Dream Inn

For a long time the classic California beach town of Santa Cruz managed to get along without a classic California beach hotel. Those days are over: the proprietors have taken a faded Sixties mid-rise just off the west end of the boardwalk and given it the retro-chic mid-century modern boutique treatment, accenting its vintage geometries with a bold modernist color palette. The result is the Dream Inn, an approachably stylish 165-room boutique hotel that just might serve as the most concise introduction to Santa Cruz that an outsider could possibly ask for.

It’s in a location that feels like the center of it all, with private balcony or patio views over the beach, the wharf, and out into the bay. This is a town of public attractions, so the private pool is a particularly welcome counterweight to the multitude of public beaches — and to the Pacific Ocean’s bracing temperatures. You’re in safe culinary hands with Aquarius, the hotel’s versatile seafood-focused restaurant, and Jack O'Neill Lounge maintains an easygoing surfer's vibe with comfort shareables and beachy cocktails galore. For that matter, you’re in safe hospitality hands as well — half of the Dream Inn’s appeal is its smart design, but the other half is the accessible charm provided by its thoughtful service staff.