We loved our stay and would return again! The location is wonderful - we much preferred staying here in the Felton area to being in Santa Cruz itself by the beach. The proximity to Henry Cowell State Park was awesome, and we were still only 15-20ish minutes from the beach. Driving through the redwood forest is amazing!!
We stayed here for over a week. Though we did plenty of “sightseeing” (the local state parks and the nearby beach train were favorites), we also enjoyed getting to use the hot tub, watch the many birds from the deck, and use the well-supplied kitchen.
The home was clean, well kept, and stocked with anything you could imagine wanting! It’s obvious the host has a heart of service for giving people a good experience. Everything was nicely organized with clear directions for how to operate or find what you needed.
Two things you might want to know:
- the road through the neighborhood is hilly and single-lane in parts, so you do have to occasionally back up if you encounter an oncoming car. (This is the price you pay for this nice secluded home among the trees!) My husband had no issues; I’m a less confident driver and was glad he was driving. ;) If I were driving solo, this would have been stressful for me.
- while we loved the backyard/deck area, we weren’t able to let our kids play out there alone for safety reasons. The hot tub has a lid but doesn’t latch shut or have any child proofing . Also, parts of the deck are quite high. There is a railing, but there are a few sections where kids could possibly go around the railing. For this reason, we also didn’t let our children (under age 10) sleep in the “glamping” areas - I didn’t feel comfortable having them walking around back there without an adult. (Instead, the kids who we initially planned to send out there slept on a futon in the loft area above the living room). However, we still enjoyed the deck spaces with adult supervision, and this would be a super way for older children/teenagers to feel more independence by sleeping out there!!
We will look back with fond memories of our trip, and this place was a great part of our experience!!