I had originally booked the Adobe on Green Street B&B because of the really great reviews on TripAdvisor, not to mention I love Santa Cruz! I was quite excited to get an accommodation (on previous occasions they were booked solid) for a night during Labor Day Weekend.

A few days before leaving, I received a note from the owner of Adobe that he had accidentally over-booked the room at Adobe, however, as a kind gesture, offered me a room here at Hinds House for two nights, FREE. Yes, I was disappointed at the cancellation at Adobe (wanted to take the g/f for a special weekend), but since other plans were in place, I took up the offer to stay at Hinds House for one night.

The Hinds House, I believe is more suited to long term stays (weekly/monthly). It seems like a place visiting professors would stay. It is an elegantly appointed Victorian home 3 blocks from downtown Santa Cruz. It is in a very quiet location. There are 3 levels, I believe, some rooms with private bathrooms and some without. We stayed on the 2nd level, and, had to walk up to the third floor to use the bathroom. I couldn't care less about this, but often times, women do! Comfortable robes were included in the room, which allows for a comfortable transition from the shower to the bedroom.

There is a kitchen inside the house, beautiful rooms in which to sit and read a book. An old antique piano adds to the decor.

Yes, the beds here are amazing. Definitely not cheap beds!

In the rooms, there are small sinks for washing or getting a drink of water. Also, there is a very well organized binder with a significant amount of tourist information including where to eat, parks, etc. Very useful. I used the free wi-fi in the house to get additional information on things to do in Santa Cruz. There is a computer downstairs for those who are traveling w/o a wi-fi card (complimentary). Very cool.

It was a very fun, memorable experience staying in this historical home in Santa Cruz.

The gentlemen that runs the Hinds House also runs Adobe. Although I have yet to stay at Adobe, both places are obviously managed VERY well. I wouldn't hesitate for a second to recommend either place as options in Santa Cruz. I am definitely looking forward to staying at Adobe next year.

This is a fantastic deal if you need to be in Santa Cruz for a week or more. They don't take reservations for a night or two. The location is perfect. I didn't have a car and all of the wonders of downtown were three blocks away. Day or night I could safely walk to everything I needed in a couple minutes. The house itself is so beautiful, I had to pinch myself each time I walked home. Could this beautiful Victorian mansion really be where I'm staying? The other guests were friendly, several from Europe. There is a fully stocked common kitchen which saved me from eating at restaurants all the time. This place is so well organized and well kept. I never saw one thing out of place. The rooms are unique and varied: from very inexpensive with bathrooms in the hall to more expensive with bathroom in the room. Common bathrooms were cleaned every day and well equipped. Even the more expensive rooms are far less than typical hotel prices. There is free wifi. I've since looked for a place like this in other towns, but they just don't exist. For now the Hinds House is a welcome anomaly. I hope it lives on forever.

I'm looking to avoid repeats of previous postings so I'll just do pros and cons. Don't forget that this place is for extended stays - not overnite options. However, the price per week is so fabulous that you'll want to stay the week.

Pros:
1. We stayed over the Xmas holidays and were very sad to leave. To quote an earlier Japanese resident, this house has good karma - a really good feel to it. I've always liked Santa Cruz and this was such a treat. I've stayed in many places but this is the one place I'd really like to come back to.

2. Incredibly and totally unbelievably comfortable beds, Victorian furnishings, multiple full bathrooms scattered throughout the house, well-equipped kitchen for cooking, well marked cabinets and fridges per room, washer/dryer on premises with complimentary washing powder, parking permits for on-stret parking etc., given to you on arrival. There are three first-come, first serve parking spots behind the house and on-street parking (which we did not have any problems finding). Think a hostel for grownups - very lovely, comfortable with the ease of coming and going as you like. Very clean!

3. Great location (4 blocks west of Pacific Avenue that has all sorts of places to eat plus a New Leaf grocery store in the old Bank of Italy building if you prefer to cook). We recommend Sitar if you like Indian food and for girly hand creams, candles, and makeup, I recommend Farmacy located across the street from Hoffmann's Bakery (which is also yummy). Everything is within walking distance although West Cliff Drive is further out. I'd suggest driving out there, parking and then doing the 6 mile round trip walk along the coast. You can hole up in your room (which is great for writing/research purposes) as they have desks and WiFi or you can mingle downstairs in one of the 2 drawing rooms, dining room or kitchen.

Cons:
1. We booked a large room with private bath not realizing it was a bathtub/toilet combo with no venting vs the typical shower/toilet combo. Our fault for not reading closely enough. We never did use the tub although the private toilet was nice. However, there are 2 full bathrooms with showers on the 3rd floor, a full bathroom with tub on 2nd floor and a full bathroom with tub on 1st floor off the kitchen. All rooms have their own sink (if not reserving one of the two private bath facilities). If you book off season, I recommend taking the shared bathroom option as there was no problems in finding access times to it. Plus, the shared option is considerably cheaper.

2. Stairs. This is what gives Hinds House the 4 star rating instead of the 5 star rating - at least until some protection is added on. There are grand stairs here in this house and most of them are wide enough for easy navigation. However, the problem is the second set of 8-10 stairs leading from the third story on down to the second story level. Be very careful on them as it is exceptionally easy to slip and fall (which I did). Even though there is a bannister (which I was holding onto) the stairs are much more narrow with downward sloping edges from years of people walking on them compared to the other sections in the house. Plus the carpet is that slippery, Victorian style which helps eliminate traction. The owner needs to put some sort of rubber backing on the edges for additional safety, especially if older parents are staying here.

I had the pleasure of staying in Hinds House this past October, and it was beautiful. The weekly rates are more than reasonable. The accommodation's were adequate for a long stay. They had everything we needed. I will go there again.