Best Western Hotels Reviews

The hotel’s location is another highlight, situated close to various shops and restaurants, making it convenient for guests to explore the area. The complimentary continental breakfast offered a variety of options, including a choice of breads, cereal, fruit, juice, yogurt, and more, providing a great start to the day.  The staff at SureStay were exceptionally friendly and accommodating, always ready to assist with any inquiries or requests. Their warm hospitality added a personal touch to the stay, making it even more enjoyable.

One minor suggestion for improvement would be the addition of small face towels in the bathroom. While the provided towels were excellent, having smaller towels specifically for face washing would enhance the overall convenience and comfort. Overall, my stay at SureStay Hotel by Best Western Santa Cruz was outstanding. I highly recommend this hotel to anyone visiting the area and look forward to returning in the future!

Full Version: I booked a 5-night stay (Dec 4–9, 2024) through Chase Travel for my wife and her best friend. Days before the trip, her best friend’s mother had a stroke. They initially hoped to still go, but her condition worsened, and she was hospitalized. They made the decision to cancel. Following the hotel and Chase policies, I called Chase Travel on Dec 3 to cancel. Their rep said they would reach out to the hotel and try for a full refund, but assured me that worst case, I’d be charged a one-night penalty. That matched the hotel’s written policy: cancellations after Dec 1 at 4:00 PM are subject to a one-night fee plus taxes and fees. Chase contacted the hotel, who confirmed the manager was out for the day but would be emailed. I was told again the worst case would be a one-night charge.

On Dec 5, I followed up. Chase said the hotel acknowledged the Dec 3rd cancellation but, since the manager didn’t act until check-in day (Dec 4), they called it a no-show and charged me the full amount: $2,660.14. Chase told me to call the hotel directly. I did—on Dec 5. The front desk confirmed the cancellation and said I would receive a refund, minus the one-night penalty, within 30–45 days. I was relieved. But by January, no refund. When I followed up, the hotel denied ever offering one and refused to help. Chase’s final advice? File a travel insurance claim. But since the emergency involved the mother of my wife’s friend—not an immediate family member—it likely won’t be covered.

I’m now out $2,660.14, hours of time, and the mental toll of dealing with something I responsibly handled ahead of time. Both Chase Travel and Best Western acted in bad faith. They didn’t honor their policies, misled me, and took no accountability—despite clear documentation and early communication. I’m extremely disappointed in everyone involved, especially this hotel’s disregard for guests. We had originally planned to rebook here later, but there’s no way we would ever trust this hotel—or Best Western at all—with future travel plans. More than just losing money, I wouldn’t trust them to hold a booking, much less cancel one properly. ABSOLUTELY DISGUSTING — STAY AWAY.

I went back upstairs to our room and tried to sleep, but the noise levels stayed the same and the number and volume of voices increased. This continued until about midnight when I finally gave up and went out to sleep in our car. It was pretty cold, but I managed to stay in the car until 1:45 am. I assumed the party would be over and returned to our room but immediately heard the same noise levels as before. I banged on the ceiling, but this had no effect. I tried to fall asleep, but the constant movement of people walking, running, moving items above us made it impossible. At 3 am, I went back downstairs and told the clerk that I would be calling the police if he didn't take care of the matter. He said he would call them and tell them to quiet down. I went back upstairs and at first, I could hear feet shuffling like the party was ending.

Voices were loud, but I thought in a few minutes (it was after 3 am), people would leave that room, and I could go to sleep. I stayed by the door, with my clothing on in case it didn't. About 5 minutes later, I heard the elevator open (it was near our room), and a male and a female (ages about 17-20 estimated) started to walk my room door while pointing directly at the door, I had my flashlight on and when I looked out the peephole, they must have seen the movement of the flashlight and immediately ran back toward the elevator.

A few minutes later, I heard the room door next to us (to the right of our door while facing our door) slam shut and then loud voices and slamming of doors and hitting of walls. I again laid down on the bed thinking they might be going to sleep, but that room noises continued in addition to more movement noises coming from upstairs. I could hear voices above us as well, although not as loud as before. Around 4 am, my wife went downstairs to complain, and she was told not to call the police. About 15 minutes, without any changes in the noise levels, I gave up and went to sleep in the car. I returned to the room around 8 am and the rooms were quiet.

I requested to talk with the general manager Lynda and was told she wasn't in. I gave the clerk my name and number and requested the GM call me. This was on Sunday, December 8th. When we checked out on Monday, December 9th, I was told again the GM was not in and I again requested the GM call me. By Thursday, I had not received any communication from the GM, so I called the hotel and was told that the GM was not in and that she made her own hours. I was also told there was no way to directly contact her with any form of communication.

This is insane where the GM of a hotel cannot be contacted by customers. As of Saturday, December 14th, I have not received a call from the GM who apparently has no accountability of her employment. I can see why this hotel allows parties and noise complaints to fester while ignoring their other customers. I am not young and have traveled extensively around the world, staying at many types of hotels and lodging types. The first night at the hotel was by far, the worst night I've ever spent at a hotel, and I can't even get the courtesy of a call from the hotel manager.

During the course of our stay at this location, we requested additional blankets for my wife, daughter and myself. There was only one blanket in the room for two beds when we arrived. They gave us one more blanket the night we checked in, but refused any additional blankets during the course of our stay. We inquired with 4 individuals that worked for the motel, including Andre the manager. It was only on our last day that we were given an additional blanket and only after having a firm discussion in the motel lobby. We only wanted a total of two blankets for each bed, due to the blankets being quite thin. They lied and told us that now blankets were available.

Then they told us later that it was against their motel policy. My daughter happened to see the above in the guest directory which is quite clearly different than what the motel staff told us. We asked to check out a day early and be refunded for the night which we would not be staying and they refused to refund us. We finally left early regardless due to multiple poor nights sleep for my wife. We found out from their corporate customer service that the motel and change policy whenever they want. The BW customer service has no ability to hold the motel location to it. Furthermore, the manager Andre told corporate that he gave us 3 extra blankets for a total of 4 blankets. We found this out prior to leaving and even had the front desk employee Raquel witness that we only had 3 blankets and 1 had not even been unfolded.

On top of that, the GM cornered one of the people that was in charge of the event in front of other customers in the lobby area in an attempt to cause a fight so that the GM could throw this person out of the hotel. When this person walked away, the GM threatened to throw them out anyway. Again, this GM has NO business running this hotel.

There were other issues that were found also. One of the entries to the hotel was chained closed. To my knowledge, this was one of two entries/exits to this hotel and was a serious fire hazard The actual staff, or at least the ones that we had interaction with, were amazing. The person at the front desk who fixed our reservation was amazing. I feel for them having to deal with a GM that is that bad. 0/5 stars. Avoid this hotel at all costs until they get better management.

After our event, we left and I realized that I forgot some clothes in the drawers of the room. My husband left his shower clogs. I called immediately, less than 12 hours, and guess what? His $8 clogs were there; my clothes were not. I was assured that the hotel cleaning staff checked the drawers, etc when a guest moved out. Then, where were my clothes? This hotel does not deserve to be open; the entire management should be fired. Save yourself some aggravation and go somewhere else. This hotel is in violation of every code possible.