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Lodging Options In and Around Santa Barbara
Rate it! Votes (0) | Comments (0) By Cheri Sicard and Mitch Mandell Photos: Mitch Mandell Posted October 25th, 2008

SANTA BARBARA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA, USA -- Visitors to Santa Barbara have many lodging choices. Countywide, Santa Barbara offers 168 properties (9,444 rooms), ranging from deluxe to budget to boutique, including 35 beachfront properties, one hostel, and 15 B&Bs. Guest ranches and resort camping are also available as are six public and two private campgrounds.

A good time to cash in on the best hotel bargains is value season (September – March) when the tariff drops up to 20 percent.

Below are details on two accommodations we actually checked out (more to come later as we return to the area for future stories).

Cheshire Cat Inn
During our time in downtown Santa Barbara, we enjoyed our accommodations at the Cheshire Cat Inn. In addition to 17 traditional bed and breakfast type rooms (each with its own bath) in two beautifully restored Victorian mansions built 1894, the Cheshire Cat also offers small 2 bedroom cottages, complete with kitchen and private hot tubs, perfect for couples traveling together or families. The cottages are right across the street from the inn itself, so guests can still enjoy breakfasts and afternoon wine and hors d’oeuvres with the other lodgers. In easy walking distance of all of downtown Santa Barbara’s shops, restaurants, and theaters, the Cheshire Cat Inn’s lush tree canopied backyard and traditional English gardens, brimming with delphiniums, garden roses, foxglove and hollyhock, seem a million miles away.

Breakfasts here were not of the traditional B&B gourmet/gut buster type, but rather casual, lighter fare that gave your day a start, without leaving you too full for the upcoming day’s activities (weekdays they only serve continental breakfast).

Hadsten House Hotel and Spa
For part of our Santa Barbara trip, we moved from downtown to the quaint Danish village of Solvang in order to be closer to wine country. Here we opted to set up camp at the Hadsten House Hotel and Spa and found ourselves surprisingly impressed (we’re food and travel writers – it isn’t easy to impress us). After over a year of renovations, the visionary owners transformed a generic chain motel into a luxurious European style retreat, tastefully outfitted in classic French furnishings, and lavish amenities, including complimentary wine and hors d’oeuvres each afternoon. The rooms were large, quiet, elegant, and extraordinarily comfortable (partially due to the custom mattresses). The location was in easy walking distance of all of downtown Solvang’s attractions and easy driving distance of nearby wine country towns, as well as the 101 freeway that leads to downtown Santa Barbara.

Santa Barbara County encompasses the cities of Carpinteria, Goleta, Montecito, Summerland, Ballard, Buellton, Lompoc, Los Alamos, Los Olivos, Santa Maria, Santa Ynez and Solvang as well as Channel Islands National Park.

For travel and accommodation information and to request a free copy of the official Santa Barbara County Visitors Guide, contact the Santa Barbara Conference & Visitors Bureau and Film Commission at 800-676-1266, 805-966-9222 or www.santabarbaraCA.com. If you’re already in town, visitor information is also available at the Visitor Information Center located at 1 Garden Street (at Cabrillo Boulevard) in Santa Barbara.

The Cheshire Cat Inn is located at 36 W. Valerio in downtown Santa Barbara, CA 93101; phone 805-569-1610 or click to www.cheshirecat.com.

The Hadsten House Inn and Spa are located at 1450 Mission Dr. Solvang,CA 93463 Phone: 805-688-3210; www.hadstenhouse.com.

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