National 9 Santa Cruz

The front desk woman was snarky and rude as soon as I came up to check in with my two friends. We had two cars, and she said that wasn't allowed despite the parking lot being empty. There was no mention of that rule on the website when I booked. I offered to leave one car on the street, but she called me dishonest and told me to find another motel. When I tried again to explain, she said everything I said was sketchy, cancelled my booking, and slammed the window in my face. There are much better motels in Santa Cruz. I don't believe they want anyone staying there, and the whole place looks like some sort of front.

We found this online at the last minute while in town for a show at UCSC. The price was so low we were a little worried, and I'm giving it five stars despite it being a 2.5-star property. But the location, ample parking, and overall condition were all good, and the staff were friendly and professional. We got a large upstairs corner room with a King bed. It was just right for what we needed.

The location was handy, right off the highway, with several restaurants within walking distance, and there's a nice little pool. The front desk and maid staff were friendly and helpful, making sure we had what we needed. The room felt cramped with two queen beds, and I had to walk sideways to get around one to the bathroom. When I lay down, the bed felt like my feet were higher than my head, so I added a pillow to the car to level it out. The shower had good pressure, a deep tub, and nice hot water.

We were exhausted and badly needed showers, so my elderly friend and I tried to check in. We're both homeless, and a charitable donation had covered the hotel funding. They turned us away after we'd booked and tried to keep us from getting our money back. We were told they assumed we were homeless men who were gay and would have sex or use drugs in the room. That's discrimination based on how we look. Neither of us is gay or sexually active, and we only smoke weed outside hotel rooms. The owner is racist and bigoted, a privileged hypocrite and eugenicist.