We enjoyed our stay at Mary Jo's place. The house is located ~20 min walk from the beach and ~30 min walk from the main street in town. The neighborhood was very quiet. The house itself is quite nicely decorated and very clean. She was there when we arrived and showed us where everything was.
(There's an 11% tax collected separately for the City of Santa Cruz; I didn't have a problem with it but just noting in case this prices some people out :/)