We were in Santa Cruz for a business trip and stayed for a week. This hotel is not a 4* by US standards at all. At best, it is a 3* . A few of the nuisances you can expect:
1. Air Conditioning is usually off or barely on in the lobby or the restaurant. We sweated every day. Actually the moment you step out of your room, you will be start to sweat as the AC on the floors is off.
2. Service at the restaurant is horrible. All that they are worried about is to get to know your room number and then forget about you. Every day at least 2 or 3 people will ask you for your room number every time you ask for someone to bring you something while seated at the restaurant.
3. Breakfast buffet nothing is refrigerated, cheeses slices are melting in front of you, old stale bread that is reused every day until consumed. You will see the same bread served for lunch and dinner. Food flies hovering the buffet. The omelette station is a small stove with a burnt sauté pan, where they will cook your food. The fruit is just on bowls at room temperature! Not even refrigerated. Flies over it.
Dinner: The salad bar is not refrigerated!! Literally they have food displayed on platters at room temperature. Did they missed the Food Safety Classes here?. Food from the menu is great, but it takes forever to get out of the kitchen. Bar drinks take a long time too.
You will see many guests having to flag down servers as they don’t check on you at all. There is a major need of training and having a manager on duty at the restaurant.
Rooms: Rooms are clean and in good shape. But don’t expect your Air conditioning to go below 75F. All the people in my group had the same issue in separate rooms.
Pool area on top of the roof is nice. Sauna was not working during our stay. Ladies at the front desk were very helpful and attentive to every need
Advice to management, train your restaurant staff!. Protect your guests by serving food following US sanitation standards , and please! TURN the AC ON!!
If you want to see how is supposed to be, take a drive to the Marriott and you will see!