Coast Village Inn - Santa Barbara

It's cozy, comfortable, and staffed by people who put guests first. They greet you with a real smile every time. Butterfly beach is a short drive away, or you can rent a bike from the hotel. The pool is heated too. I'd definitely recommend staying here.

You can walk to plenty of shops, restaurants, and the beach from this cute little hotel in the heart of downtown Montecito, and getting around was easy. The room was small but enough for my husband and me, and it was clean. The carpet was old but in decent shape and clean; the bathroom was great, with a big, very clean shower. The pool and the loungers and seating areas around it were also very clean and nice. There were two problems for me. An old chest of drawers had a strong musty smell. I told the manager, who replaced it with a newer one, but the odor took about a day and a half with the windows open to clear. Also, although the bed seemed brand new and was very comfortable, the pillows were flat and extremely lumpy. A clerk said they'd check with housekeeping, then came back to say those were the only pillows they had and they knew they weren't good. Comfortable bedding matters a lot to me when I travel, so I bought decent pillows at Target and had to leave them behind because we couldn't fit them in our luggage. Daily room cleaning and fresh bath linens were available, along with shampoo, conditioner, and body wash in the shower.

I've been here at least four times and definitely plan to return. It's in an amazing spot, with tons of restaurants and shops to wander around. The staff are friendly and welcoming, and the rooms are always clean and comfortable. I LOVE this place.

The location made getting to the zoo and restaurants easy, and our room had plenty of room for three of us and our bags. The staff we dealt with were all nice. We had two queen beds, and being able to open the windows was great in the nice weather, since AC can make the air too dry. The pool looked well kept, though we didn’t have time to use it. There were also a few appealing places across the street, but they didn’t seem quite kid friendly, so we skipped them with our daughter. The bathroom was small, but clean and stocked with toiletries plus a few extras. Parking was the bigger hassle for us: my husband’s full-bed Ram truck only fit comfortably in a few spots, where we didn’t worry about getting hit. A regular car or small SUV should be fine. For the price, the room was great.