Hotel Californian

My husband and I stayed at Hotel Californian for our anniversary trip to Santa Barbara. We had such an amazing hotel stay, especially for our first wedding anniversary. From the moment arrived to the moment we checked out we were taken care of. Amanda at The Society gave us such a great wine tasting experience. She was friendly and extremely knowledgeable about all the wine they had to offer. Matthew, the lead bartender at the bar gave us some great Hot Toddy’s as well as some excellent recommendations of things to do and see in the area. The ocean view from our room was absolutely beautiful—it felt like the perfect place to celebrate such a milestone. We are incredibly grateful to Hotel Californian for making our anniversary so memorable and special!! We already can’t wait to come back.

In the world, US hotels typically fall short, including some of the high ends. SB hotels are overpriced and not great. Not so for the Californian. Service was top notch - from the valets, to the front desk, to housekeeping. Brian , Danny, Cooper - really great valets. They brightened our stay. The rooms were gorgeous and comfortable. And pet-friendly! Small touches like motion sensing lighting in the corridors, beautiful bathrooms with soft but clear lighting, hair-catching drains, clean shower construction.

Overall our stay was really good and we enjoyed it a lot. We loved the welcome splash when we arrived and the hotel is in such an amazing location. Everything is walkable and the property itself is really pretty. Our room was nice and clean, the bed was super comfortable, and housekeeping was great. Everyone we interacted with at the hotel was kind and helpful, which really made a difference. One downside on the hotel side was our neighbors. They were loud and partying and screaming until about 1am, so we did not get the restful night we were hoping for. That part was a bummer, especially since everything else felt so relaxing. We also tried a couple of the hotel spots for drinks during our stay and those experiences were a little disappointing. We went to Tan Tan rooftop pool expecting an actual bar with small bites and drinks, but it ended up being QR code only with a long wait time, which was not what we were expecting at all. We then stopped by Blackbird for a drink and one of our cocktails was so bad we could not even finish it after one sip. Unfortunately, no one checked in with us about the drinks either. Even with a few letdowns, we still had a great time overall thanks to the beautiful hotel, comfortable room, amazing location, and great staff. We would definitely consider staying here again, just hoping for quieter neighbors and better luck with drinks next time.

We loved everything about our stay. The service we received from all of the staff was amazing, from front desk to housekeeping to valet. The bedding is very comfortable. The spa was small but the services we had (facial/massage) were great. My husband raved about having the best massage from Quinn. The breakfast at The Goat Tree was yummy. We also received great travel perks by booking with our Platinum American Express. I would recommend this hotel to family and friends and would love to come back.

Amazing experience! Hotel staff was on point with everything. Made our wedding day one to remember. We will be coming back to this hotel again.