Villa Rosa Inn, Santa Barbara

Although the location in great and the staff behind the counter is friendly, and there is so much potential for a great Inn, this little place fails in so many areas. First, when we called to make our reservation, we specifically asked about the parking and was assured there would be no problem. Of course when you show up, you are lucky to find a place anywhere near the Inn and have to get a permit from the desk (given to us with a little attitude). We were also told when we made the reservation that there was only one room left - the "deluxe" room - so we booked it - boy was that a mistake! Upon arrival, the Inn looked very quaint - no surprise - it's an old beach area and that is to be expected. We checked in and were told how to find our room - #16 at the top of the stairs. When we climbed the stairs we saw that the door was open, there was a fan standing in front of the open french doors from the outside, and it seemed to be airing out from some sort of smell. We had to be somewhere right away (a scattering of ashes on the sea), so we shut the door and didn't come back until after dinner - about 8:00. We walked into our deluxe room only to discover the sewer smell permeating the room. My husband when down to the desk to complain about the smell - he didn't mention what it smelled like but the staff said right away - oh you mean the sewer smell? She looked for some air fresheners for us, but couldn't find any. She called the owner and was told he would bring some over for us. My husband told her to leave it on the counter for us as we were going out for a few minutes. At our last check at 11:00 p.m. there was still no air freshener. I had to sleep with both doors propped open and the fan blowing all night - it still had a smell - my night was spent tossing and turning from the smell. The next morning we asked if there was any air freshener - still none. We spent the day walking all around the beach - enjoyed the day and all the festivities and decided to come back for their wine and cheese offerings. While sitting there, the staff saw us and realized we still didn't have our air freshener and went and asked a man - the owner - if he had brought the air freshener like they requested. He stated that he hadn't and would go get some in a few minutes. Meanwhile, we had been promised some the night before, and now it is almost 24 hours later and still none while he just sits there and reads his paper. I commented to my husband how I couldn't believe the lack of service we were receiving having paid a premium for a "deluxe" room and how awful it smelled and basically couldn't believe the whole scenario. We were also talking about all the other little things wrong in the room (the bathroom was dirty, plants were dead, the pool was dirty). The owner got up and left - finally to go get some air freshener. When he returned he came up to me and started berating me for speaking poorly about his Inn - in front of the other guests. My husband confronted him as he didn't even introduce himself and took him up to the room to see what we were talking about. The owner made excuses for everything - not wanting to admit to any disservice - basically turning a blind eye to scum on the toilet paper holder, dirt in the pool, dirty floors and smelly rooms. We did get the air freshener finally, but the way the owner handled it was out of line. He runs an Inn - that is in the service industry - he provided us with service only after we made such a fuss and he felt we were embarrassing him. All it would have taken was some simple air freshener. If the owner had gotten it right away, I would have overlooked the other things. Or, if after realizing I was a little upset about the whole thing, he could have come over and apologized for our inconvenience and fixed it right away - not come over and yell at me.

My family and I had a perfect experience while staying at the Villa Rosa. The staff is very friendly and they took great care to help make our stay an excellent one. I look forward to our visit next summer.

The Villa Rosa's in a great location. You can walk to the beach and I love absolutely love Santa Barbara. The rooms are very comfortable and quiet. It's very peaceful and the staff, facilities and services are all excellent.

The Villa Rosa was very comfortable. The friendly staff made us feel very welcome and were all so helpful from the moment we checked in to the morning we checked out. Our room had everything we needed and was clean and comfortable and we just absolutely loved the atmosphere.

The Happy hour, nice staff and wonderful room really made our stay enjoyable. We'll be back soon.

We appreciate very much villa rosa inn. One of the best stays of our trip around the world to Paris, New Zealand California and Tahiti

Staff more than great! accommodations very nice. we will definitely be back again.

Thank you for a wonderful time, we will be back soon. love everything in villa rosa

LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE THIS PLACE WILL DEFINITELY RETURN.

Ambience = Excellent Feels like your right at home