Moxy Santa Barbara

We stayed for 3 days while our apartment was being worked on. I was glad the hotel allows pets, since my partner, housemate, and I have 2 cats, but the noise and problems in the room made it hard to leave them alone even for an hour or two. The location was enjoyable, and the staff were friendly with no complaints there. We liked having a communal kitchen to store and prepare food, a lounge with board games, and a bar and snack pantry for a fee. Still, the price didn't match the experience. The hostel feel, noise, and room size and amenity mismatch were disappointing. We admit we didn't look into it enough for our needs and expectations because we had such a short time frame. This is more hostel than hotel, though it can work as a place to sleep while exploring Downtown Santa Barbara. The funk zone, state street, and the warf are all walkable. Instead of an in-room mini fridge, there's the shared kitchen. Breakfast was cold coffee and stale muffins. The pool is only 3ft 10inches deep and so small that more than 5 people would feel crowded. We booked a double room listed as 183 Sq ft with 2 queen beds, but the room was barely 100sq ft and the beds were full size. I checked the booking again, and although the Sq footage had changed, it still promised 2 queen beds. We were exhausted from leaving our apartment at short notice, so we accepted the small room and beds. The walls were so thin we could hear conversations and guests coming and going in the lobby, hallways, and other rooms. Our cats were very stressed. I asked for a room away from foot traffic if possible. The remote-controlled curtains wouldn't close, so we tied up blankets for privacy and went to bed. The A/C made a strange bubbling noise on and off overnight. The next morning, the curtains still wouldn't move. We waited many hours for maintenance, since we were told there was only one man covering multiple Marriott locations. We learned the curtain batteries hadn't been charged before our stay. Once charged, the curtains came down for about an hour, then wouldn't go back up. We settled for the blinds staying down and got binder clips from staff to hold them up. They didn't stay up for long. With a view of the parking lot and front door, it still didn't feel private. From outside, we could see straight into the room, especially at night. It looked like an old coat room, with a bar on one side and a utility closet on the other. The TV was mounted below several hooks and couldn't be pulled out or tilted toward either bed, so it sat at an awkward angle. The beds were definitely full size, and some bedding layers weren't wide enough to cover the whole bed. The mattress was so thin we could feel the frame. Without a headboard, sitting up to watch the awkwardly placed TV was uncomfortable. The bathroom was spacious and beautifully decorated, but could use a fan and a toilet seat lid. The removable shower head had two mounts, one above your head that only held it at a 90° angle, and another at chest height that pointed down toward a shower seat. Either way, water hit the curtain and easily flooded the floor. I did appreciate the steamer and blow dryer.

The staff made it seem like we were inconveniencing them just by being there, and the walls were so thin we could hear every car on the nearby freeway. The rooms are tiny, too. This place is BRUTAL. I'd avoid it if possible, unless you've always dreamed of showering while sitting on the toilet. The bathrooms are that small and "open".

The patio was the reason I paid for the upgraded room, but the room itself was a letdown. It was so small I could barely move around, and there wasn't even a chair. The TV never worked, despite two or three people trying to fix it. They offered Marriott points instead of another comparable room, which did nothing for me. I honestly wouldn't stay here again.

The staff were really friendly, and the rooms have a fun, unusual style. The all-in-one bathroom arrangement is an interesting setup.