La Siesta Hotel

Basic b&b just a few minutes walk from the main square. Simple rooms with a/c and bathroom and even English CNN. Decent firm bed. Very small bathroom (not convinced we had hot water). Basic breakfast with make your own coffee and only scrambled egg as hot food (not even a toaster). Nice on-site pool which is perfect after arriving in Santa Cruz’s muggy heat.

Really basic hotel but we were attracted by the pool as it is quite warm during the day. I didn’t feel particularly safe in the area after dark and took Ubers when going out. It was noisy until well after midnight and I could hear the neighbouring rooms walking around and going to the toilet! Didn’t sleep well as someone kept trying to come into our room. Probably not the hotel’s fault as it sounded like a drunk guest. It is close to the cathedral though and the staff were very pleasant.