Hotel Californian

This was our third stay at Hotel Californian. The property is beautiful, the rooms gorgeous ,and the location is excellent on State street, right by the beach and pier.
Above all, the service, especially during our recent stay, was memorable.
Special thanks to reservations manager, Amy Maguire. We had a family emergency that threatened our arrival date and Amy was so helpful in working with us, providing flexibility so that we were able to make our visit.
Amy also assisted us with an issue with Expedia, as we had accidently made the reservation through them and then cancelled it due to the emergency (a word of caution: Expedia can come off as the hotel directly).
Amy is not only professional, she is caring and totally customer focused.
Hotel Californian is SO lucky to have her!
Thank you, Amy. We look forward to seeing you and the whole service team at Hotel Californian soon!

From the moment we connected with Gabby before our arrival, her level of care, attention to detail, and genuine excitement for our celebration set the tone for what became an unforgettable 20th anniversary. She truly went above and beyond to make our stay meaningful, special, and memorable, and we felt that in every thoughtful touch along the way.

The champagne and chocolate covered strawberries waiting in our room, along with the personalized note, were such an awesome surprise. We were so thankful for the staff making us feel celebrated from the very first moment.

The front desk team was instrumental in helping me surprise my wife with a bouquet of flowers on our anniversary day, a moment she absolutely loved. I am so thankful for the staff coordinating that behind the scenes and making the surprise seamless and so meaningful for us.

Hotel Californian, thank you for caring so much about our experience. Because of you, Santa Barbara will always hold a very special place in our story.

Wonderful stay. Great location in the heart of the shopping. Short walk to the beach and pier. The rooms and public areas were perfect. All the staff were 100% friendly and helpful. Next time I'm in Santa Barbara I will be back

The design was consistent and very nice (Moroccan style). The rooftop pool and lounge deck had to be the best aspect of this hotel. I also liked the balcony off my room.

The hotel is a cute hotel that has great service. The food at the Goat Tree was really good for breakfast/brunch. The rooms were well kept and clean. The service was excellent and friendly. The house cart that could drive you within a 2 mile radius was awesome as well. I think a real car would have felt safer though. We did get a room with a view of the ocean in the distance. The immediate view next to our room was a parking lot. We were not bothered by this fact, just wanted to point it out. The hotel is also super close to the Santa Barbara Amtrak station, which was super nice for us because we used Amtrak for our trip. Overall, Hotel Californian was a great place to stay at and I would stay there again!

Beautifully decorated aesthetic for the overall hotel. We loved the Nespresso machines and robes in the room. Also for our honeymoon they left us chocolate covered strawberries and champagne.

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.

Beautiful property and friendly staff. Dog Friendly...

A five star hotel with a room having no AC, no possibility to switch rooms or upgrades despite having Chase sapphire benefits. While we got some extra credit which is part of the new Chase sapphire benefits, the hotel did not comp off our room or give discounts. Upon check out further more, they said no charges would be included but a final $55 charge was included without any invoicing

An expensive, but delightful Hotel. Perfect location, helpful staff, beautiful room. My only (minor) complaint is that they do not have bar soap when requested.

We stayed here for our wedding anniversary and loved it! Staff and accommodations were great, and the location is perfect. Look forward to returning!

Terrible room- big but with terrible arrangement. Desk without a chair, TV on a wall that you couldn’t see from the two chairs or bed. Noisy from the hallway. Blinds didn’t move. Huge shower but faucet provided a small drip of water. Staff was hardly ever seen and not welcoming or attentive to any needs. We stayed 2 years ago and had a great experience. This time I was so disappointed especially paying over $750 a night!

Everything was going great, until we got woken up by the fire alarm at 1 or 2 in the morning. Got a call apologizing for the situation and got offered a free stay at a later time. The person who called asked for my email even though it was on file, all this to to have heard crickets afterward. That reflects very poorly on the hotel.

We had early check-in at Hotel California with warm welcome, the room we stayed at is big, especially the king size bed is super comfy. The location of the hotel is the best, beautiful Spanish Style building, easy to walk to shopping, restaurants, we will be back soon. Thanks you, Jennifer/Troy

Location and staff were all amazing. Our stay was simply perfect!! The location and local wine choices went above and beyond expectations.