Hotel Californian

Nice place Clean, comfortable, and convenient Parking expensive
Apr 11th, 2024

Mar 24th, 2024

Thanks JB! I appreciate your hospitality.
Mar 23rd, 2024

Mar 9th, 2024

Overall the vibe and location of Hotel Californian is good. It is centrally located in the fabulous Funk Zone and super close to the pier and ocean bike path. Once I realized our room did not have a bath tub, Amber nicely upgraded us to a room with a fireplace and tub. Unfortunately, this room was above the service door area to the hotel and restaurant. The first morning around 8:30am we heard a truck outside with the engine on and there was a really noxious smell. I called down to the desk and Amber sent someone over to check it out. It turns out they were cleaning the grease traps which apparently does not happen often. I guess our timing was bad. I gotta tell you the smell was bad even in the lobby downstairs and outside on the street! The next morning at 5:55am we were woken to another truck with the engine running continually for over 1/2 hr. I called the front desk again and was told there is nothing they can do as it was a delivery for Finnegans the restaurant on the first floor of the building. We discussed the noise with Amber and she suggested that we book next time in the main area building as it is much quieter. Amber was lovely, tried to be helpful and listened well, but really!! If it was not busy, why not upgrade us to a nice quiet location in the hotel! We received one measly bar of soap our entire stay. Amenities in general were skimpy. They have a very limited supply of bikes and apparently all are in need of maintenance. One of the seats would not go down all the way. The other bike only had one gear working. For a supreme biking area this does not seem ideal. I also realize that this is winter time, but seriously make the hotel look inviting. Lights and warmth in the bar area. PUT the cushions out on the furniture in the court yard and on the roof top area which has a wonderfully beautiful vista view of Santa Barbara. It literally barely drizzled one day and the other days it was beautiful out so there is no excuse not to have cushions out. Remember this is vacation time for your guests even if it is not your busy season!! Given the prices charged, cool decor and vibe of this hotel, it seems like they could do much better.
Mar 7th, 2024