Had a great one night stay during spring break few months ago. Usually expensive, but was able to stay during a weekday to be more affordable:) Room was roomy and had nice ceiling. Separate sink & toilet/shower to keep things efficient. Great pool. Comfy bed and the BEST pillow I've slept on in a hotel. Waking up without neck/headache is rare and the pillow here somehow managed to do it all somehow. Was so impressed, looked to see what it was and it was a special pillow made for Best Western. Searched online and concluded it's made by JS Fiber and contacted them and showed them the label. It's some Dream Maker Pillow. But costs $40~$50 to get one directly from them, so resisted since similar ones made by them can be much much cheaper in bulk of course. All I can say is, Best Western should have these pillows for "sale" in the lobby. If it was like $20 or less, I'd grab it on the spot, lol!!! The layout is a spread out across several buildings, so it can be confusing for first timers. The lobby provides a map to help you find you way though:) The only difficulty I had was finding the lobby, eyes naturally went to the right side where the sign was, but it was the cafe and ended up drive thru property before circling back to notice the lobby on the left side. So if it's also your first time, find the lobby on the left side as soon as you enter from Bath St. Went ahead and highlighted the lobby in green on the map they provided. Enjoy~ read more

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Like all motels in town they're pretty proud of themselves and the $400+ per day shows it. For that price one gets bored staff ( except the one desk clerk in the early morning ), cramped parking, no buffet breakfast (that would require extra work!), no bathroom fan, lumpy bed and dated facilities. On the plus side the coffee in the lobby is tolerable and it's very quiet at night because it's off the main road in a mostly residential area. The upshot is: you're better off staying out of the area and driving into SB each day. The motels are more accommodating and the little bit of extra gas is far outweighed by the greedy prices of this motel. read more

In town for one night to attend a wedding, this was a really nice stay. An older complex of multiple buildings with clean and updated interiors. Exterior hallways but with quieter noise levels than most interior rooms we've stayed in; other than some sounds coming from outdoors we heard nothing from adjoining room guests. There is also a nice balcony. The king size bed was comfortable and they do supply robes. Our room also came with a refrigerator, microwave and a safe. And if you've forgotten any needed toiletries, just call the front desk and they'll take care of you. A definite would gladly stay here again hotel. read more

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Let me tell you something if you want a little get away. I highly recommend staying here, it's all the rooms have been remodeled. Try to stay on the second floor you get a little balcony. That's a great view from anywhere you stay, parking is free we love that, there is also two bottles of free water inside. It does have a Jacuzzi. It does have a heated pool, it also has an amazing little bird sanctuary with a bunch of finches, really neat, there is also a great café with breakfast, lunch and dinner menu, front desk was very helpful, it's central it's about a $10 Uber ride to go to downtown or if you want to go to the funky District, definitely a lot of being for the buck also inside of the room you have a refrigerator and a microwave TV, I had a really pleasant experience and I will be coming back here again for a little getaway read more

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Overall a great place to stay. Located in nice area close to cottage hospital. Nice pool and jacuzzi with a very peaceful atmosphere. There is a house being built across street so a little construction noise but no fault of the hotel. Wonderful restaurant w/healthy options and a little aviary outside w/finchs. read more

Best Western Plus Santa Barbara - Jacuzzi. Gets busy at night! - Hotels Near Me - Santa Barbara, California

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Everything went well. My husband travels all over and this time he brought me. We checked in yesterday and the front office staff were very helpful. Today we needed some water and went to the front office and once again the hotel staff was great! They answered all questions, and gave us an upgrade. The rooms are clean, and its pretty quiet here. Thank you guys for making my husband's business trip so much better! read more

Stayed here for 5 days! It's in a great location. Everything is between 5-10 minutes away. They have a restaurant on property called Live Oak which has really good food and will deliver to your room. It's very cute and cottage looking. The room was cleaned every day and we had a king room with a small patio, mini fridge and microwave. Plus a lounge area with a couch and small table. Huge bathroom and closet with robes which was a nice touch. Our room did have a musky smell in an area by the bathroom that kinda smelled like old pee or maybe dirty mop water that kinda bugged but it wasn't bad enough to ruin anything. We also kept forgetting to let them know. It was such a prime spot I didn't want them to Move us but overall I would definitely stay here again! I also noticed it was always busy and near the hospital so maybe there's a lot of people stay nearby. Oh! There's also a small aviary on the way to the restaurant that was so cute! Lots of birds and they all have little perches/ nests to rest. read more

The worst hotel I've stayed in. First the welcome was horrible. Front desk staff not friendly at all. Then we get to our room which is old... it looks old and smells old. I paid over a thousand dollars for two nights and when we got to our room all we hear is construction next door, and the walls are so thin it sounds like it's in your room. Not a good vacation at all! I will try and add videos of the sound. I would not recommend this hotel. read more

We recently travelled to Santa Barbara and stayed at this property. We had the best experience and the property was just lovely. In a great neighborhood with plenty of places to walk to. The parking was exceptional! The staff went above and beyond assuring they delivered exceptional service. I would highly recommend! read more

Avoid this place at all cost! I talked to the front desk person before checking in and we came to the conclusion that it would be better to stay at the other Best Western down the road for convenience using the ferry. The man said he would refund our payment and we made our reservation at the other Best Western. We did not receive the refund and, when communicating with the manager, he denied knowing who the front desk person was and would not refund our payment. The credit card company refused to allow the refund because the manager told them we were not allowed a refund per the hotels refund policy. This manager is not fair and obviously stealing our money by denying anyone told us they would give us a refund. read more

The property is fine but management needs an upgrade! It started out reasonably well, the two rooms were nice enough for 3 nights. But when my heater broke the initial facade started to crumble. The tech who was sent to fix the heater had no idea what he was doing - no success. The front desk refused to move me to a different room because- allegedly- they were all booked out on a Sunday night. Interestingly, rooms were shown available online..... first strike. They brought me a separate space heater to the room, which, in all fairness, worked. That evening I went by the front desk to ask for a late checkout at noon next day, which was initially okay. Then later the same evening, I received a call by the same guy saying maintenance wouldn't allow it.... so check out at 11. Second strike. So by now my 6th sense for BS was ringing off the hook. The next morning, I called the front desk again to ask about the same late checkout, which was fine. No way of telling what you get when you dare to challenge the system. What really put the last nail in the coffin was my friend asking to switch one room to her credit card. After much bitching at the front desk they said ok, but still ended up charging only one card for both rooms. Incompetent. I lost count for how many strikes altogether but I feel it's enough for "could've been better." read more

Checked into this Best Western for a 3 night stay for a buisness trip. The staff were great when checking in and the hotel itself had a lovely exterior look. The resteraunt on site was great. Just note that on the weekends they close for dinner which I found a bit odd. The hotel has a pool and a bird sanctuary which was pretty cool. My room (215) was cute however the furniture was VERY outdated. The room did have some nice touches like the ceiling and glass but it just needs some updating foresure. Location wise I loved how quite it was considering you are near a hospital/medical center. Very close to the downtown area, resteraunts and the freeway. This hotel also offers free parking. Just my two cents about this hotel but overall it did the job and it was clean. Thanks for the hospitality Best Western-SB. read more

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The hotel is going thru a remodel. Half the rooms are old and dated, and the others, better and fresh, but still, this is a motel. The customer service is very nice, and the rooms are kept clean. We enjoyed our stay, but it is in no way deluxe. 3.5 stars is about right, but I just can't bump it up to 4.0 stars. Location, location, location is the best feature. No, not on the beach, but very central right off State street. * No lobby to speak of, but 24 hour coffee and tea is offered * No breakfast included, but Live Oak Cafe on-prem is good read more

So I have to take me rate down to a 1 star now. I have stayed here multiple times so when we had a car trouble with our sons car and had to reschedule our trip to the fallowing week bc we had to bring our son to school at UCSB. The person who answered the phone would not help us at all. They said sorry it's the night before and it's the policy we were like we understand but we couldn't help what happened with our sons car. They were rude and said luckily were not charging you both days. So we had to pay $280 for a night we didn't even use. Very sad how you guys treated a client who kept returning to your your property, but will not come back ever again. read more

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What you need to know: Santa Barbara is a beautiful, fun, and very expensive town. And the hotels--and motels--are also very expensive. This motel is relatively inexpensive. RELATIVELY. Our room was clean. The beds were serviceable. The bathroom and shower were good and there was always hot water. We were always able to find parking very close to the room. The room had a nice TV and decent mini-fridge. There's a fairly well-rated restaurant on-site. There's also a pool and free coffee and terrific hot cider in the lobby. HOWEVER : The walls are paper thin. PAPER THIN. News flash: Your fellow motel guests don't care about you. Sorry--humans suck. They will jack up the TV volume and talk loudly early and late. You'll hear every word, every cough, every TV commercial, and every shower that your neighbor takes. I suppose you might even hear more interesting things, too. The location is decent. It's not walking distance to the water or to the fun spots on State Street but it's an easy 5-10 minute drive. It is, however, easy walking distance to the original McConnell's ice cream shop (now called Mission Street). So there are pluses and minuses. You get to decide if it's right for you. read more

Best Western Plus Santa Barbara - Clean room. - Hotels Near Me - Santa Barbara, California

1. I am African-American. Woman at the front desk is completely racist and refused to even basic services.. She refused to store our bags. She refused to give a receipt for my stay. Absolutely a zero out of 10 for service. 2. The parking situation is atrocious. This clearly used to be a old people home that they converted into a hotel and it shows. I would not recommend this hotel to anyone. read more

This was a lovely hotel located very centrally to most of the town of Santa Barbara. A bonus was a quality restaurant (Live Oak Cafe) right on the property, so meals could be enjoyed very locally. The room accomodation was large and very clean. The room was quiet and comfortable. Really, a very pleasant solo trip to Santa Barbara. read more

What a great experience at this hotel. Got our room and everything was clean and cozy. The pool and hot tub were clean and easy to get to. Special thanks to Gloria for going above and beyond. I'm forever grateful for granting me a part of this place to forever remember our stay. read more

Approached the front desk, and I greeted the employee. Customer service was ok. The check-in process was easy because I made reservations online for the 2 bedroom townhouse. Parking was a huge issue. You would think having a 2 bedroom townhouse for the wkend you would get 2 parking passes. NO. The employee hesitated about parking on the street. I had to see why, sign posted only 90 minute parking allowed on the street. We received room #248; facing the street. Upon opening the door you are at the stairs upstairs, and to the left is the living room. 1 full bathroom upstairs to share. Half bathroom on main floor. Townhouse was clean. Kitchen w/ all amenities. Little patio area included. Issue we had was the bed. Mattress was extremely hard ( bedroom facing the stairs) ; not good for 2 people who just had surgery. 2 bedroom also had a bad mattress that was uneven causing the person to role to the middle of the bed. We were all extremely exhausted by the end of the wkend from lack of sleep. Also, if you have knee issues or are prone to fall, dont recommend townhouses because stairs are extremely steep. I am prone to fall, and a couple of times, I almost fell. I dont recommend townhouses due to limited parking, but importantly, mattresses are in dire need of replacement and steep stairs. read more

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What a horribly disappointing stay in room 328! It literally felt as though we were staying in the room with multiple generators operating the whole building due to the a/c unit and bathroom vent were so excruciatingly painfully loud. The bed was so uncomfortable (patches of indentations). Reported it to management and all we got was an "oh I'm sorry." Definitely do not recommend. read more

Still under remodeling but alright for one night. No internet or even local cable connections the night we stayed. Probably would stay closer to the beach next visit. read more

Look, don't let the whiny people fool you. If you are some bougie POS who wants top-tier service with white glove treatment then maybe this is not the place for you. At the end of the day, it's a Best Western - measure your expectations. I travel to Santa Barbara a few times a year for work and I've stayed at many places around town. Most frequently I've come here and the staff is always welcoming, accommodating and warm. Not sure what all the complaints in other posts are for, but if you come here looking for a place to stay in Santa Barbara that is competitively priced, clean and comfortable you will not be disappointed. If you roll in thinking that this is a five star Marriott, then you only have yourself to blame. Me? I'll be coming back again and again. read more

My gf had surgery at Cottage Hospital and we stayed here since we live in the country about an hour away and needed to return the following morning for a post-op checkup. My best intentions backfired when I checked in early while she was in surgery. I unpacked the car and had the room completely made up for her. Fast forward a few hours later we arrive at the hotel and when I try to get her out of the vehicle, she can barely walk because she's so groggy. Our room was on the second floor and it became very apparent I had goofed . I put her back in the passenger seat and made a beeline for the front desk. The hotel receptionist quickly got me a similar room on the first floor close to where the car was parked. then she had a young man bring all of our things from the room upstairs downstairs. The whole ordeal of my own making was quickly remedied in less than five minutes. Both individuals that I interacted with were professional, caring, and considerate. This quaint proper is in a beautiful neighborhood so you feel like you are living here and are a local for the day which exceeded my expectations. Also, the Living Oak restaurant on the property is stellar in ALL regards as well. Thank you again for your exceptional hospitality! read more

Awesome place to stay clean , quiet , great restaurant next door live oak and customer service ! Would stay here again for sure thank you

I had a three night stay. The AC didn't work. The ceiling fan didn't work. The WiFi didn't work. I told the front desk about this in the morning after the first night. I got a portable fan but nothing was fixed. Since they use central AC in the building, I'm sure they knew about the problem when I checked in. They didn't warn me about it. I assume they knew about WiFi and the ceiling fan as well. On the plus side, it is a beautiful building, the rooms are clean, and most importantly to me, it is practically next store to Cottage Hospital in Santa Barbara. read more

This hotel is in a prime Santa Barbara location with a friendly staff. I also underscore that I'm a long time Best Western rewards member and typically try to go with BW wherever we travel. I have no axe to grind. But our recent two-night stay at the BWP was disappointing on a few levels. They stuck us over in the second building in a room with no closet space. Nothing! Not even a wardrobe. No hangers. And the bathroom consisted of a small sink with no vanity. Our family members in a different room had the same layout but with closet and vanity. We ended paying basically $300 a night for an incomplete room. How do you deny guests basic needs and charge them so much? On top of that, we were in a construction zone as work was being done on the room directly above us. Oh, and as a BW Rewards member, I was hopeful for some kind of discount in consideration. Nope. They stuck us for the whole bill. Disappointed on so many levels. read more

Really enjoyed our stay at this clean, comfortable mid-budget motel. Plenty of parking and front desk was efficient and helpful. Didn't try the pool area but a few families seemed to be enjoying it. A large birdcage on display with lots of colorful feathered friends, cute but I'm not a fan of caged animals. Restaurant on site, too, but we didn't try it. Walkable to all the State Street shopping/dining, but a long walk. Instead we drove several blocks closer and found street parking. Very good accommodation option in trendy, busy SB. read more

A wonderful stay at a best Western in Santa Barbara and right across was the Live Oak Café with amazing food and service. The staff for best Western was fantastic. Cannot wait to go back. read more

Pros: good price and like the option of having a separate bedroom, especially when traveling with kids. The property and neighborhood are nice. Cons: outdated bedrooms. I saw some nice pictures online but I guess not all rooms are updated. The couch has a weird smell and the bed is small and sinks in the middle...very uncomfortable. I recommend if you're on a budget, but I wouldn't stay here again. read more

Best Western Plus Santa Barbara - Sketchy stains - Hotels Near Me - Santa Barbara, California

TERRIBLE CUSTOMER SERVICE by Mark the manager and his rude assistant Helen. My bill for three nights was over 2k. I don't have a problem paying that for a two bedroom townhome in Santa Barbara. What I do have a problem with is the extra $50 and $30 charges for what they are saying was for vomit on the floor and vomit on two pillows. It never happened and I asked for proof Mark said he had pictures but Helen said Mark doesn't have pictures and she hung up! read more

Best Western Plus Santa Barbara - Wrongful charges - Hotels Near Me - Santa Barbara, California

I checked in and the heater did not work in the room. Asked to be transferred to another room and they sent a maintenance man who got the heater to blow Luke warm air only. It's freezing in the room!!! And 46 degrees outside. They charge tooooo much money for these rooms in SB NOT TO HAVE ADEQUATE HEAT. read more

For the price and the location, this definitely deserves a 4! I only stayed here for one night while visiting a friend in town. I like that there are only 2 floors, the staff was very friendly and as mentioned the location is pretty ideal. I will say there parking is very interesting, there were plenty of spaces (and that's only because they allow one space per reservation). You can park in this small "underground" lot, park above wherever you can find a space, you can park on the street (if you can find it), and the staff did mention they share the lot next door where the bank is located (however, I was still a little nervous my car would have been towed). I had a room with two beds, it came with a couple of large chairs, extra bedding if needed and some goodies! (included were fruit, snack bars, and water). The hotel is a bit outdated (could use a little bit of paint), but the room had tons of space. I like how the bathroom is towards the back wall- too many times the bathroom is right next to the front door (which I never understand) and I like how they have the sink separate from the toilet/shower. The one thing I wasn't much of a fan of is how the sliding door that goes to the outside is so close to everyone else, there isn't really any private space or outside patio. Overall, I would definitely consider staying here again, it had everything I needed. read more

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Encina Lodge is wonderful! Hector and Mo went above and beyond to make sure I had everything I needed. I couldn't remove the blouse I'd worn and Hector was kind enough to not bat an eyelash to help me out of me, by simply pull my sleeve down to wear I could remove it. This was done with other guests could witness that he was not inappropriate. I would recommend this hotel to anyone! read more

Great location and restaurant with an amazing bakery. The staff is always friendly and helpful. Love the aviary! It's a shame that this corner poolside one bedroom room with kitchenette is in such desperate need of updating. The keurig and direct tv is the only indication that I did not wake up in 1992. Hopefully the lovely people who work here will be blessed with a makeover soon. read more

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Where do I start? We stayed here at the beginning of November (2023) for a company retreat and extended our stay by two days on our own dime to take a mini vacation afterwards. The staff was nice from the get-go but the room was incredibly run down for the price. I've attached pictures: the carpet was old, the upholstery on the chair was old, the wallpaper was peeling off the walls. What's more, there looked to be black mold on the ceiling. You can see all of this in the attached pictures. The keycard was temperamental from the very beginning. They warned us about keeping the keycards too close to credit cards, but I've never had this problem at any hotel before. In any case, even after isolating the keycards, we had to had to coax and wheedle the door quite a lot to get it open. Then one day, the problem magically disappeared and the door opened every time. I was relieved - until I found out that the reason the door opened every time was that the lock had simply stopped working and we were leaving our door completely unlocked the entire day. When we informed the front desk about this, they sent someone over. It was 10pm and after futzing with the door for ages, the maintenance guy told us we'd have no choice but to relocate to a room all the way on the other side of the complex. We were exhausted and there was no offer to help us move our stuff, so we decided to just cross our fingers the next day and barricaded the door with the sofa as best as we could. I asked why he couldn't just replace the door with another door and he said he didn't want to make too much noise for the neighbors. The sink drainage was sluggish from the beginning and this foul smell came out of it, but it was tolerable. The drainage got progressively worse during our stay and as luck would have it, completely stopped draining on the night before we were to leave the next day. The same maintenance dude came back and futzed with the sink to no avail. He removed the bottom drainpipe, put a bucket under it, and the most horrifying foul stench came out of the bathroom after that. He took at toilet plunger, put it in the sink (Lord knows where that plunger had been) and started plunging the sink like a demon, with foul, black water splashing all over our toiletries. Finally in the end, he gave up and said he couldn't fix it, so we slept in that foul-smelling room one more night. My wife has asthma and between the mold and the stench, got a really bad asthma attack that lingered on for about a week even after we got home. They refunded us one of the two nights and I didn't have the energy to do battle with the front desk to get my other night back, although I feel that was the least they could have done under the circumstances. Throughout this ordeal, the front desk staff were incredibly polite, helpful and friendly the entire time, graciously supplying us with a steady stream of bottled water throughout our stay, giving us a meal voucher for the restaurant because of the door issue, and being generally nice humans. One of the front desk guys copped a tiny bit of an attitude while my wife was venting, but he was the exception. I thought of adding an extra star for this reason, but I'm incredibly annoyed about how toxic this room was. Despite the friendliness of the staff, I'm kind of dreading our next company retreat because of this hotel. read more

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We hosted our wedding block at the Best Western and from the first few visits to the final checkout, the experience was stellar. Every single staff member was attentive and helpful. The rooms were great and our guests (60 people!) really enjoyed their stay. It was a wonderful base for our wedding weekend and we will definitely be coming back! read more

We stayed for 2 nights. The water pressure was down to a trickle in the shower. The parking was in short supply if you returned after dinner. The room needs an update. We will not be staying there again. Which is too bad as Best Western has been our go to for a few years now when we travel. read more

We were offered an "upgrade" from a room with 2 queens and a sofa to a full apartment. The apartment had a very, very strong musty scent which is an indicator of mold. The carpet, furniture, kitchen and bath were very old and were probably the source of the mold. We were offered another room with 2 queens. Also had a musty smell, old carpet and bathroom. We were offered yet another room with a king (the only ones updated) or another old room with 2 queens. We took a hard pass and drove home a day early. No hotel should be renting room in this condition. Mold poses is a serious health hazard. Please do not risk your health and stay at this hotel. I'm not the first to have this complaint. read more

My husband and I needed to get away after the hustle of the week before Christmas - and we wanted to try something new. My husband also encountered some health issues and we were quite stressed. I prefer to call when considering reservations, to see how friendly and accommodating the staff is. I initially spoke with Jarrod and Paul and was very impressed. I was asked questions so they could ascertain what we are looking for, and put us in a brand new upgraded room, downstairs and by the pool. When we arrived, we were greeted by Paul, Michelle, and later met Catherine and Helen. Everyone went out of their way to make us feel comfortable. I had just had a birthday, and they gave us a complimentary bottle of wine. It was going to be a cold, rainy (which we love) week, so we weren't too concerned with the noise of kids in the pool. The pool was heated so while there were some swimmers, with our patio door closed, we didn't hear anything. The room was spotless; the bed very comfortable. Water pressure was great and there was plenty of hot water. At night, we enjoyed the view of the pool and the subtle lighting. It was very peaceful and actually, romantic. The restaurant on property was very convenient, and the breakfast quite good. The finch aviary was a pleasant surprise. We will definitely be going back. read more

Decent neighborhood but this is definitely not a three-star hotel. This is a two and a half star hotel/motel. My room was clean but had a musty odor and it looked like an old apartment complex that was converted into a hotel. The staff was nice the pool was clean and the grounds were well kept. Bathroom was clean and the sink and tub drained well. Plenty of hot water. Walls and windows are paper thin just like other reviewers have said. It's not a Hilton or Marriott but it's adequate. read more

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