Attended the International Orchid Festival. The 30-45 min instruction on potting and maintenance…read morewas for sure valuable info and probably the best part of the day (besides the friend time) The show itself is quite small . It's only one room of orchids . They sell 3 day passes but I can't imagine what you would do there for 3 days unless you were showing . It took us more time driving home than it did walking though the show and the vendors tent. The vendors tent had a lot of vendors but the lines were just so long to buy anything and Orchids are not an inexpensive hobby. I mostly kill mine so I didn't put out the big bucks they were asking for the same types you buy at TJ's for 19.99. we thought we might visit the nurseries post show and make purchases at the nursery . I purchased a potted cascading succulent and the blue sticker fell off somewhere . when we were leaving some kid made us walk back to the vendor and get another sticker. apparently they must have a lot of theft at this show , but a stupid blue sticker anyone can buy at staples sure isn't going to stop theft . I was more irked that some stupid kid assumed i was a thief. We paid $40 for entry and that should include something maybe orchid bulb or seedling? I won't waste the time or $ on this show again . I had a nice afternoon with my friend so that's what was important . I posted some pretty photos . enjoy

Good Morning . This RV site so close to downtown santa barbara is Awesome…read more Make sure to use Gate "A", you cannot find the RV park from Calle Real. And 2 miles from Hendry,s Beach, which has the Boat Jessup, which is a must. Moses is our favorite waiter at Boat House. We recommend everything on the menu. Susan is the manager with her 2 assistant cats, Viola and Alfie, who live indoors with her at the house at the entrance. She runs this whole Earl Warren Showgrounds. She makes walk abouts in the rv park regularly, but Earl should provide her with a Golf Cart preferably with a full bar like the golf courses in Arizona. You will be most happy There are 44 Full hook ups, complete with wifi, but book early, it fills up.

What a wonderful first impression of the lovely city of Santa Barbara! We stumbled in here after…read moregetting off the Amtrak train, looking for recommendations for kid-friendly eats, and we left with a wonderful list of places we try. The staff here are super friendly, just people wanting to help other people. Shoutout to Ruairi, the awesome Irish, who really helped us lay out the food land during our visit. We visited most of the food spots that he recommended and had a wonderful foodie experience - we found our new favorite pizza spot! The store is clean, quaint, and a lovely visit. Will recommend tourists to pop in for a quick visit just to make sure you have all your t's crossed off :)

What a cute little visitors center near Santa Barbra train station. We came in to take a look…read morebefore our dinner next door. They have so many cute souvenirs, also pamphlets and maps for visitors. The Santa Barbara tray I got was cute and functional. Staff were friendly with big smiles!

Really fun way to explore downtown Santa Barbara. This is an easy, level walking surface tour. I…read morewalked at a very leisurely pace and was able to complete the tour in 2 hours. If you go M-F during business hours, use the restrooms at the SB County Courthouse. They are much nicer and better supplied than the public restroom off State St. listed in the tour a bit further on. Be sure to check out the tours in Ventura and San Diego, as well.

Super cute, perfectly located hotel! Right in the midst of Funk town, the beach and all the shops…read moreand restaurants. Small rooms but perfect for those who plan to be out and about enjoying Santa Barbara!

Pros: 1) Great Lobby that comes with great seating, free…read morecoffee and tea a mini bar that you can to purchase wine and snacks. 2) dog friendly 3) Mexican restaurant that's connected to hotel 4) We had a nice patio that we did use. 5) Valet Cons: Where do I begin? 1) The hallway to your room has flooring that is linoleum so the hallway echoes, which means that you will hear people running up and down the hallways, talking loudly everything vibrates and echoes because the flooring isn't carpet and the walls are very thin. If they're wearing heels, you can hear that from a mile away. 2) The rooms are teeny tiny 3) Our room had two I want to say double beds, but I feel like the beds are somewhere in between a twin size bed and a double bed very small bed. They advertise online that their queen size beds. There was only a foot in between each bed. It is hard to walk in between each bed, especially if two of you are standing trying to go to your beds at the same time. 3) Two of us shared a room and there wasn't a whole lot of room to move around. If one of us was moving around the other one had to stay on the bed. I felt like I was camping in a tent, not even a cabin. 4) The bathroom (WORST PART) was EXTRA small. The door to the bathroom wasn't even a real door. It was a door that was frosted, so you could partially see through it, especially because it wouldn't lock or shut. You could hear the person using the restroom very clearly There was only one mirror in the room and that was in the bathroom. It was a small mirror over the small sink. The sink had barely any room for us to put our toiletry items on there. And there was no else to put our toiletry items, so we had to keep our items in the toiletry bag the whole time. The shower was extremely small. It was a shower that was a standup shower that would've been great for a disabled person with a wheelchair because it was one of those that you could wheel into. There was no tub for instance that had like a tub wall on each side of the shower head. The shower had one door to protect the toilet because the shower was facing the toilet, and a curtain that didn't go all the way to the ground on the other side. What that means is water went all over the ground of the bathroom and we were basically standing in a puddle of water. we had to use our towels on the floor to soak up the water when we were getting ready for our event. The toilet was also very small and had trouble flushing. We also had NO HOT WATER WHEN WE WERE THERE! Upon checking out, we did not get any discount for that. They were supposed to send a maintenance person and that maintenance person never showed up to fix it. 5) There was also no microwave, but there was a teeny tiny refrigerator that barely worked. 6) Barely any place to hang your clothes. Two drawers to put your clothes in and one drawer, where the nightstand was so again we had to keep things in our luggage. 7) There were a total of two outlets that we could use to either charge our items or plug-in something that we needed. 8) As well as, for Santa Barbara we were expecting hotels to be expensive, and we understood that this place was going to be expensive as well. But this place was completely overpriced for what we received. We will never be back.

I happen to think the Clean Air Express is worth 5 YELP STARS? Why?…read moreBecause this bus line now goes to WINE COUNTRY! No trip to Santa Barbara is complete without a tour to sample the grapes in the Santa Ynez Valley. Clean Air Express bus service connecting Santa Ynez Valley and Santa Barbara for the first time cut the ribbon on July 11, 2015 and then departed at 9:30 a.m. from Buelton. Right now the Vino Express just goes out on Saturdays. The regular fare is $7.00 per person each way (buy at boarding) or a booklet of 10 passes is $50 in advance. Children age two years & under ride free. This is a 5 YELP STAR EVENT because before, you had to drive out to the Santa Ynez Valley and have a designated driver when you visited the wineries and sampled the fare. Now that the bus is here, you can hop on board and enjoy yourself without worry. For the first time, this new Clean Air Express Saturday public bus service allows anyone in Santa Barbara to travel to Buellton, Solvang and Los Olivos for the day--and anyone in Buellton and Solvang to travel to Santa Barbara for the day. The bus is plush too. The new Clean Air Express Saturday service features charter-style buses with free Wi-Fi, reclining seats and internal bays for transporting bicycles. That is cool because you can board your own bike for a ride to take a tour of wine country. What a great opportunity this affords day-trippers in the area to explore this beautiful and scenic region. Napa Valley has the Wine Train and now Santa Barbara has the Saturday Clean Air Express!

I am so grateful that this service is available. I work in Santa Barbara and live in Arroyo Grande,…read moremy hours are 8-5, Monday through Friday. If I were to be commuting (like a fool) it would be costing me around $50 A DAY!! to get to work and back. That includes gas and regular wear and tear on my vehicle. The CAE is always on time, comfortable and gives me extra time to catch some ZZZZZ's or check my emails, OR play a round or two of Battle Royal. For $7 bucks cash one way..... yeah it's worth it

This rest stop is so nice, clean and the surroundings lush . The restrooms are clean, with paper…read moretowels, seat cover and hand soap. Very convenient to stretch and walk the dogs . No shops just for restrooms break.

California's highway rest areas are universally magical, disappointing, sketchy, lovely, and weird…read more We would stop at them occasionally on cross-state trips when I was little, mainly to use the bathroom, but as I grew older and drove long distances myself, I never really understood their value. Why not stop somewhere you could also buy gas and food? But then I got into this habit of doing the San Francisco-to-Los Angeles trip on the 5 in the middle of the night, and rest areas became essential, because many 24/7 gas stations' restrooms magically go out of order in the middle of the night. Since the pandemic, I've been pretty annoyed by how many of the rest areas along the 5 have been simultaneously closed for long periods of time. I understand if they're doing major renovations, but Caltrans should schedule the construction so that at least some of the rest areas are open along the same route. Rest areas on other freeways feel like a bonus, like that random one on the 280. Who uses that one? Why? I know, I know; I already told you why people need rest areas. The Gaviota rest areas along the 101 might be my favorite in the state. Especially this one, the one on the northbound (eastern) side of the freeway. It appears not long after the 101 goes from hugging the south-facing coast to almost due north toward the curvy hilly section on the way to Buellton. And unlike its 5 counterparts, this rest area has a lot of character. It has gorgeous views of the surrounding natural features, and it feels perfect in scale. Is it safe? It's not unsafe, but compared to other rest areas, you might say it is unsafe. For one thing, the parking is a small bank of angled parking spots right off the incoming lane. People are usually coming fast off the 101, so when you're backing out to leave, you need to very careful. Also, the only thing separating these parking spots from the highway is a short stone wall and a lane for semis and buses. That lane is usually occupied, so you're usually physically protected, but when it's unoccupied, it would be very easy for a car to careen through that wall and into the parking spaces. There are also signs that warn about rattlesnakes, but I've never seen one here. Unfortunately, this rest area has been closed on two separate occasions in the last three years for renovations. The second closure was only for a few months, but it was still annoying, as this is a good place for me to use the restroom, stretch my legs, and catch some sleep if I need to now that Pea Soup Andersen's is permanently closed (RIP). The bathrooms are generally pretty clean. Even though you're right next to the freeway, it doesn't feel as loud or obnoxious as you expect it to. They have some tables to sit at and a couple of pet-relief areas. I love looking across the highway at the craggy hills. It reminds me so much of the geography farther north around the Madonna Inn in San Luis Obispo.

4.5/5 stars! Stayed for a quick weekend getaway at the start of summer and had a great time…read more Stayed in room 314 Pros: - GREAT location. Literally around the corner was State Street which is full of restaurants and ships. A nice 15 min walk to the pier - Room 314 had beautiful huge windows that overlooked the street - Staff are all very friendly and professional - Cute outdoor balcony/patio area on the 2nd floor, right off the elevator. Nice comfy outdoor couches, chairs, tables. Shaded and cool. It was a great spot for a quick afternoon drink, or if you need to do some work. We were the only ones there both times we went during the weekend - Lobby was small but very cute - Free bikes for rent (see picture)? DTSB is very bike friendly so it was a great way to get around - Valet used a text service (scan the QR code on your ticket to text the valet to bring your car around), so minimal wait time - Room had a really nice sized drink fridge. I was able to put in an entire pizza box - 2 sinks - Keurig coffee machine in room - Smart TV, I was able to sign into my streaming services - Lobby has a small bar that served coffee and continental brekkie for a fee - Relatively quiet on the 3rd floor. My room was right off the elevator and you could definitely hear some people walking to and from, but honestly pretty quiet. The ice machine was across the hall and that could be noisy but I only heard 1 person getting ice my entire stay Cons: - I can only speak for the room I booked 314, but the shower was a stall with the dreaded flappy shower curtain. If you're uncoordinated (like me) or big and tall, you will definitely feel the slap of that wet curtain on your body while showering - So the showerhead was actually leaking, spraying water above the showerhead onto the ceiling. It not worth my complaining or changing rooms, so I never said anything, but the last morning, before I checked out, it miraculously stopped spraying water. - If you're sensitive to city noises I suggest opting for a room that overlooks the hotels parking lot, away from the street. Our room faced the street right above corner on State Street and Haley, and even being on the 3rd floor, we definitely heard some night life noises - Expensive! This was on the pricey side but, due to location. I thought it was definitely worth it - The hotel is definitely older, but they worked hard to renovate it. It's not just a motel with a facelift - No pool, but the beach is just a 15 min walk away Tips: - Definitely sign up for the Hilton honors app, it'll make it easy to check in and you can pick your own room, get room key access, and check out, etc Would I come again? Yes

Overall this is a lovely hotel for a couple. I believe the rooms are too small for a family and the…read morehotel does not have any activities that will interest kids. But it is a nice and clean Tapestry boutique hotel with comfortable beds and spacious bathroom. The common areas are limited, but very nicely put together. The one downfall of this hotel is breakfast. This hotel gives you the option of points or credit toward breakfast. Definitely take the points. One morning there was only 1 person working breakfast and she could not handle working the floor, the second day I guess the breakfast staff called in sick, because they were closed. There are plenty of restaurants and cafes just down the block from the hotel. So, just don't go into the expectation that there is a restaurant at this hotel.

This is a great service and super reasonably priced - he drives your car, rental, etc and you enjoy…read morethe ride and your car is home in the morning. Nick is super nice and very knowledgeable. He's also an excellent driver and you can play whatever music you want. You can create your own itinerary or he can help you build one. In fact, he's got some solid tips for off the beaten path spots. Call Nick for your next wine tour, he's the best!

Riviera Chauffeuring did an outstanding job on a recent afternoon of wine tasting in Santa Ynez…read more Our driver Nick went above and beyond our expectations providing exemplary service at every opportunity during our day with him! Fantastic preparation/execution including: - use of a straightforward business contract to assure vehicle he would drive was serviced and road-worthy - planning out our trip making excellent suggestions for wine tasting including strong knowledge of wineries, their value relative to our tastes and hours of operation so that he maximized our time there - provided packed snacks and drinks which were consistent with our activities - mapping out our day so as to assure hotel and restaurants drop-offs were as convenient as possible for us - checking my car in with hotel valet personnel at the end of our evening In future, I will only use Riviera for such events as I can't envision anyone providing better service!