University Inn & Conference Center

Clean, comfortable, about a mile to downtown, 1 ½ miles to beach, allows pets for $ 15 extra per night :)

I stayed a night with a friend at this inn. The check-​in process was really easy, but the check-​in time was not (4pm) and the front desk guy seemed so bored and grumpy. The room itself was a decent size, but seemed pretty old. The door looked like it had been broken and the metal frame was replaced, but wasn’t fit correctly to the actual frame so the door didn’t close all the way unless we literally shoved it shut. It wasn’t too much of a hassle though. The heater/​air conditioner wasn’t great. It seemed to spew out cold air when I set it to the warm setting. The continental breakfast was disappointing. I know it’s free, but I was expecting something more. The oatmeal was gross, and tasted like cardboard unless a ton of raisins and cinnamon and brown sugar were added.
The upside: the inn is conveniently located right by downtown, the uc and the boardwalk. Also, the maid we ran into (Magdelana) was really really nice and funny. Also, they serve starbucks tea and coffee during the continental breakfast AND they have starbucks tea bags/​coffee in the hotel room. YUM!
I booked at this location not for all the things mentioned above, but because it was the cheapest hotel my friend and I could find on such short notice (we booked 5 days prior to our trip), and also because it was one of the only hotels that said they would take an 18 yr old accompanied by a minor.

I had a pretty good deal here on a Friday night after I have driven. all over town to search the most decent among we have stumbled on… better than comfort inn, and other neighboring hotels, their pool was big and heated with a comlimentary continental breakfasts and room was. spacious for.41/2.

Hotel for college students
but my place to go vote
parking sucks
but
close to walking distance of downtown

Rolling into town, the famdamnily needed a nice hotel, a place to park our 45+ ft. truck and trailer, a heated pool, and walking distance to good restaurants. Check, check, check, and check. We stayed in room 116, close to the pool and enjoyed it and the jacuzzi. The kids thought it was the highlight of our trip and were really excited when I walked out of the lobby after checking in with a blow up beach ball provided by the hotel. The room’s pillows and beds were comfortable, and the bathroom was modern. Our favorite walk-​to restaurant was Santa Cruz Diner, a couple of blocks away. From the time that I called the front desk before arriving to inquire about prices to the time we left, we were happy with the place. The t.v. reception was fine and there were plenty of cable channels to watch. Surprisingly, the college students living at the place were fairly quiet and it seemed like a great co-​use: dorms and hotel space.

Ok… so it was a whole group of us that went to this hotel. We had 2 double beds that were so soft that when we laid on it we rolled to the middle. KILLED our backs. Woke up with little red bites and welts all over my legs and arms. YUK! The room was supposed to be a non smoking, but the smell inside was stale and damp. Another yuk! The pool… it was heated? Yeah… I don’t think so… at least it was nice and sunny out. Oh and to let you know… it’s a salt water pool… not chlorine! One of the girls got a piña colada that was more like a slurpy from 7 – 11 than a $ 6 drink! The bathroom ceiling was full of putty marks where holes had been repaired but never repainted. What a disappointment! Would NOT recommend this place to anyone! For the price they charge, you would think this place would be wonderful… should have stayed at Motel 6!

Horribly outdated.
Maybe I’m spoiled but I expect wifi to be available (paid or otherwise) at hotels. They only have wifi in the conference rooms. For hotel room internet you will need an ethernet cable. They have a limited number at the front desk. Yes, I felt like I was transported back to 1998.
As others have pointed out, the cable is a bit spotty. However, I don’t have cable at home so it was an upgrade for me to have any channels at all. No complaints here.
The conference food was hit or miss. The first full day of the conference there was a selection of sandwiches with green salad. The grilled veggie sandwich with olive tapenade was great. However, the next day we had BBQ and it was not good at all. The breakfast options also seemed to deteriorate during my stay — the cream of wheat from day one became malt-​o-​meal (original flavor) by day three.
Overall my room was fine. There was quite a bit of neighbor noise but I just put in ear plugs and slept soundly. It didn’t feel like a dorm room until I noticed the leftover poster hanging sticky stuff that they obviously couldn’t get off the walls after the last resident.
The staff seemed on top of it with regards to meeting the needs of our group. One guy even moved some tables for me so my workshop room was set up to my liking. He was just passing through and I definitely didn’t expect his help — so that was particularly appreciated.
I have definitely stayed at better places for the same price and probably wouldn’t return unless attending another conference here.

I read the reviews and knew what to expect, so I’m not really disappointed in the experience, hence the 3 stars. Let’s start with the positives… the room was clean and the elevators were quick. Umm… okay, positives out of the way. This is a Motel 6 quality hotel, but Marriott prices. I saw the Best Western and Holiday Inn Express up the street– they looked a little more modern. Also, my hair dryer didn’t work, so I called the front desk to ask them to fix it while I was out. 5 hours later, when I rushed in and had 25 minutes to get ready, I tried my hair dryer… still didn’t work. So, I called the front desk again and the housekeeper came up. She said, «Oh, I thought the circuit just needed to be reset.» I used to work for a hotel– I totally understand her thinking. However, why didn’t she check it when she cleaned the room LIKE I ASKED!!! Then, she had to get a brand new hairdryer, which meant I ran out of time and couldn’t use the hair dryer. Just a little thing, but still annoying. Two other things– no wifi and the continental breakfast is super super basic.

This is one of these cases where you wonder how come there is no option for a 0 Star. When I booked this place (I will not refer to it as a hotel or even a motel etc) I was hoping to find a reasonable accommodation in SC (at $ 169 per night). Well, we roll into town, we find the U Inn, the entrance seemed to be somewhat a standard. Nothing was a red flag at that point. We checked in, got our keys and were guided to our room which was around the corner. We were told to display a Yellow tag on our dash when we park in the back lot. Dane, the guy in the front desk, was very professional in his routine and things seem to be normal. For internet connection we were given 2 Ethernet cables (one for each lap top). The lack of wi-​fi was a disappointment. As we drive «around the corner», I felt like I traveled in time — I had a chance to see the «U Inn» from the backside. As we park our car I noticed that the building as a whole has the architecture and the «look» of a building that is a few decades old. A refreshing upgrade is way past due. The aluminum framed windows and doors are common these days only if you travel to eastern europe, where what we consider modern materials and décor are not exactly the same modern as we know it. As we get closer to the entrance, my fears were coming true, this building is a mess, poor maintenance, lack of upgrades and the wear and tear of old age are evident everywhere. Many of the pipes that should run inside walls, are attached (in sloppy way) to walls and ceilings. Electric panels in the hallways are covered by curtains that has the 70s pattern on them. The added Fire sprinkler system was added in a way where holes we drilled in the walls and left torn with drywall and wall paper just hanging there. No details for a good craftsmanship and finish. After getting into the room, I went back to the car to get the rest of our stuff. At that point I noticed the squatters living in their cars sharing the same parking lot (which is also next to a public park). that explained the need for the yellow tag we were asked to display at all times on our dash. So now we settle in our room, dropped our bags and about to get some rest after 7 hours in the car. We had about 3 hours to get some rest before we had to leave to an event we were attending. Just as we lay down, we are stunt by loud noises coming from both the back wall and the ceiling. It sounded like someone is doing major plumbing work (roto-​router style) just on the other side of the paper thin walls. At the same time we can hear people talking (at normal voice levels) in the room next to us. We figured the sound will stop in a few minutes. It never stopped so we called the front desk. A woman answered, the best response she had: «I will call maintenance» — we were not sure what or how that will help since it is maintenance causing the noise to begin with, but as the guests we left it to the «professionals» to resolve the noise problem. Time went by, nothing happened. We called TWO more times and same answer (by the same woman). Two hours went by, at this point we are pissed so a call to
(which is how we ordered the room) was next on our «To Do» list. A customer support guy from El Salvador was trying to be helpful and resolve a problem that the front desk seems to not be able. At that times we also logged in to
to check on alternative places to stay. While we are on the site, we noticed that the price for our «Inn» dropped to $ 135 a night. We spend almost an hour on the phone only to get a 10% off our bill (based on the original $ 169 price) and a «deal with it» advice. Hmm — I think NOT! I call the front desk again, this time it is Dane (yes the guy who checked us in), I explained to him what was going on for the last 3 hours and that we are not staying (and or paying) $ 169 per night for this mess. He tells me that the «Inn» is all booked (sold out). But the noise will stop by 5 pm, which is only a couple of hours away (and might start AGAIN the next day). My response was, well if the room we are in is next to «construction», why let us check into this room? why not save this room for guests showing up after the noise is over? So I challenged Dane on it and he (the only one with a voice of reason) agreed. Dane moved us to another section of the hotel, away from the construction. By the time this was over, our afternoon was also over. The event we attended was great so that was the positive ending to the day, but the adventure was not over just yet. Next morning, the complimentary breakfast it looked more like a jail cafeteria (or as it is presented in the movies). The food selection was slim to none. If you plan to stay at the «Inn» don’t expect much even when you pay over $ 160 a night (which I don’t know how they can get away with). What was positive about the experience? that is was over! We checked out and got on the road. Happy ending …

Drove into town with NO reservation, thinking now that «summer» is gone the rooms would open up. Perhaps the rooms are more available BUT the prices are still high — just driving around and asking the cost discovered after 5 motels this place was one of the only ones who offered a AAA discount that dropped the cost of a room to LESS than $ 75 with tax! With a room on the ground level on the other side of the building, after reading the other reviews I should be happy it was quiet all night and didn’t heard not one door slam, or voices in the middle of the night. I was pleasantly shocked to see not only a microwave but even a small frig! wow! There was a handwritten welcome note on the night table with the receptionist’s name plus a mint. The only things I thought lacked in quality and cleanliness was the bathroom. It was «clean» but the tub surface was gritty and dirt was very apparent, and the shower control was very hard to use, and thought with someone else perhaps one could get burned with the (very quickly) hot water when turning OFF the water. Parking available in its own lot though warned so often of NOT parking in any COUNTY PERMIT REQUIRED parking spaces. The door key card wouldn’t open the room door at all (not even a red light) so I had to return to get a new key card. When I was checking in, the clerk’s computer wouldn’t work so getting my room was delayed for over ten minutes, that allowed a surprise chance meeting with a SF-​tele series Trauma star (figure the odds, a week after I photographed one of her co-​workers at a street corner during a Trauma filming in North Beach). Otherwise it was a good experience and YES: the tele worked well and had a total of 15 channels to watch. Shower towels were clean & very fluffy ;-) At the desk I asked about the net access and I was simply handed a network cable. Entering the room I saw the connection right on the wall next to the tele (in this room) and just plugged in the cable and connected my laptop. I got fast (faster than my hi-​speed SF Comcast) FREE access that evening and again in the morning. No room for laptop next to the tele due to cable length, so I simply moved a small card table and parked it behind the front door next to the tele, and that served the purpose of supporting my laptop and other items.

We stayed here free because of a business trip and thank goodness we did not have to pay for this place. First they lost our reservation and were very unhelpful in trying to find us a room once we arrived. The receptionist was consistently rude and cold when trying to sort out their mistake and the fact that I was looking at 8 hours of waiting around Santa Cruz with nowhere to go while they prepared a room.
If you stay here DO NOT STAY IN #205!!! The door handle is broken and you have to make sure it actually locks and can spend a while trying to get back in. The carpet is damp and squishy, likely because of the HUGE PILE OF MOLD growing in the corner of the room. I was so tired I just wanted to sleep and did not notice the mold, only the bad smell. I spent 6 hours breathing that in all day. Luckily, we noticed it when we got back that night and moved to a different room. My throat is still sore from breathing that in.
The cable TV is terrible and the internet is a spotty ethernet line. The bed is lumpy and the pillows are flat.
A hotel that is unaccommodating when they lose reservations and then sticks guests in a room they know has a broken door and MOLD is unacceptable. When we switched rooms, the new attendant said she «tries not to put anyone in 205.» Maybe the hotel should just clean up the mold and have a policy where they DO NOT put ANY guests in a hazardous and unhealthy room.

As a college student, I really like living here. The staff here is pleasant and easy to work with. I have to admit the food here is great, we do have professional chefs working there and I try to avoid getting the dorm food on campus. Of course they do have some bad days with the food as well, so it is 90 percent hit and other is 10 percent miss. I think I get sick of Friday pizza night. I have to use my meal card, but homemade omelets and waffle sounds good to me in break. I been living here for 2 years now and plan on making it a third. The chefs pretty much know me now. I guess I have a face you can not forget.
I get my own room and a king size bed and the maids do come in every two weeks. Maintenance is good as well, they are usually on time and fix things, but sometimes they do get backed up. I like the location too because you can walk to the boardwalk or downtown.
Of course it can get loud sometimes especially near the pool at some nights, but most of the time it is quiet. There are some druggies and drunk college students and can be loud for the most part.

To start with, this «hotel» is primarily a dorm, with one floor serving as the inn. I give the students who live here credit, the night we were there they didn’t play any loud music or have particularly loud conversations outside. However, our room was right next to the main entrance where students were walking in and out all night. Every time the door closed it made a loud slam and woke us up. The room itself was pretty ho hum and the television had the worst reception I’ve ever seen. Four of the channels were completely unwatchable, which only left us with about six others.
The only good thing about this place is the location, which is definitely in walking distance to Pacific Ave. However, in October you can probably find good deals all over the city because it becomes the off season and most of the tourists are gone. I wouldn’t stay here again and wouldn’t recommend it to anyone.

Yuck. Avoid this run-​down filthy place at all cost.

I enjoyed my stay at this hotel. Continental breakfast was pleasant. Person at front desk was nice enough to give us detailed directions to the campus

This place doubles as a hotel/​conference center as well as university housing for UCSC students.
I lived here for my third year at UCSC. It’s practically like living in the dorms, but they’re … well, hotel rooms. The rooms themselves are pretty spacious, and they come with a large bed, dresser, desk, television (with basic, crappy cable), and your own bathroom. The last part is a nice addition, but it doesn’t make that much of a difference really. Also nice is that they have maids to come and clean the rooms every two weeks, so if you don’t like to vacuum you don’t have to.
The dining hall is actually better than those you’ll find on-​campus, but their hours aren’t so pleasant; if you have late classes you’ll almost always get back too late to grab dinner, and wind up walking to Jack-​in-​the-​Box instead.
While living here makes a nice alternative to living on-​campus, it’s nowhere near as convenient as just renting an apartment (which I’m doing now in my last year here) with friends, not to mention you pay just as much as you would on-​campus.

I just returned from a conference at this location.
good location (add 3 stars) this place is pretty central and it only took me a few minutes to get to the lighthouse for a run and a chance to check out the waves.
ethernet connection was hanging from the wall (hmm). the website doesn’t give the hotel address. When I asked the clerk about this he told me that the address is 611 Ocean Street, but if I mapquest it I would end up in a cemetary??? (subtract half a star for scary coincidence)
When I arrived the parking lot was nearly full. I asked where our group should park and the desk staff said anywhere you can find a spot, but not in the county parking, which is in the same lot. If you park in those spots you are guaranteed a ticket. (subtract half a star for unusually small and crowded lot for a big place.)
This hotel reminded me of a friend’s dorm room from college. His room always seemed to have a smell of sweat or laundry needing cleaning. The bed was fairly comfortable, but I would have been unhappy sleeping in it without my Cocoon Silk sleeping sack. It also had a smell to it. (minus half a star for making me bust out my cocoon sleeping sack)
Hotel service is nearly nonexistant. When one of our group, a senior, asked for some assistance setting up the conference room, the manager told her that it wasn’t his job and he pointed to a luggage cart and said, «Help yourself.» (minus half a star for no class!)
I would hope that anything affiliated with the UC system would be done well, but it simply isn’t the case here. There are other locations in town that would better suit your needs. (I may be overly generous with 1 star for this location.)