Green Espirit: Santa Cruz Getaway - $100 (Hilton hotel stay, Italian dinner, Brazilian brunch)

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We have been trying to come up with quick getaway recipes which can be enjoyed multiple times in a year in a stress-free and simple manner. Apparently the location must be within reasonable driving distance, so no air travel would be needed. And free hotel stay would make this getaway possible. We have found one recipe two weeks ago with total expense less than $100 which covered one Hilton night stay, delicious meals and gasoline for driving.

Santa Cruz Itinerary Sample

Location:
Santa Cruz, California

Driving:
50 minutes driving from San Francisco Bay Area.
(Leave for destination before 9am to avoid traffic)

To do:
Santa Cruz beach, hiking, swimming, gourmet food, nature bonding, fresh air

Lodging:
Hilton Santa Cruz / Scotts Valley (Look for Hilton card promotions. One night requires 30,000 Hilton HHonor points during off-peak. One Citi Hilton Visa card and one AMEX Hilton together earn 100,000 Hilton points. Hilton Silver status automatically comes with complimentary Wi-Fi. Self-parking is free at Hilton Santa Cruz / Scotts Valley)

Hilton Santa Cruz

Main Lobby

King-size bed

Clean hotel and room
Free parking
Courteous hotel service
Room has microwave, and refrigerator
Large outdoor swimming pool

Dinner:
Lillian's Italian Kitchen - $$, I would rate 85 out of 100. Our bill was $38 for three dishes.

People were waiting outside ...

We arrived at the restaurantwithout reservation, and were informed about 90 minutes waiting time. We gladly ordered food-to-go and enjoyed it in our hotel room. Both TripAdvisor.com and Yelp.com have high ratings for this restaurant. That set a high expectation. The food tasted great, but not unique.

Brunch:
Cafe Brasil - $, rating is 95 out of 100. Our bill was $30. This is a jewel in Santa Cruz treasure hunt. I would strongly strongly recommend.

Seafood over rice - more shrimps than we could devour, and the magic sauce

Steak over rice - the best is not the steak ... but the rice and beans.

Courteous and fast service
Delicious and unique food
Street parking is the challenge
Do not be scared away by long-lines. There were 16 parties ahead of us, but we waited only 35 minutes.