Hilton Santa Cruz Scotts Valley

Had a fantastic stay with a very welcoming staff!!! New remodeled rooms and excellent location!!! Never wanted to leave ate both dinner and breakfast at their in house Grill restaurant. Great food and warm and friendly food services staff… I recommend anyone for a stay where you will feel the 5 star staff and amenities…

I will concede that some of our problems with this hotel were due to the fact that it is really a total construction area while it is being overhauled and «upgraded», but some things, like make up caked towels folded like new and hairs in the sink are something else altogether.
During our stay the lobby was closed and check in had moved to a rear hall accessed through a back entrance. A sign at the entrance proclaimed that Valet Parking «was available» but there was no sign of a valet and there was no bell staff for our bags. Not what you would expect from a Hilton, even under renovation.
Check in staff was first class and apologized for the under construction condition of the hotel. We were given a $ 20 discount card for the bar, restaurant, or room service to make up for the construction inconvenience. We took what looked like a service elevator to our room’s floor, and when the door opened we were greeted with the sound a rooms being gutted.
Our room was newly renovated, but the standard of renovation was nothing approaching a Hilton. There were paint spills on the fixtures, the tub, and the bathroom tile floor. The fire procedures sign attached to the door was put on crooked. The towel bars in the bathroom were all crooked. A back lighted mirror was added to the bathroom, but it partly blocked the only AC outlet in the bathroom assuring scraped knuckles if you needed to plug in any appliance. There was a make-​up caked towel that had been folded and placed with the new towels. There was a short black hair in the sink, and another in the tub.
All of the desk and table furniture had been upgraded with power outlets and a USP charging port, mounted on a single plastic plate. The plate pulled out from the desk exposing wiring for both AC and DC cables, then hung limply from its mounting hole. The room featured two queen beds [we had reserved a single king] and the outlet plate next to one bed also pulled out. The room lacked adequate lighting and was dreary.
Several of the room lights were turned off automatically via proximity censors when we were using them, and the HVAC automatically stopped every few hours. Not conducive to a good night’s sleep on a very cold night.
Finally the beds went beyond firm support to hard and uncomfortable.
If this hotel cannot function during renovation they should have closed it. There was no notice that this hotel was under extensive renovation with an apparently reduced staff, if we had known we would not have booked. Save yourself the pain and check to see if renovation/​construction is completed before you book.

They are in the middle of some major upgrades. Front lobby was inaccessible when we stayed.
They had a temporary front desk on 3d floor. We stay here about twice a year & always enjoy stay. Staff this time were friendly & helpful.
Got $ 20 hotel restaurant/​bar credit due to inconveniences of construction.
Newly renovated rooms were awesome!
1÷18− had breakfast at hotel. Continental was $ 12 and all-​america (2-​eggs, 3, sausage, breakfast potatoes with onion & green/​red peppers, + white toast) was $ 18. Also had a small pot of coffee (starbucks– it was strong). Everything was tasty!
View from 6^th floor is amazing!

I chose to stay here in hopes of having a romantic getaway with my husband, however I left less than pleased. Upon arrival, the front desk agent wasn’t particularly friendly. We got our room keys and went to the suite. When we first walked through the room, everything seemed to be okay. After further inspection, we found a disgusting wad of hair stuck to the wall outside of the bathroom and stains and rips in the pillows/​flat sheet on the bed. I’ve worked in hotels so I tried not to let all that bother me. We spent the day outside of the hotel, and when we came back decided to go to the pool/​hot tub. There was sand in both! Also, after swimming/​sitting in the hot tub for a few hours, my bathing suit changed color. I’ve never seen this happen before. My hot pink bikini top turned purple (ruined a $ 40 top).
On another night, we used the whirlpool tub and again, found sand coming out of the faucet. Not sure what’s going on here, Hilton. I started to feel a little sick so my husband called down to the front desk to see if an agent or houseperson could bring up a bottle of water. The front desk agent told my husband that they have bottles of water in the pantry. However, since I was feeling dizzy and dehydrated, he didn’t want to leave me by myself, which is what he communicated with her. The agent said she would send someone up. 30 minutes later, still nothing so my husband went to the car and got water for me.
TL;DR
Considering the room type (suite), I definitely did not expect to find the hairball on the wall and torn up bedding. I thought this was a full service hotel, so I didn’t think that having a houseperson bring a water bottle up to our room would be a problem. I know there was construction going on, but how would that affect the sandiness of the water? & finally, who is going to fix my ruined bathing suit?

Our stay here at the Hilton was for our honeymoon. A day and a night.
I found the hotel searching online that was relatively close to the mystery spot. What I saw online, was what I had seen in person… minus the construction. The normal entry was blocked off due to this but it did not cause a problem since they had signs display throughout guiding us to the new entry point. The «front counter» was through a small hallway, tucked away in a corner. As we were checking in, we were given a complimentary $ 20 meal card due to the onsite construction and the inconvenience!
From what I could tell, the hotel only had one elevator. I would have expected a second due to how large the establishment was. The halls are quite long w/​vending machines for you to purchase products.
The rooms a large as well as a large bathroom. The TV was smaller than I thought it would be. The room I booked came with a small balcony complete with an view… of construction lol. A dining menu is provided for whenever you are hungry for in-​hotel dining. The wife and I took advantage of room service, and they did not disappoint!
As we were leaving, I finally realized the multiple levels the hotel had for parking. That’s always a plus. No key card entry required.
Hurry up w/​your construction Hilton so all can go back to normal!
fin.

Our first impression of the Hilton visually online was thought to be a romantic cabin in the woods, but when we arrived it was throughly under construction making the back entrance the only entrance, the guests check in was in a hallway, and the hotels restaurant and bar was held in a small hotel room.
Every guests seemed to be as shocked and confused as us, it seemed to be the head of topic at the «bar/​restaurant «while an angered guests provoked conversation with the small room.
When we first got off the elevator to our room the hallway was littered with room service leftovers and roll away beds that seemed to be apart of the décor for most of the night.
Our room was nice and clean but the bathroom had a white film all over the ground as if it was left over soap residue.
In the room I found a flyer saying that if you were not happy with your stay that they would make it right, so I asked while checking out if that was true. The girl took down our information and told us her manager would be contacting us within the day; having not heard anything back it’s safe to assume you won’t.
I feel the hotel is a bad representation of what you hope the «Hilton experience» to be.

I recently stayed here for my daughters birthday. When I showed up the hotel was under a huge renovation project, which certainly caught me by surprise and was a bit of a disappointment. However the staff alone makes this a wonderful location. The front desk was about as polite and personable as possible, the maintenance people were as kind and helpful as could possibly be. What I was anticipating to be a disappointment turned out to be one of the best stays I have had at a hotel. Considering I am in a different hotel 4 nights a week for work that is saying a lot. We will defiantly be returning to this hotel in the future, and I encourage anyone coming to this area to visit this beautiful location, with possibly the best hotel staff I have ever encountered. Great job, and above all, Thank You!

Don’t stay here until they finish renovating. It’s a complete mess and everything is draped/​covered in heavy plastic. The reception desk is in a side hallway set up on a table. The elevator didn’t work and we were instructed to walk down a hallway past rooms under construction, furniture lining the halls. Then go down the fire stairs where they keep the maid carts and to our floor. The room was filthy, badly stained carpets, torn bedding and previous occupants food bits on the dresser and floor. Evidentially not a red onion eater because those were left in the trash, smelling up the room. Just foul. Do yourself a favor and call ahead to see if renovations are completed. You won’t want the surprise.

Update from yesterday’s review: today the water to part of the hotel was turned off without any warning. It just keeps getting worse. Again, the staff is pleasent but they seem to be getting annoyed by all the «work arounds» that go on like one elevator shared between guests, contractors, and thenselves.

We went around to several hotel’s/venues for our wedding and this place stood out. It looked like a castle and matched our wedding theme (Legend of Zelda). Added bonus, Santa Cruz is a very short drive from here.
The actual ceremony area was outside in what I would call a garden with all kinds of trees and plants that were very green and well taken care of. The room next to this used for the reception was also called the forest room. It was so fitting! To end the awesome night, we were able to just relax in their hot tub.
Chansina was our point of contact for the wedding. During the whole planning process and even the day of the wedding she was super helpful and very patient even with our indecisiveness. Josiah was very attentive during the wedding and made sure both myself and my new bride were happy.
All the staff we encountered during our stay had excellent customer service and we will definitely stay here again in the future. I would highly recommend this place to anyone either seeking this type of theme for their wedding or simply wanting a scenic and relaxing place to stay.

This hotel is not worth the money. Standards are very low. Check in time is extremely late. Carpets in room are stained and dirty. Not enough staff. Our toilet flooded and they sent up a bell hop instead of a maintenance man and/​or a cleaner. Continental breakfast was super expensive and the waiters just serve drinks making people feel obligated to give a tip for not doing much. Pretty disappointing.

In doing research for our trip to Santa Cruz we were undecided between staying right in Santa Cruz or further away at a full service hotel (the Hilton). If we stayed in SC we could walk to different restaurants for dinner, however, if we stayed at the Hilton we would have to eat in the restaurant both nights as we no longer drive at night (especially a rental car in a strange city). The restaurant menu at the Hilton was excellent and had many options for us for both nights, thus we booked the Hilton, even though I thought the rate was rather high for what we were getting. Imagine our surprise when we sat down for dinner the first night and the menu had half the items of the menu online. The server said that they had a «new menu». Of course, I could understand why the menu had been so greatly reduced — both nights there were only a few occupied tables.
When I mentioned this issue to the front desk clerk upon check-​out at first he acted as though I was mistaken and finally he admitted there was a problem, but he told me he had been assured that the new menu had been posted online. I checked this morning and the old menu is still there. The food was OK, as was breakfast, but the service was always painfully slow.
Our room was fine and very quiet both nights. There were always plenty of parking spaces. Housekeeping did a great job cleaning our room and restocking. There were signs in the hotel alerting guests to the remodeling going on but the only time we were even aware of it was in the mornings when we went to the gym they were working in an area next to the gym itself. The staff was good although not exceptional.
All in all, we should have stayed in downtown Santa Cruz where we will have more options. Meanwhile, the Hilton Scotts Valley needs to update their menu online.

I used to stay exclusively at Hilton’s unless there wasn’t one close enough to my work site and now I can’t wait until I’ve used up all my Hilton points so I never stay at one again. The last 3 stays have been less than stellar, but this property took the cake. Maybe I wouldn’t be so mad if it didn’t cost $ 325 a night to stay here… but no, yes I would.
The rooms looked very used upon walking in, but we were exhausted. We had come up for a weekend stay to celebrate our anniversary and after a long day of driving, we just wanted to get some sleep. We got into bed and I woke up about an hour later to something crawling across my face. I flipped on the lights and saw a bed bug. I jumped out of bed and realized I could see several more and at that moment decided we could not stay.
When we went downstairs to alert the front desk, his only response was «let me see what other rooms are available». No thank you. We checked out immediately. I’m sure this didn’t happen, but I hope they alerted guests with rooms next to ours. I will never be back.

Never again. It is essentially a slightly nicer Best Western with a Hilton name. Front desk staff was really nice so for that, a second star, but overall, staff was unaccommodating. The hotel allows pets and if you have a dog barking all night next door (which we did), they really don’t care. Check in at 6pm and my experience started with the fact that I checked in at 6pm to be told my room wasn’t ready.
When we got to or room, the floors, carpet and furniture was dirty and old. Floors in the bathroom were dirty, carpet was dirty and carpet in both rooms and halls were buckling.
Will never stay here again. What a waste of money.

We stayed here for the night because our friends got married. It was our first time at a Hilton Hotel so I was excited about that.
The front desk staff was informative and friendly. The restaurant servers and hosts was nice. Guest services was kind, I forgot the girl’s name who delivered our food to the room…
Our room was standard size, two queen beds. I like how the sink placement was right above the microwave and refrigerator. The shower head’s water pressure was weak! And I turned it to hot but all I got was «warm».
The fried calamari wasn’t hot when it was delivered (tasted OK) but the quesadillas was super delicious! Better than what we expected. I had the BBQ sweet tangy pork ribs last night and that was really good. This morning, I ordered the two eggs breakfast which came with fruits, toast and pork link sausages. Everything tasted great! I was really impressed with the food here at this hotel.
As far as the hotel in general, it was OK. Nothing too special. I don’t think we would ever stay here again. It’s a bit pricy for what we experienced. Not to mention, we were on the 5^th floor and we had to take two different elevators to get to our room. The placement of this hotel was very weird.
Oh & the pool area was nice but seemed like no one took care of it last night because towels were on every chair, but there was only two people in the jacuzzi.

Nice, clean, and quiet hotel surrounded by the beautiful redwoods. The staff is very friendly and the hotel offers complimentary valet services. My only complaint is that since the hotel is built up against a hill we had to take 2 separate elevators just to get to the upper floors.

I was here for a two day conference. A typical Hilton. It was clean and peaceful, since it is nestled in the woods. The staff was friendly. It’s marketed as Santa Cruz and Scotts Valley. However the Santa Cruz beaches and downtown are at least a 10 minute drive away.
The parking lot is poorly designed. It has three levels with no walk way in the middle to connect them. So if you happened to park at the end, you will have to drag your luggage the entire length of the lot and up a hill.

Local Hilton in Scotts Valley, serving greater Santa Cruz County. Was here for a conference last week. Found the facility, clean and well kept, but somewhat outdated. Also the bar and dining facility here was very overpriced, especially for breakfast. Guess they have to charge more to keep this facility running and everyone working here employed. Parking is a little odd too as the lower parking only has one way in and out. So if it is full you have to do a funky three point turn to get out. Staff was professional and nice enough so still going 4-​stars.

I would like to start this review off that I am a Hilton diamond member and stay at Hilton hotels every single week for my job. I came to this hotel with my wife for a special getaway and when I checked in I had asked if there would be an upgrade to a suite. As a diamon member I occasionally get nice perks like free suite upgrades. The nice lady at the front desk said she was unable to do an upgrade at this time. We received our keys with this unfortunate news and headed to our room.
After settling in for a few minutes we decided to try out the in house restaurant. We were pleasantly surprised as the quality of the food. Wife had fish and chips, which was excellent and had great flavor. I enjoyed the prime rib dip. We shared a fried calamari appetizer as well which was appropriately seasoned. During our dinner we chatted with the the waitress and told her about our occasion and how we didn’t get an upgrade despite the hotel being less than 50% booked. She advised me to ask the front desk again.
I made my way to the front desk and asked politely, explaining again our reason for the visit was a anniversary and pre baby getaway. The manager was at the front this time and quickly made our stay even more fabulous than I had hoped. We were quickly upgraded to a full suite and had complimentary sparkling cider delivered to our room for my pregnant wife and into enjoy.
We were greatly appreciative of these gestures and rushed to our new accommodations. We we got to the new room we were greeted by a nice entry to dilapidated furniture, as you can see in the pictures. The couch is circa 1990 and the rest of the fixtures accompany the time period. I’m not complaining, but it’s sad to see simple touches like this in a suite to be allowed to be outdated.
My wife and I also enjoyed some desserts which we critiqued to each other. The bread pudding was very thick and had great flavor which was accompanied by a caramel which was a broken more butter caramel sauce and fresh berries. We also enjoyed a chocolate cake that was served with a huge side of disappointment in Hershey’s chocolate syrup. We hate when such low quality ingredients are used in ways as garnishes like this. I also enjoyed a Rye Spiced Cider which I asked to have some whip cream on top. They use fake canned whip cream. It is very easy and cost effective to use home made whip cream and or get a compressed can to make your own. Simple touches go a long way.
We are only in our first night here and I will
Possibly update this review as our stay progressed. So far we are very pleased with the staff and the accommodations.

Update.
Both initial impressions were consistent. Staff were friendly, professional, and well articulated. Hotel check in process took less than two minutes and the check out process was just as quick.
Hotel has an onsite restaurant to which I have not tried. The hotel has a gym and swimming area towards the back. As the hotel sits on a hill, one can drive to the back to find it.
The pool is warmed as the spa is hot. Both fairly clean and well maintained. Lots of seating and tables to loaf around during the day or night. The pool hours are fairly customary with other places. The pool area is stocked well with towels. Sometimes one can hear the nearby wild life as the area can be so quiet.
The gym has a good collection of equipment including some weights, elliptical, and treadmill. In working order. The gym has water, towels, and tv which are all maintained.
The rooms are a mixed bag. Usually cleaned. Rooms are stocked with the Peter Roth products. Plenty of towels, extra blanket and pillows. Temperature has been good with little extra use of the it unit. Room was clean for most part. I had to move a night stand to grab something that fell off it to find some trash around the item that fell off of it.
Wifi was good and reliable.
Good: staff was friendly and efficient. Room comfort was good.
Bad: not pressing but just a little housekeeping shuffling room to get room cleaned would be nice.
Three star. I would still come back.
Prior visit
This hotel is located a few miles away from the Santa Cruz area. Sitting on a hill next to freeway in the Scott’s Valley area. Plenty of parking onsite with access to the hotel on the floors at various parking.
Staff was prompt and friendly. Greeted at check in and lobby staff was quick to provide any needed help.
Room was a well sized with a sofa, office furniture, refrigerator, and microwave. Bathroom and room was kept up to date and modern. Well stocked and clean was the room. Temperature was comfortable requiring no heat changes. Central temperature was in order.
The bathroom and bedroom were in great keep through the visit of four nights. Water pressure and temperature were comfortable. The shower was great.
The carpet and décor were new and in working shape.
A gym was available to be used and properly maintained with plenty to offer. Pool was well kept temperature for the cold ocean area. Spa was in good order and proper temperature. All the equipment I would say appeared to be new and kept up to date.
Other note be mindful of the mountain that this hotel sits on. Two of the four days of my visit I could hear cats or mountain lions going at it in the whisper of the wind while enjoying the spa.
Hotel check out and staff were efficient and friendly as experienced through the stay.
Overall a good experience. A good value for the prices here. Four stars as I would likely come back again.