Santa Cruz Inn Riverside

I really wanted to like this motel. This is a super cool historic structure really close to the convention center. I think many of the rooms are different, I thought I was booking a normal room, but it was almost a small apartment with a kitchenette area and small balcony. This place could be fantastic and cater to the convention center crowd with a little more care. The entrance to my room was inside of a building. The door COULD have been shut and accessible only with a room key. But it never was. So this wide open door led me to find a homeless man sleeping outside of my room at 7:30 am as I left for my conference. I told the front desk person, and she sent someone to send him away, but her manner suggested this had happened before, and they’ve just chosen not to prevent it. One of the hallway windows seemed to be stuck open. I understand this is a historic building, so the windows are OLD. They don’t seem to block out any street noise. I wear ear plugs to sleep anyway, so this wasn’t a deal breaker. The smell of cleaning products is strong. I could tell something had been cleaned, but there was still mysterious hair in the bathroom. Also, the towels are scratchy, thin and could stand to be a bit bigger. The sheets were scratchy too, luckily I travel with my own pillow whenever I can, so I didn’t have to scratch my face against theirs. The parking lot is tiny & street parking is oddly restricted. I felt very lucky to have secured parking. This may be a major deal breaker for the convention goers and it doesn’t seem like there is an easy fix. I want to cheer for the little guy and people preserving historic buildings, but in this case, I just can’t.

I stayed here recently because the Marriott and Hyatt were more than twice the price. Check in was easy, though the plexiglass window was a concern. My room was upstairs and at end of hallway. The room was clean and spacious. It has a microwave and refrigerator. You are close to convention center and downtown.

We stayed in room 118, which was cute and not connected to the other rooms in the hotel. The Pros. It was super clean, spacious, had lots of character and was well-equipped with a fridge, microwave and a mini breakfast nook with stools and chairs. The beds were clean and comfortable. The bathroom was clean and equipped with towels. The parking situation didn't affect us at all, because we arrived before check in. The location is well within walking distance to everything. They let us check in a half hour early, which was appreciated. The cons. 1. A call from the front desk after checking in to ask how many people were in the room. It clearly stated in my reservation how many people would be in our party. I have never been asked that by any other establishment upon checking in. 2. Some freakin' dude with a lawn blower decided that 9 a.m. on a Sunday morning was a great time to maintain the grounds. He made sure to circle our room a few times, which woke us up. Check out time is 11 a.m. It is RUDE and INCONSIDERATE to do lawn work while guests are sleeping! Wait until after check out time when you have a THREE HOUR WINDOW to work with. 3. The soap that was provided was VERY CHEAP and no shampoo was provided. All in all, it was okay. But at $125.00, I expected a bit more consideration for guests.

this place is in desperate need of an upgrade/renovation. I had friends over in my room and got a call from reception asking how many people were staying in my room, rude!!!!! if I hadn't already paid for the room I wouldn't have stayed there myself! the walls are thin and you can hear people in other rooms and lots of traffic noise. the place itself it older and scary looking. their parking lot is tiny so you will have to park on the street or in a side dirt parking lot. I will never ever ever ever stay here again

It's like these people have never been to another hotel and therefore have no concept of how a hotel should be. There were no amenities to speak of, no soaps, no number to call front desk, no password to the Wi-Fi, and the employees are less-than-helpful. Three of us were assigned a room with one bed and when we asked for some extra bedding so the third person could sleep more comfortably on the floor, we were denied on the premise that we'd give them a bad review because they had us sleep on the floor. We then asked to upgrade rooms and they denied us that on the premise that we already paid for the room we were in. Avoid this place like cancer, you might get it if you stay here.

The room we were in was recently remodeled and was awesome. Very nice finishing, plentiful & easy access plugs for charging and very,very clean. We stayed one night in a Motel 6 and found this place the next day. Will absolutely stay here again. After reading previous reviews, this place clearly has new owners or new mngt.

We were in town for the night during the Christmas events. All the other hotels were way over priced. We told the man we wanted a CLEAN room, and I got CLEAN! The room was on the top floor. It had a kitchen, with fridge, and microwave, there was a balcony, a separate dressing room and a very large bathroom. ENDLESS hot water was fantastic!! The building is a little old and the windows didn't close. That bothered us none as it was 70 that night and -15 back home. It was loud a tad loud when the traffic picked up in the morning. My suggestions would be this: better pillows, shampoo in the shower, and a little chair on the balcony. Otherwise the man at the desk was super nice and the charm of this Inn would be what brings us back again! It was so refreshing to get away from the stale cookie cutter hotels.

Well, I decided to book a room here because a friend and I were going to visit someone staying here but instead we just got our own room. It seemed to expensive at first, considering I have been to hotels that charge 40-70 dollars a night on weekdays. But I do understand this is a historical hotel and its in an in-demand location. The representative assisting us was willing to work with us and give us a more reasonable price. I was still iffy on the final price, but it is a nice room with microwave, fridge, and cute decor. I appreciate that the representative gave us the best deal he could. I am content with the stay

With the Marriott and the Hyatt across the street, one would expect a little better clientele. It is cheaper, but it definitely needs to be updated. I would not recommend this hotel to any of my friends.