally within walking distance and the area is very nice. At first I was worried that the semi-busy street would keep me awake. But the noise died down at night and it was fine. The staff is very friendly and the place is pretty clean.

So for the price and the area, we found this was a really great place to stay.

We stayed here for 2 nights with our teen age kids. The property is a bit dated, but the owenrs take pride in providing a clean room. We appreciated the hard wood floors over nasty carpet! We stayed in the 3 bed unit. The shower pressure was great. We had a full size frig & microwave. The owner is very nice and works hard to run her business. Since there was no a/c and the ceiling fan was not working, she found 2 fans for our rooms. It provided a comfortable night for us all.

My sister and I had the opportunity to stay at the Pelican Point a few weeks ago on our way up the coast. The room was very clean and spacious, providing us more room than a typical hotel room. The best part about it was we were able to stay with our dog. At first I was a little disappointed by the location but I realized when walking my dog that just a few blocks away is a stairway down to the beach which made for a lovely morning walk. I would definitely recommend the property.