Children allowed

Facilities

Baggage storage
Fax services
Meeting rooms
Printer
24-hour check-in
24-hour front desk
Accessible Parking
Carbon monoxide detector
Carbon monoxide sources
Fire extinguishers
See all facilities

Review Highlights

Pros:
Excellent location (walkable, secluded gardens)
Friendly, helpful staff
Beautiful grounds and gardens
Evening wine reception / happy hour
Quiet, restful atmosphere (for many guests)
Cons:
Old/noisy air-conditioning and room noise issues
Room maintenance problems (worn furnishings, bathroom issues, mold reported)
Limited parking and some rooms accessible only by steep stairs
Inconsistent/poor breakfast for some guests
Occasional front-desk/invoice handling issues

Categories

Cleanliness
7.5
Mixed reports: some guests called the property clean and quiet, while others reported a strong smell of mold and worn/aged bathroom fixtures — overall below the target due to cleanliness/odour concerns in several reviews.
Service
9.5
Consistently praised: staff described as brilliant, friendly, helpful and attentive; reception often singled out for excellent assistance. Isolated service failures (invoice refusal, blame-shifting on a maintenance request) noted but overshadowed by numerous positive comments.
Location
9.5
Frequently highlighted as a major positive: excellent, central/walkable location, secluded and peaceful grounds, great for exploring — a clear strength in guest feedback.
Room Quality
7
Several complaints about aged rooms and maintenance: old/noisy air-conditioning, worn furnishings, small rooms, doors/bathroom fixtures barely working; some guests appreciated the historic charm but expected better upkeep.
Amenities
9
Strong amenity highlights: evening wine reception/happy hour, cookies and milk, pleasant gardens and outdoor seating, on-site parking available — though parking is limited and first-come-first-serve.
Value for Money
7.5
Perceived value tempered by room condition: guests enjoyed grounds and service but several felt room condition/maintenance did not fully justify the price.
Food and Beverage
9
Generally positive: pastries at breakfast, wine reception and refreshments were appreciated; however there are isolated complaints about poor breakfast quality — overall B/F strong due to the complimentary offerings.
Overall Experience
9
Overall stays tended to be pleasant and restful thanks to excellent staff and beautiful grounds; a minority experienced frustration around noise, maintenance, or breakfast, but most reviews reflect a positive overall impression.
* This sentiment is summarized by AI based on user reviews.
Updated at: 2026-10-30 20:25

Property Description

The Upham Hotel embraces its one hundred fifty year legacy while providing modern day amenities with historic charm. As a boutique property, the hotel has 50 rooms and suites located in the original inn and surrounding garden cottages. With its iconic sweeping redwood verandas, the landmark property combines the intimacy of an small inn with the convenience of a full service hotel and conference facility. We are located in Santa Barbara’s vibrant downtown theatre, arts and historic district, surrounded by sun drenched beaches, Santa Ynez Wine Country and the Channel Islands. Modern Amenities At the Upham Hotel your comfort is our highest priority. You will find the standard extras of comfort and convenience like terrycloth bath robes and luxurious linens. Each room provides modern amenities like high speed WiFi, HDMI ports for your streaming device and USB charging ports.

Important information:

Upon check-in photo identification and credit card is required. All special requests are subject to availability upon check-in. Special requests cannot be guaranteed and may incur additional charges.Guests are required to show a photo ID and credit card upon check-in. Please note that all Special Requests are subject to availability and additional charges may apply.
A deposit may be required at the property.

Check-in and check-out hours:
Check-out: 11:00 AM
Airport code: SBA

Property Policies

  • Check-in / check-out

    Check-in from 16:00:00, check-out until 11:00:00.

  • Minimum age

    Guests must be at least 21 years old to check in.

  • Pets

    Pets are allowed; charges may apply.

  • Payment

    Payment: pay at the property, pay online later, pay online now.

Location

Guest Reviews

8.5
Based on 544 reviews
Cleanliness: 7.5
Service: 9.5
Location: 9.5
Room Quality: 7
Amenities: 9
Value for Money: 7.5
Food and Beverage: 9
Overall Experience: 9
D
De la Calle • couple • ar
7
Basta de ruido!
Pros:

Ubicación

Cons:

Entiendo su estilo antiguo pero aire acondicionado viejo y ruidoso muy difícil dormir y no es sano para audición

2026-10-10 • via Nuitee
Z
Zachary • solo_traveller • us
7
2026-10-07 • via Nuitee
J
Jean • couple • au
10
2026-09-18 • via Nuitee
L
Lynda • couple • gb
10
The bar was set extremely high by the upham for all other hotels on our road trip.
Pros:

We stayed in a little bungalow which was very comfortable and surrounded by beautiful gardens. The wine reception each evening was very welcome. The staff were brilliant, but the reception staff were exceptionally helpful which was much

Cons:

Some of the soft furnishings needed replacing, but we can forgive them for that

2026-09-03 • via Nuitee
A
Agathe • couple • fr
10
2026-08-23 • via Nuitee
G
GEORGIOS • solo_traveller • gr
1
Pros:

Victorian houses

Cons:

Very old house with strong smell of mold. Needs a lot of maintenance. The air-conditioning unit was so old and noisy. The reception refused to issue an invoice for the room. This is illegal. Bathroom and faucets was really old as well. Barely working

2026-08-08 • via Nuitee
T
Tamara • extended_group • us
9
Pros:

Clean and quite place, and excellent location we enjoyed the walking and exploring the city.
Thank you

2026-08-06 • via Nuitee
M
Monica • extended_group • nl
7
Pleasant and good location.
Pros:

Quaint, charming, beautiful gardens, on-site parking.

Cons:

Rooms and bathrooms feel run-down. Breakfast should be served and be more substantial.

2026-08-04 • via Nuitee
N
Ning • extended_group • tw
9
2026-07-24 • via Nuitee
R
rachelpS1808CL • Family
6
Mixed Experience at The Upham Hotel
Pros:

We enjoyed our stay at The Upham Hotel overall. The staff were friendly, helpful, and attentive throughout our visit, and the customer service was excellent. The grounds are beautiful and peaceful, with plenty of outdoor seating areas to relax and enjoy the property.

That said, our room wasn’t quite what we expected, especially for the price. It felt smaller than it appeared in the photos, and there were several maintenance and wear issues that made it feel less upscale than we anticipated. The bathroom door didn’t close completely, the sofa was noticeably worn and stained, and the bedskirt had a large hole in it. We understand that this is a historic hotel and appreciate its charm, but we were expecting the furnishings and room condition to be better maintained.

Overall, we had a pleasant stay because of the wonderful staff and lovely grounds, but we do think the guest rooms could use some updates and better upkeep to better reflect the hotel’s pricing.

2026-07-22 • via Tripadvisor
R
R8122ABjenniferf • Solo travel • Palo Alto, California
2
Disappointed and frustrated.
Pros:

Very frustrating and disappointing experience. The in-room heating/cooling unit was making a lot of noise regardless of whether the unit was on or off, making it difficult to sleep in the room. I asked staff on two consecutive days to address the problem and was told it would be fixed. It was never fixed and when I asked staff why the issue was not addressed they passed the blame to other staff members who were not present. Not a good experience.

2026-07-19 • via Tripadvisor
M
Marie • couple • us
10
2026-07-13 • via Nuitee
D
Donald • couple • us
8
The hotel is cute and quaint but many rooms you need to go up a steep narrow staircase.
Pros:

Quaint

Cons:

Stairs

2026-07-13 • via Nuitee
M
Marc • extended_group • be
9
Perfect stay in Santa Barbara
Pros:

Secluded, quite, spacious with old world charm. Breakfast of pastries was very nice. Great place to unwind.

Cons:

Parking at the hotel is too limited, first come first serve, which feels crowded.

2026-07-13 • via Nuitee
G
Guy • family_with_children • il
9
2026-07-10 • via Nuitee
L
Lisa • extended_group • us
7
Pros:

location and staff

Cons:

terrible breakfast food and most disappointing was heard people upstairs from us walking on floor until about midnight and at 6 am.

2026-06-30 • via Nuitee
5
574veronicaj • Business
10
Great relaxing and lovely experience.
Pros:

The wine 🍷 and happy hour and the cookies and milk were a nice treat I didn’t know I needed. It was a restful and lovely experience. Great staff, beautiful location, and the garden setting was peaceful and lovely to enjoy. 😊

2026-06-29 • via Tripadvisor
D
dianacvalladares • Couples
2
Not rebooking
Pros:

Our stay was extremely disappointing from start to finish. The air conditioner barely worked and couldn't be adjusted, making the room uncomfortable. The bed also seemed unstable—when both of us sat on the edge, it tipped enough that we almost fell off.
To make matters worse, we were woken up at 6:00 AM by loud dumpster trucks because our building (The Lincoln) was located right next to the dumpsters. Then, at 7:00 AM, tree trimming began directly outside our room, making it impossible to get any rest.
We were in town for a wedding at the courthouse at noon and asked if we could extend our checkout by just 30 minutes beyond the 11:00 AM checkout time. Unfortunately, we were told that our building happened to be scheduled for maintenance at noon, so our request couldn't be accommodated.
For the price and reputation of this hotel, we expected a much better experience. Between the uncomfortable room, early morning noise, and lack of flexibility, this stay fell far short of expectations. We won't be staying here again the next time we visit Santa Barbara.

2026-06-29 • via Tripadvisor
C
Christina • extended_group • us
9
I would stay again just because of the peacefulness.
Pros:

It was quite and peaceful. There was plenty of outdoors space to enjoy and have conversation with those who came with you. We had a party of 12 and we were all able to sit around outside and talk.

Cons:

The parking it was limited and hard to get in and out. If you didn't find any you had to find something on the street.

2026-06-20 • via Nuitee
J
Judy • couple • gb
10
We had a wonderful stay at the beautiful hotel
Pros:

Beautiful hotel nicely decorated and laid out. Gorgeous. Staff very attentive & helpful

Cons:

Nothing

2026-06-18 • via Nuitee