Santa Barbara Inn, Santa Barbara

We read all the reviews before booking and were a little put off by some of the negatives but booked anyway. We were pleasantly surprised. The previous reviews don't apply now because the hotel is in the middle of a complete renovation and they are doing a great job. The review by the "smoker" is to be expected, they made it very clear from the start that there is NO SMOKING in or on the property period. So if they tell you it is a non-smoking property that only applies to everyone else... We specifically chose this hotel because it was non-smoking. No musty stale smoke smell here. The bed was the most comfortable except for the Bellagio in Vegas. Very friendly staff, would highly recommend!

I suppose I am biased because I was charged $250 for a smoking fee and granted it was my fault but on top of that, the service was poor (staff was very rude, like every time we had a question they were going WAY out of their way to help), the view seemed limited as compared to nearby hotel and parking was terrible, only valet unless you wanted to park down the street. Spend the $ somewhere else, it has to be better than here

We liked the room, it was spacious and clean. We had a nice view of the ocean and poolside. Service was good, but the valet person could of been a little more friendly and helpful. Parking should be free for the people staying. The staff was friendly overall, and we were especially grateful for the champagne and congrats card from the staff, regarding our 25th wedding anniversary.

From the minute we arrived - the service was terrible. The valets Andrew & Scott were exceptionally rude and arrogant and were too busy socializing w/ ea other to bother with us. We complained to the front desk and she buried her head in the keyboard. The next day, I requested the Valet Manager Tony contact us and he never did. No surprise. I received an auto email from the SB Inn asking how we enjoyed our stay and I gave an honest answer - no response. Very snotty staff, unclean rooms, construction noise, poor "beach" location.

This should have been the perfect hotel to stay in - the location is great - but it turned out to be a bad experience. Our room had the appearance of being very well used and badly in need of a makeover, dirty carpet, wall covering was threadbare, and actually peeling off in the bathroom. The supposedly white bed linen was gray and gave the impression of not being quite clean. The worst thing of all was the metal frame of shower door, which was thick with greenish/white corrosion. In the room itself, the louver windows would not close properly, making it drafty and also posing a security risk. There was only paid valet parking available, in spite of a large empty parking lot that had a chain across the entrance, making it necessary to use the valet service to park in the lot. We parked in the street, but this would be impossible during the busier part of the season. The receptionist told us that the hotel was going to be remodeled soon, and that jacuzzis would be installed in the rooms, but having read some previous comments from as long ago as 2005 that echo our experience, I wouldn't want to be holding my breath! We came away feeling that we needed to take another shower to wash off the unclean feeling that our stay in the Santa Barbara Inn left us with.....not surprisingly, we only stayed one night!

I have never seen such disgusting bathrooms. There was mould, filthy grout, tiles cracked, etc., etc. When asked to change rooms, we were hard pressed to find a better one. We would never stay there again.