The Hummingbird Haven is a wonderful place to stay if you're trying to have a nice and relaxing weekend in the Santa Cruz Mountains. It would be a wonderful place to hang around a take it easy, but also is the perfect place come back to and unwind after a long day of hiking or the beach or activities. It's incredibly peaceful and tranquil there and has a very nice ambiance to it. The room was wonderful but what my girlfriend and I appreciated most was being able to have a nice breakfast or lunch outside in and around all the hummingbirds and also being able to go outside at night and watch the stars.
Kitty and Michael are good hosts and make you feel very welcome when you arrive. Typically Kitty shows you around and gives you a good tour and history of the place and the area. They are available if you have any questions or need any tips or suggestions, but they also respect your privacy and give you your space as well.
We enjoyed using the popcorn maker and it was great to be able to keep things in the fridge and do some light cooking there, but there's also the capability to do more elaborate cooking if that's what your after.
The outdoor showers and the compost toilet are a little different if you're not used to them, but are simple enough to use and definitely don't take away from the experience. We actually enjoyed using the outdoor showers, which are still very private and covered.
It's not the easiest place to find, but Kitty and Michael do a great job of giving directions on how to get there and find the place. The driveway is a little tricky to get up and down, so make sure you're careful and take your time with it, but after 1 or 2 tries it becomes pretty natural.
The town of Aptos is not far at all if you want to go out to eat or make a trip to store to stock up on supplies. Also its easy access to the town and beaches of Santa Cruz as well depending on traffic. We spent a day over at the Elkhorn Slough, which was also a quick and easy drive from there.
All in all we loved our stay and would definitely go back. If you're looking to have a stay at a place that has a ton of natural beauty and a lot of charm and unique qualities to it, I would certainly recommend the Hummingbird Haven at Kitty and Michael's. Also the Mushroom Dome seemed like a pretty cool place as well and is also close by on their property so feel free to look up that one as well.