This was my first time ever staying in a hostel and it was a really awesome experience! Tina and Tony were great hosts—very welcoming and communicative. I didn’t know that I would be reached out to during text instead of the Airbnb messenger (I have my known/unknown text messages separated so I didn’t see text for a while) so I was unsure how to get into contact, but figured it out eventually and was able to check in right before 10 pm. They were very flexible with me cause I didn’t know an appointment had to be made for later check-in. Tina was very helpful with suggesting the nearest parking and invited me to the free yoga class at the beach that was free for hostel guests. The location is awesome—a 3 min walk to the beach/boardwalk, everything was clean, hosts had super clear communication, the guests were very kind too, it was just overall good vibes here. I give 4/5 stars because on site parking or free parking for the Airbnb stay would’ve been ideal —it’s $10 for a daily pass so it’s not ideal for long stays. Also the bathroom light (motion sensored) kept shutting off while I showered at night so that was scary to wash my face and open my eyes too pitch black darkness but I only had to deal with that for my short stay. Overall, I had an amazing time and would definitely recommend this particular hostel to others and stay here again myself when visiting Santa Cruz (: