Santa Cruz is still pretty during winter months.

Beach escapes aren’t just for summer. This holiday season, pack your bags for Santa Cruz, and check in to the Dream Inn. The only beachfront hotel in town, the Dream Inn offers great views of Cowell’s Beach, the Santa Cruz Pier and Boardwalk, and Monterey Bay.

The hotel offers three ways you can save this holiday season:

•    The Family Getaway Package includes overnight accommodations for four, milk and cookie turndown service on arrival night, a VIP amenity for kids, an ornament keepsake and a host of board games to play with.

•    The Three-Night Value Package includes three-night deluxe beachfront accommodations (with a private balcony), a welcome amenity, $50 food and beverage credit at Aquarius Restaurant or in-room dining, a $25 gas card and complimentary parking.

•    The Cars Stay Free Package includes overnight accommodations and complimentary parking.

Rates vary, depending on package, type of room and time of reservation. All three packages are good through Dec. 31, 2011. To book, visit jdvhotels.com.

The hotel’s 165 guestrooms and suites have views of Monterey Bay from private balconies or patios, free Wi-Fi and local calls, flat-screen TVs, iPod docking stations and in-room coffee makers.

The Dream Inn is parked right on Cowell’s Beach, a perfect spot for winter sun worshipping as well as easy surfing. Just a short walk away is the pier and Santa Cruz Boardwalk, with plenty of activities and food options. If you want to get a look at some real waves, go to nearby Steamer Lane to watch the surfers any time of year.

Dream Inn, 866-774-7735
175 West Cliff Drive, Santa Cruz, CA 95060

Photo courtesy of the Dream Inn

More Santa Cruz-related information:
Top 10 Beaches for Learning to Surf
Santa Cruz Museum of Natural History

Enjoy plenty of beach time at the Seascape Beach Resort

Sometimes it’s nice to be in the thick of things, where you can see the crowds and walk to a variety of attractions. Other times, you want a sweet retreat within reach of the same attractions, where you can relax in peace. The Seascape Beach Resort in Aptos, just a short distance from Santa Cruz, is just such an escape.

The 238 suites and beach villas are scattered across the bluffs overlooking the beach and Monterey Bay, so it doesn’t feel like a cramped resort where you feel hostage to the masses. Choose from a studio suite, one-bedroom suite, spa suite, or two-bedroom beach villa—all have fully equipped kitchenettes or kitchens, a fireplace and private balcony (most with ocean views). In addition, rooms have LCD TVs, DVD players and high-speed Internet. Rates start at $149 and vary, depending on type of room and time of year.

Even the pool area has views of Monterey Bay

I stayed in a two-bedroom beach villa, which was spacious and seemed bigger than my home. The space is ideal for a family beach vacation or couples traveling together—with two bedrooms, a full-size sleeper sofa, two bathrooms, kitchen, living room, dining area and a balcony or deck, you won’t be falling over each other when you’re all together.

The resort’s dining options include Sanderlings Restaurant in the central lobby building and Palapas Restaurant y Cantina in the adjacent Seascape Village. Also in Seascape Village are a deli, pizza restaurant, coffee shop, liquor store and a variety of shops all within easy walking distance—but not so close that you feel like you’re staying in a mall.

When you’re not at the beach, enjoy in-suite spa services, golf, bike rentals, the fitness center, or (my favorite) a beach bonfire to go. Resort staff will build a roaring fire on the beach, provide you with beach chairs and the fixings for S’mores, and you just have to sit back and enjoy. Now, that’s my kind of beach retreat.

Seascape Beach Resort, 800-929-7727
1 Seascape Resort Drive, Aptos, CA 95003

Photos courtesy of Jill K. Robinson

I was a guest of Seascape Beach Resort during my time in Aptos.

More Santa Cruz-related information:
Do Your Dreaming at the Dream Inn in Santa Cruz, California