Hotel Californian

My husband & I stayed 2 nights for a quick weekend getaway. We were hoping for a relaxing getaway with a 5 star hotel experience, but that’s not what we experienced. The hotel is boutique and beautiful with a prime location for walkability, but the service is not in the realm of 5 star. We would not return to Hotel Californian for future stays, despite the great location. At this price point, 5 star service is non-negotiable. PROS: •The location can’t be beat if you want walkability to downtown and the beach. • We had a Coronado Oceanview King room. It was beautiful, very clean, and spacious. • The valet team was always genuinely helpful, personable, and thoughtful. They were a delight. CONS: •Service was disappointing and inconsistent overall. With a couple major misses. • MIDNIGHT FIRE ALARM?! The fire alarm went off around midnight on a Saturday night while we were sleeping. It was SUPER loud and frightening. It went off for about 5-10 minutes. Us and others ran downstairs in various levels of sleep and clothing, but all pretty startled. We finally heard from other guests that it was a false alarm and to go back to our rooms. What was so disappointing about this is that we never heard from hotel leadership about why a fire alarm went off in the middle of night, acknowledgement of the impact on our night, or an apology. We never heard a peep from the hotel. I texted the text thread they initiate for any needs/requests to ask what happened with the fire alarm and my text was ignored. I asked about it again at check-out the next morning and got a “Oh, sorry about that”. • We had to request extra towels 3 times before getting what we requested, which was 2 extra wash clothes and 2 extra bath towels. Not sure where the disconnect was happening, but we requested at check-in, got no extra towels. We texted a request that night specifically asking for 2 extra of each, but got no wash clothes. On our third request, my husband directly asked the housecleaner in the hall and we finally got it. Such poor service at this price point is just unacceptable for me and eliminated the value, even with the prime location.

Beautiful hotel in the heart of Santa Barbara. The room was well appointed and very clean. The bell boy was friendly and gave us a number of great tips. Housekeeping was great. The food is excellent particularly at Finneys. We also liked the rooftop pool area. The beds are very comfy. Sadly, we were awakened at the crack of dawn by the garbage truck banging loudly, as our room 322 was apparently right above the garbage room. That night, the power washing of the sidewalk and area beneath our window went on from dinner time until midnight. That ultimately ruined our short stay. We weren’t able to enjoy the room. Santa Barbara is however a lovely town. Rent electric bikes and explore every nook and cranny. Great vibe.

The hotel is beautiful and in great proximity to different restaurants and the beach. The beds are not comfortable and smaller than listed. We paid for a Queen bed (based on availabiiity). The room assigned to us had a double bed and obviously this impacted our stay. After we raised concern with this, the staff responded with an explanation and promise to send engineering to assess, however after waiting we were informed that there would be a delay. We clearly didn’t want to spend our weekend waiting for engineering and felt that our concerns were not entertained in earnest. They just planned to place someone in front of us but no real solution. So in all, nice hotel in great location however amenities are not to level of price point. Better value could be had elsewhere.

Incredible experience all around! Went around our wedding and they took such great care of us. The room was incredible. The rooftop pool was so nice with a hot tub and plenty chairs to lay out on. And all of the staff were super warm and accommodating. Special thanks for Steven. 10/10 would recommend.

Our room had an excellent view, we slept well, it was quiet, the grounds/facilities were well kept, all the valet/bellmen guys were personable, kind, and helpful, our room was cleaned nicely, the turndown service was appreciated, the pool/spa view was gorgeous, the DJ played great music, and the front desk/concierge team was kind and welcoming. The hotel was perfectly positioned between the beach and downtown- walkable to all best cafes/restaurants. We were celebrating our anniversary and the hotel went above a beyond to make the whole weekend special with many check in texts and special accommodations. Highly recommend and worth the splurge! Best Santa Barbara hotel!