Sele and Jesse were great hosts. They provided prompt answers to our questions before arrival, check-in was easy, and the home was clean and inviting. We loved the spacious kitchen, bathroom, ocean views, and the instruments! They have a keyboard, a mini ukelele and a banjo. My husband plays guitar but within minutes had looked up some you tube tutorials and and was playing some songs on the banjo. So fun!
One room has a sleep number bed which we were excited to try. A king bed would have been a dream but the queen was fine. Hammocks in the front and back were relaxing and we enjoyed the hot tub. Overall, we were happy with the accommodations.
We live in the Bay Area and down came to Santa Cruz to celebrate my husband's 40th birthday. He wanted to do some biking along the coast and based on other reviews we opted to bring our own bikes and I am so glad we did. I ended up testing the bikes in the garage to see if our friends could just use the bikes provided and figure this info might be helpful to others curious about the bikes:
The bikes are cruisers. The white one appeared new and had gears and hand brakes and I would have felt comfortable having our friends use on the trails if needed. And there was a single gear bike with back brakes in decent shape that someone could have used in a pinch. But I ended up recommending they bring their own. The rest of the bikes were in pretty poor shape. Ridable on paved trails, I suppose, but you'd be better off renting.
We came in early Dec and it's a great time to visit the Natural Bridges Monarch Trail. The butterflies migrate there and are easy to see Oct-Jan. We rode along West Cliff Drive with gorgeous views of the ocean, and then followed GPS to the trail head. We also biked from there to Wilder Ranch State Park and stopped at the visitor center, used the bathroom, and then biked to the coastal trail called Old Cove. It was a flat, easy loop (under three miles) and had stunning views above protected beaches and rock outcrops. We paused at the fern grotto to explore the caves, and did a little rock climbing to be able to see the sea otters. It was pretty magical. The location deserves five stars.
The one area that almost brought it down to four stars was the value. The initial advertised price for $525 a night seemed a little pricey but not unreasonable. But after cleaning, taxes, and other fees, the price was over $700/night. Unless you are bringing friends to split the cost, $700/night is pretty steep. (Comparing five star luxury hotels that we have stayed at for less than $700 with room king beds, room service, gyms, pools, etc.)
So overall, we were really happy with the experience. Bring some friends and if you want a unique, romantic, and very memorable food experience, check out Shadowbrook restaurant in Capitola!