We stayed at Regina's place for one night as we road tripped down the coast. Now we absolutely wish we could've stayed longer. Regina was out of town, which we were pre-warned of with plenty of time, but we were welcomed by her lovely husband into their beautiful home. Their house was just gorgeous and the room was nice and cosy and the bed was super comfy. We were offered bikes and a map which we really appreciated but decided to walk - about 20mins - to the boardwalk and peir.
We wish we could've stayed longer and will definitely look to stay again when we are, hopefully, return to Santa Cruz.