Reviews of Howard Johnson by Wyndham Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk 2 stars
130 West Cliff Drive, Santa Cruz, 95060, United States
Loading
Guests also reviewed these properties:
Venice-Lido, Italy
Fuengirola, Spain
Belek, Turkey
Kansas City, United States
Hvoyna, Bulgaria
Scopello, Italy
Paris, France
Penneshaw, Australia
How guest reviews work
Each review score is between 1-10. To get the overall score that you see, we add up all the review scores we’ve received and divide that total by the number of review scores we’ve received. We use a weighted review system which means that the more recent the review, the bigger the impact on the total review score calculation. In addition, guests can give separate ‘subscores’ in crucial areas, such as location, cleanliness, staff, comfort, facilities, value for money and free Wi-Fi. Note that guests submit their subscores and their overall scores independently, so there’s no direct link between them.
You can review an Accommodation that you booked through our Platform if you stayed there or if you arrived at the property but didn’t actually stay there. To edit a review you’ve already submitted, please contact our Customer Service team.
We have people and automated systems that specialise in detecting fake reviews submitted to our Platform. If we find any, we delete them and, if necessary, take action against whoever is responsible.
Anyone else who spots something suspicious can always report it to our Customer Service team, so our Fraud team can investigate.
Ideally, we would publish every review we receive, whether positive or negative. However, we won’t display any review that includes or refers to (among other things):
- Politically sensitive comments
- Promotional content
- Illegal activities
- Personal or sensitive information (e.g. emails, phone numbers or credit card info)
- Swear words, sexual references, hate speech, discriminatory remarks, threats, or references to violence
- Spam and fake content
- Animal cruelty
- Impersonation (e.g. if the writer is claiming to be someone else)
- Any violation of our review guidelines.
To make sure reviews are relevant, we may only accept reviews that are submitted within 3 months of checking out, and we may stop showing reviews once they’re 36 months old – or if the Accommodation has a change of ownership.
An Accommodation may choose to reply to a review.
When you see multiple reviews, the most recent ones will be at the top, subject to a few other factors (what language a review is in, whether it’s just a rating or contains comments as well, etc.). If you like, you can sort and/or filter them (by time of year, review score, etc.).
We sometimes show external review scores from other well-known travel websites. We make it clear when we’ve done this.
Guidelines and standards for Reviews
These guidelines and standards aim to keep the content on Booking.com relevant and family-friendly without limiting expression of strong opinions. They are also applicable regardless of the sentiment of the comment.
Contributions should be travel related. The most helpful contributions are detailed and help others make better decisions. Please don’t include personal, political, ethical, or religious commentary. Promotional content will be removed and issues concerning Booking.com’s services should be routed to our Customer Service or Accommodation Service teams.
Contributions should be appropriate for a global audience. Please avoid using profanity or attempts to approximate profanity with creative spelling, in any language. Comments and media that include 'hate speech', discriminatory remarks, threats, sexually explicit remarks, violence, and the promotion of illegal activity are not permitted.
All content should be genuine and unique to the guest. Reviews are most valuable when they are original and unbiased. Your contribution should be yours. Booking.com property partners should not post on behalf of guests or offer incentives in exchange for reviews. Attempts to bring down the rating of a competitor by submitting a negative review will not be tolerated.
Respect the privacy of others. Booking.com will make an effort to obscure email addresses, telephone numbers, website addresses, social media accounts, and similar details.
The opinions expressed in contributions are those of Booking.com customers and properties and not of Booking.com. Booking.com does not accept responsibility or liability for any reviews or responses. Booking.com is a distributor (without any obligation to verify) and not a publisher of these comments and responses.
By default, reviews are sorted based on the date of the review and on additional criteria to display the most relevant reviews, including but not limited to: your language, reviews with text, and non-anonymous reviews. Additional sorting options may be available (by type of traveller, by score, etc.).
Translations disclaimer
This service may contain translations powered by Google. Google disclaims all warranties related to the translations, express or implied, including any warranties of accuracy, reliability, and any implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose and non-infringement.
Loading...
Reviewed: 2 September 2025 · Stayed in September 2025
Verified reviewLocation! Walk to the beach, boardwalk, wharf, restaurants and shopping.
A little older and bathrooms could use a refresh.
Dear Christine, Thank you for your feedback! We appreciate it! We are delighted you found our staff friendly! We will be sure to pass along the compliment. We are also glad you were able to enjoy the location being near the beach, boardwalk, wharf, restaurants, and shopping. We take pride in our locations close proximity to everything. We also appreciate your comment regarding the bathrooms. This is something we will look further into. We know that feedback like yours helps us to improve. We hope to welcome you back again in the future for another great stay! Warm regards, Customer Care Team
Dear Christine, Thank you for your feedback! We appreciate it! We are delighted you found our staff friendly! We will be sure to pass along the compliment. We are also glad you were able to enjoy the location being near the beach, boardwa… Show more
Reviewed: 2 September 2025 · Stayed in September 2025
Verified reviewReviewed: 1 September 2025 · Stayed in August 2025
Verified reviewGood variety.
Facilities were a bit older. Could use some updating. Fresh paint, appliances in the room made noises during night.
Dear Cathy, We are so glad you enjoyed the location being near major attractions such as the boardwalk, wharf, beach, and downtown areas. We are also glad you found everything to be clean during your time here, as this is a very important factor to us. We, however, do apologize for any inconvenience you experienced regarding the facilities and appliances in the room. We will be looking into this matter further as guests' comfort is very important to us. We appreciate your feedback as we know it helps us improve. We hope to welcome you back in the future for an even better stay. Warm regards, Customer Care Team
Dear Cathy, We are so glad you enjoyed the location being near major attractions such as the boardwalk, wharf, beach, and downtown areas. We are also glad you found everything to be clean during your time here, as this is a very important … Show more
Reviewed: 31 August 2025 · Stayed in August 2025
Verified reviewReviewed: 31 August 2025 · Stayed in August 2025
Verified reviewClose to the beach and the boardwalk
Had to pay for extra car
Thank you for your feedback — we’re glad you enjoyed our cleanliness, location, and value. We regret any inconvenience regarding the second vehicle parking fee. Due to limited space and high demand near the beach, second vehicle parking is offered only when available, at a competitive rate of $25 per night. We appreciate your comments on our staff and comfort, and we’ll share them with the team as we continue to improve. Thank you for staying with us — we hope to welcome you again. Warm regards, Customer Care Team
Thank you for your feedback — we’re glad you enjoyed our cleanliness, location, and value. We regret any inconvenience regarding the second vehicle parking fee. Due to limited space and high demand near the beach, second vehicle parking is… Show more
Reviewed: 31 August 2025 · Stayed in August 2025
Verified reviewLocation very good, short walk to pier where there was lots of sea lions underneath. Breakfast good, bagels and waffles etc. Beds were very comfortable, slept very well. free car park.
Dear Chris, Thank you for sharing your feedback regarding your recent stay with us. We are pleased to hear that you enjoyed our convenient location near the pier and had the opportunity to see the sea lions, which are always a memorable sight. It is wonderful to know that you found the beds very comfortable and were able to enjoy a restful night's sleep. We are also glad that you appreciated the complimentary breakfast, as we aim to provide value and comfort for our guests. Just a quick note for future guests: parking is now $20 per night due to increasing demand and limited space. Thank you once again for choosing to stay with us. We hope to welcome you back for another visit in the future. Warm regards, Customer Care Team
Dear Chris, Thank you for sharing your feedback regarding your recent stay with us. We are pleased to hear that you enjoyed our convenient location near the pier and had the opportunity to see the sea lions, which are always a memorable sig… Show more
Reviewed: 30 August 2025 · Stayed in August 2025
Verified reviewClose to beach good size of the room breakfast
Paid parking on site $20
Dear Slawomir, Thank you for your feedback. We're glad you enjoyed the room size, breakfast, and our location near the beach. We understand paid parking can be inconvenient, but it helps us maintain service quality in a competitive area. We aim to communicate this clearly during booking. We appreciate your comments and hope to welcome you again soon. Warm regards, Customer Care Team
Dear Slawomir, Thank you for your feedback. We're glad you enjoyed the room size, breakfast, and our location near the beach. We understand paid parking can be inconvenient, but it helps us maintain service quality in a competitive ar… Show more
Reviewed: 30 August 2025 · Stayed in August 2025
Verified reviewGreat location.
$20 parking fee for guests per night.. It use to be free parking for guests.
Dear Dori, Thank you very much for your kind review and perfect ratings across all categories. We are delighted to know that you had a positive experience and found our location, comfort, and service to your satisfaction. We understand your concern regarding the parking fee. While we previously offered complimentary parking, the decision to implement a standard nightly fee was made in order to remain competitive in the area and to continue maintaining the quality of our services and facilities. We strive to be transparent about all charges and truly appreciate your understanding. It was a pleasure to host you, and we hope to welcome you again on your next visit. Warm regards, Customer Care Team
Dear Dori, Thank you very much for your kind review and perfect ratings across all categories. We are delighted to know that you had a positive experience and found our location, comfort, and service to your satisfaction. We understand yo… Show more
Reviewed: 29 August 2025 · Stayed in August 2025
Verified reviewReviewed: 25 August 2025 · Stayed in August 2025
Verified reviewLocation.
Pillows very lumpy. Shower curtain too short/hung too high. Needs some touch up work in the bathroom.
Dear Christensen, Thank you for your feedback. We are so glad to see you enjoyed the location being near the beach and boardwalk. We do apologize for the pillows feeling lumpy and the length of the shower curtain. We will look into this further to find ways to improve in these areas. We appreciate your feedback as it helps show us where we can improve. We hope to welcome you back again in the future where you can see these improvements. Warm regards, Customer Care Team
Dear Christensen, Thank you for your feedback. We are so glad to see you enjoyed the location being near the beach and boardwalk. We do apologize for the pillows feeling lumpy and the length of the shower curtain. We will look into this f… Show more
Reviewed: 23 August 2025 · Stayed in August 2025
Verified reviewThe location was great! So close the boardwalk
It was really dirty. Stains on the tables, it just felt unkept. My room look like the lock had been broken before and they put it back together . Thin walls. I was ok for a night . We tried checking out with the front desk, and the workers never came out and you can hear them in the back room laughing and talking.
Dear Guest, We appreciate you taking the time to share your experience with us. We are pleased to hear that you enjoyed our location and found it convenient to the boardwalk. We are very sorry to learn that your room did not meet your expectations in terms of cleanliness and comfort. We take comments like yours seriously, and we are addressing this with our housekeeping and maintenance teams to ensure these concerns are properly resolved. Your feedback helps us improve, and we are grateful that you shared it. We hope to have the opportunity to provide you with a better stay in the future. Warm regards, Customer Care Team
Dear Guest, We appreciate you taking the time to share your experience with us. We are pleased to hear that you enjoyed our location and found it convenient to the boardwalk. We are very sorry to learn that your room did not meet your expec… Show more
Reviewed: 22 August 2025 · Stayed in August 2025
Verified reviewThe location was ideal especially for the price. Room was comfortable and the air conditioning worked well. Free breakfast was a plus.
Paying for parking is kind of ridiculous if I’m already paying to stay at the hotel. The breakfast could have had a bit more options.
Dear sonny, Thank you for your feedback. We really appreciate it! We are so glad you were able to enjoy the location being near the beach, boardwalk, and downtown areas. We are also glad you found everything comfortable such as the bed and AC during your stay here. We understand that paying for parking can feel frustrating, especially when you're already paying for your stay. Please know that our parking fee is in line with other properties in the area, and we strive to remain competitive while continuing to provide a clean, comfortable, and convenient experience for our guests. We are delighted to see you would stay again! We hope to see you again in the future for another great stay! Warm regards, Customer Care Team
Dear sonny, Thank you for your feedback. We really appreciate it! We are so glad you were able to enjoy the location being near the beach, boardwalk, and downtown areas. We are also glad you found everything comfortable such as the bed and… Show more
Reviewed: 21 August 2025 · Stayed in August 2025
Verified reviewReviewed: 20 August 2025 · Stayed in August 2025
Verified reviewdated property, would not refund for unused stay. Parking listed on booking site as free not so was charged for parking.
Dear Dennis, We're sorry to hear that you had to end your stay early and that we weren’t able to make an exception to our early departure policy. As noted at the time of booking, our hotel does not offer refunds for unused nights. Regarding parking, we understand how important clarity is. Guests should show proof of any "free parking" listing at the time of check-in to help resolve any questions about parking fees. We recommend reviewing your reservation confirmation email and scrolling to the bottom to see the specific parking details that applied to your stay. We appreciate your feedback, as it helps future guests make informed decisions. Thank you for taking the time to share your experience. Warm Regards, Customer Care Team
Dear Dennis, We're sorry to hear that you had to end your stay early and that we weren’t able to make an exception to our early departure policy. As noted at the time of booking, our hotel does not offer refunds for unused nights. Reg… Show more
Reviewed: 20 August 2025 · Stayed in August 2025
Verified reviewThe hotel is old and has needed renovations for a long time, but everything was quite clean and washed.
Dear Petrovs, Thank you for your feedback. We are glad you found everything to be clean during your stay as this is important to us. We apologize that the hotel felt old and in need of renovations. We have been looking into ways to upgrade to make guests feel more comfortable during their stay here. We appreciate your feedback as it helps us to improve and we hope to welcome you again in the future where you will see these improvements. Warm regards, Customer Care Team
Dear Petrovs, Thank you for your feedback. We are glad you found everything to be clean during your stay as this is important to us. We apologize that the hotel felt old and in need of renovations. We have been looking into ways to upgra… Show more
Reviewed: 19 August 2025 · Stayed in August 2025
Verified reviewReviewed: 18 August 2025 · Stayed in August 2025
Verified reviewStaff was very courteous and the room was clean. The location is awesome for the wharf, beach, boardwalk and downtown.
Dear Dawn, Thank you for your glowing review with all 10s across the board! We really appreciate it! We are so glad that you had such an amazing stay here. We are delighted you found everything clean and our staff very courteous during your stay. We will make sure to pass the compliment along to them. We are also glad you enjoyed the location near the wharf, beach, boardwalk and downtown. We hope to welcome you back again inn the future for another great stay. Warm regards, Customer Care Team
Dear Dawn, Thank you for your glowing review with all 10s across the board! We really appreciate it! We are so glad that you had such an amazing stay here. We are delighted you found everything clean and our staff very courteous during yo… Show more
Reviewed: 17 August 2025 · Stayed in August 2025
Verified reviewReviewed: 17 August 2025 · Stayed in August 2025
Verified reviewThe location to the beach. That being said, this is not a beachfront property like the description. I booked it because it stated beachfront. You have to cross a road and walk a few minutes before you get to the beach. Was misleading. Had hot water.
They used every opportunity to cut corners. The room we were in had a transition from the room to the bathroom that was about an inch difference. The metal plate had a screwthat was poping out, and I kept catching my foot. There was subflooring that felt like it was missing, but they put linoleum right over it. The faucet in the bathroom wasn't fully attached. There were gouges in the walls just painted over. The endtables had glass on the top of bad waterstains. The bed was like sleeping on the floor, very hard. In the breakfast room they had a sign about how they were a 2 star hotel with a 5 star breakfast. Definitely not! Waffles were good but the rest was bad. Not a good selection of fruit, got an individual package of cheese- opened it and it was moldy. The reviews on booking.com were good, unfortunately I should have done more research because there were so many horrible reviews on onther sites. Would not recommend staying here.
Dear Kimberly, Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback. We are very sorry to hear that your experience did not meet your expectations, and we appreciate you bringing these concerns to our attention. Warm regards, Customer Care Team
Dear Kimberly, Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback. We are very sorry to hear that your experience did not meet your expectations, and we appreciate you bringing these concerns to our attention. Warm regards, Customer Car… Show more
Reviewed: 17 August 2025 · Stayed in August 2025
Verified reviewit was clean and the staff were nice.
it was too expensive for the quality of facilities, the breakfast was sad, and they charged 20$ extra for parking which is silly.
Dear Ena, Thank you for sharing your experience with us. We’re pleased to hear that you enjoyed our convenient location, found the hotel clean, and experienced friendly service from our staff—these are all things we take great pride in. We also truly appreciate your candid comments about the facilities, breakfast, and parking. We're currently in the process of improving our breakfast selection to offer more variety and better meet the expectations of our guests. As for parking, we understand your concerns, and we do our best to remain competitive with rates in the area while maintaining secure and accessible parking for our guests. Your feedback is valuable and helps guide our efforts to improve both service and amenities. We hope you’ll consider staying with us again and giving us the chance to provide a better overall experience. Warm regards, Customer Care Team
Dear Ena, Thank you for sharing your experience with us. We’re pleased to hear that you enjoyed our convenient location, found the hotel clean, and experienced friendly service from our staff—these are all things we take great pride in. W… Show more
Reviewed: 17 August 2025 · Stayed in August 2025
Verified reviewWe had an issue with the A/C in our room on an unusually warm afternoon, and the manager was able to accommodate us into another room which was much more comfortable. The hospitality was very much appreciated as the only room she could move us to was an upgraded room that definitely would have cost more. The location can't be beat, close to food, the wharf, and the boardwalk. Thanks again HoJo!
Dear Scott, Thank you so much for your kind review and perfect score! We're very pleased to hear that our manager was able to assist you promptly and ensure your comfort during the warm afternoon. We're especially glad the upgraded room helped make your stay more enjoyable. It means a lot to us that you appreciated the hospitality, and we’ll be sure to share your kind words with the manager—they’ll be thrilled to know they made a positive impact on your experience. We’re also happy to hear you enjoyed our unbeatable location near the wharf, boardwalk, and great local dining. We look forward to welcoming you back again soon! Warm regards, Customer Care Team
Dear Scott, Thank you so much for your kind review and perfect score! We're very pleased to hear that our manager was able to assist you promptly and ensure your comfort during the warm afternoon. We're especially glad the upgraded… Show more
Reviewed: 16 August 2025 · Stayed in August 2025
Verified reviewLocation Fair breakfast
You need to go up stairs with your luggage Too narrow rooms
Dear Shady, Thank you for providing feedback from your stay. We're pleased to hear that you enjoyed our convenient location and had a chance to experience Santa Cruz during your visit. We truly value all guest comments, as they help us identify areas where we can improve. We regret to hear that certain aspects of your stay did not meet your expectations, particularly regarding the room size and the need to carry luggage upstairs. While our building's layout does present some limitations, we understand this can be inconvenient and are actively exploring solutions to better assist guests with luggage. Thank you once again for your stay and for providing us with helpful feedback. We hope to have the opportunity to welcome you back in the future and provide you with a more comfortable experience. Warm regards, Customer Care Team
Dear Shady, Thank you for providing feedback from your stay. We're pleased to hear that you enjoyed our convenient location and had a chance to experience Santa Cruz during your visit. We truly value all guest comments, as they help u… Show more
Reviewed: 16 August 2025 · Stayed in July 2025
Verified reviewReviewed: 15 August 2025 · Stayed in June 2025
Verified reviewReviewed: 15 August 2025 · Stayed in August 2025
Verified reviewGreat location for the pier and boardwalk area. Room and bed were great. View across the bay.
Breakfast was functional at best. The better looking restaurants were a hike away.
Dear Richard, Thank you for your feedback. We are so glad you enjoyed the location being near the beach and boardwalk. We are also glad that you found your room and bed great and comfortable during your time with us. We are delighted you enjoyed the view from your room's patio during your stay as well. We do apologize that breakfast did not meet your expectations. We understand how important breakfast is for starting your day. We have been working to enhance in this area. We hope to welcome you back in the future for an even better stay. Warm regards, Customer Care Team
Dear Richard, Thank you for your feedback. We are so glad you enjoyed the location being near the beach and boardwalk. We are also glad that you found your room and bed great and comfortable during your time with us. We are delighted you e… Show more