Thanks for sharing your experiences. I often find myself curious about what these hotels are really like.

Here’s a post I made in the ‘new hotels’ thread about two years ago. Although I’ve never actually been to Aptos (but must have driven through it a couple of times), it might still be helpful to include it here.

Aptos in California is a city most people will never have heard of, but Seacliff Inn Aptos, Tapestry Collection by Hilton will open on January 18, 2022. The hotel, which was formerly a Best Western, has been renovated. It is located near CA-1, which runs slightly inland here. Adjacent to the hotel is the Aptos History Museum (at the time open on weekdays only, but now Google says that is temporarily closed or open on oppointments only). To reach the beach it's about a 0.7 mile bike ride to Seacliff State Beach, where hikers and cyclists can enter for free (this applies to all California State Parks).

The park on Monterey Bay features a large sandy beach and a rickety pier, at the end of which lies the concrete ship S.S. Palo Alto. This ship, designed during World War I due to a steel shortage, was never completed until after the war and was later sunk here as an amusement complex. However, the natural forces of the sea have taken their toll on it, leaving it in a deteriorated state.