BEST WESTERN PLUS South Coast Inn, Goleta

We had numerous problems both nights we stayed. The first night, there was loud buzzing (that came and went) in the wall and kept us awake all night. Then, the hotel didn't give us our wake up call. We were late for our meeting time because of it and we were tired due to the buzzing keeping us awake. In the morning, we asked the manager if they would switch us to a different room for the second night or fix the buzzing. He said yes. But when we got back later that evening, they hadn't done it. The second night, the wake up call came at exactly midnight and woke us up - although we were still having problems sleeping due to the on and off buzzing that they hadn't fixed. We went to the front desk in the middle of the night to complain to the the night manager but he made no apologies and acted as if he didn't care. We were exhausted in the morning due to lack of sleep and talked to the day manager. She listened to our story and said she'd comp part of room cost. It took numerous phone calls back and fourth to her and to the corporate office and more than two months for that to happen - and then it was less than what she promised. On several occasions, I asked for the name and phone number of the owner, but nobody would ever give them to me. We got very little sleep for two nights during a very important weekend. It was anything but a pleasant stay. I would suggest saving some money and frustration and go somewhere else. These people don't care.

We would recommend it. We came to visit our daugter at UCSB. Location is safe, with a shopping mall and restaurants nearby. But you have to have a car. You can even get a free pass to a real good gym. Room was spotless clean, service was good, but breakfast was just scrumptious. While other hotels may serve bagels and coffee, here we had egg omelet, roast potatoes, sausages, bagels, jogurt, cereals, good coffee etc.

No one should be subjected to what we endured. The owner and manager don’t care about their customers. During our second stay we were in a room where the toilet wouldn’t flush even if the toilet was empty. We called the front desk twice to get it fixed, and each time they sent a new maintenance person, and we were told the problem was fixed. When it wasn’t fixed for the third time, I called the front desk in frustration. After being put on hold for a long time, the front desk person offered us the use of the bathroom in a room about 10 doors down from ours. We couldn’t just move because it had only one double bed. We were four people in a suite with a king and a sofabed and no working toilet. No other rooms were available. I couldn’t imagine getting up in the middle of the night and walking outside in my pajamas to use the bathroom. We weren’t camping. We were paying lots of money for a hotel room for four nights. So, I said in frustration, ”How about just comping us a couple of nights and bringing us a plunger.” I added that I had to think about what we were going to do. After a few minutes, I called the front desk back and accepted the offer of the second room for the toilet. We were also offered a new suite room to move to the next day, which we gratefully accepted. We thought everything was all resolved but it was not to be. We were meeting friends for dinner so we had to leave. When we returned, the same front desk person knocked on our door and told us maintenance had snaked the toilet so it was working. I wish they did that after our first call. We thanked him and gave him back the keys to the second room. I was told to talk the front desk the next morning about the situation. The next morning I talked to a new desk clerk about the nonworking toilet and he said he knew about it and the owner had heard and we were told we were required to vacate the premises immediately that morning and we were never going to be allowed to stay there again. I was in shock. We have been staying at hotels on a regular basis, including many Best Westerns, with no problems. And during our prior stay at this hotel the front desk person said our file said “really nice people” and how we must have made a great impression. Now, because we were frustrated that we were in a room without a working toilet, we were told we were required to leave. It didn’t make sense. We still had two nights on our reservation. This new clerk told us that last night’s front desk person relayed to the owner that I had demanded to be compensated for two nights when all I did was ask as a suggestion in frustration. The desk clerk was apologetic and made excuses for the owner telling us he was under stress because of the renovations and also how the main computer system had gone down that night. We asked to talk to both the hotel manager and the hotel owner but we were told neither could be reached and the situation wouldn’t change even if they could be reached. There was apparently no way to get this miscommunication undone. He was sympathetic and he did comp us $30 which we appreciated, but there was no way we could connect to the two decision makers, the hotel manager and the hotel owner to get the situation fixed. This is not the way you treat a customer. No one talked to us except the front desk person who was accusing us of demanding something we only asked for in frustration and as a suggestion. Plus, shouldn’t a hotel do something more when your toilet doesn’t work? The broken toilet wasn’t the only problem. The cold water at the faucet only turned off at a precise point that took a while to find. The shower had very low water pressure. And, the next morning, the toilet wouldn’t flush again. Plus, we heard another customer complain about how a hotel staff person walked in on them in their room early in the morning. In the end, the owner did us a favor. We found Pacifica Suites. Do yourself a favor and don’t stay at the Best Western South Coast Inn.

We had no dislikes at all with this hotel. It was very clean, quiet, comfortable and overall reasonable considering all places in and around Santa Barbara are so pricey and sometimes nothing more than a dive. We stayed at the Lemon Tree the week before and we won't go back there. We found our home away from home in Santa Barbara. It's not in a bad location...easy to get everywhere from here. We will be back!

We were surprised at this property as it was very clean, quiet and very close to the Santa Barbara and wineries. The bed was extremely comfortable with king size pillows. It has a mircrowave and a small fridge which we did not use since we stayed only one night. It is fully wired and we used the laptop and had no problems.

Grounds are beautiful, staff are very helpful, breakfast is more than just a roll and coffee. The operators of this property care about responsive service--it shows. Very close to the campus and the gym privilege is a real plus--we do not stay where we cannot work out; this is a great amenity and very close.

Cons: very uncomfortable(hard bed), thin walls allowing complete understanding of normal conversation in the adjoining room, small and thin towels Pros: very nice landscaping, clean room, polite staff, good free breakast and patio area to enjoy breakfast on.

The room was clean and neatly furnished. Continental breakfast was good with a coffee machine that made various coffees, teas and hot chocolate (a hit with most of the patrons)The best part of the stay was the very friendly and helpful staff, especially those working the desk in the evening. They were very helpful to us and other guests and they had a friendly attitude with us and each other. Would definitely recommend this hotel.

This is a solid hotel. Room are clean, and well appointed. Items are updated reguraly, and the new beds they have are great! They have moved away from a continental breakfast to a full breakfast, and it is well worth it (try the make your own waffles!!). They have a goumet coffee maker in the lobby which is certainly as good as starbucks, but free! It grinds the beans as you use the machine, and makes every cup fresh! Yumm. Rooms are medium sized and beds very comfortable. Nice pool and garden area. FREE wired/wireless internet throughout the property, and it is FAST. It is NOT a B&B and does not try to be, but is excellent for business travelers, and families. It is about 10 minutes from downtown Santa Barbara and 3 from UCSB.

I often try Best Western hotels, but this one has seen its better days. Old and tired hotel. No such thing as a non-smoking room.