Lavender Inn by the Sea, Santa Barbara

This place is not what the pictures on the web site imply. It is right on a busy road, you can hear the traffic inside the room, the walls are paper thin, and every time someone below or near your room closes a door your room will shake. The staff is fine. The bathroom is a thing of the past. You can do much better in the area for the money.

Location is good, staff was friendly. The street is noisy during day, but quieted down at night. The mattress on the bed was rock-hard and I had a terrible allergy attack during the night. The next morning I found that the shower in our room had lots of black mold growing in it, which I am allergic to. Looking at the mattress, I discovered someone had turned it upside down. The carpet had a lot of beach tar on it, but that is pretty normal in Santa Barbara. I complained about the mattress and mold the next day and they flipped the mattress over. Unfortunately they did nothing about the mold. So I bought a bottle of Tilex and cleaned the mold myself before our second night.

This hotel had a cozy feel and a great location. We took the train up so we didn't have access to a car, but this hotel is only a couple of blocks from State street and the water. It has a "country" decor that isn't too overdone. It also adds some nice extras (free breakfast, wine and cheese in the afternoon, milk and cookies at night). We got a great deal in the off season - they told us that it's three times as much for a room during peak season. At that rate I'm not sure it would be worth it, but it was a steal at the price we paid!

The Innkeeper (Billie) was very friendly and was able to give us a room at last minute. After checking in to a different hotel and not happy with it at all, our friends told us to stay here. So we asked her for a room, she held it for us and took care of everything. The rooms are nice...well appointed and spacious. They have a cute little cat that sits at the front door, very charming. At night, they serve cookies and milk, and before that, wine and cheese. I was up early, so I read the newspaper, had my coffee and ate a beautiful breakfast. Typically hotels have boring food, but the Inn had a nice spread. A warm fire was going, nice Christmas music...it was like I was staying at an Inn you'd find in New England. Billie even suggested I take my girlfriend breakfast...because it was possible...they had plenty of food and trays to carry it all! When we checked in, they even gave us a coupon for Chucks Waterfront Grill...which has really good food and service. Overall, we enjoyed our day/night in Santa Barbara because of the Colonial Beach Inn.