Just Love the Inn at East Beach

We have been going to The Inn at East Beach for the past few years..We stayed for 1 month in the Kitchnett unit this year and did not want to leave..Frank and Linda (managers) are the best..

they can not do enought you, Frank can tell you anything you want to know in the area..He walks around the property to be sure everything is ok..

They really care about their Guest.The location of this property is perfect,for the children there is the Zoo that is walking distance, and across the street is the beach which we walked every morning..

I would recommend this place without a doubt..

If the Kitchen Unit was larger we would stay 3 months

to get out of the heat in Arizona..

Max Value

It is hard to find decent hotel or motel in Santa Barbara on a weekend for less than $200, but this small place is the best value we have found. We liked that it is close to the beach, comp breakfast, and clean rooms (although a bit bland in the decor)...we will go back.

Great rooms and very friendly service.

We arrived in Santa Barbara without having a reservation on Wednesday. After asking in different hotels/motels for their rates we came to The Inn at East Beach and had a very warm welcome by Frank who owns and runs this nice 32 room place. Our room was very large and had nothing to coplain about. The pool is also very nice and the beach is just around the corner.

I can definitely recommend The Inn at East Beach.

Awesome Experience

We had a wonderful time at the Inn at East Beach in Santa Barbara. The staff are exceptionally warm and welcoming, and always greet you with a smile. The rooms are large, and come with fridges and microwaves, which is very convenient. The fireplaces are fun, too. Very clean, very nice. Highly recommended, for the price.

Worst service ever

The rooms at the Inn at East Beach might be lovely, but I wouldn't know since I actually didn't stay in one--in spite of having reservations. We were planning a drive from LA to San Francisco over Easter weekend, stopping in a different place each night along the way. Since we would be in Santa Barbara on Friday night, I phoned around and made reservations at the Inn at East Beach over a month in advance. When we got there, the man at the front desk, who owns/runs the place with his wife, was all smiles and friendliness until I noticed that he had charged us for two nights. It was like a switch went off, and he immediately became hostile, telling me that they have a two-night minimum on weekends and there was NO WAY that I could have gotten a reservation for just a single night, especially since his wife took the reservation and she NEVER makes mistakes. I pointed out that there was no reason for me to make a reservation for two nights, as we already had reservations to stay in another city the following night and we had made those other reservations first. At that point, he called his wife out, and she also told me that I MUST have reserved two nights because she NEVER made mistakes.

They seemed intent on a)refusing to admit that they could possibly have made any kind of error and b) getting me to say that I had deliberately made the reservation for two nights, even though I only needed one (though why I would do that, I don't understand as there are many other hotels in Santa Barbara that don't have a two-night minimum). I said that I had made the reservation in good faith and that I was sorry an error had happened, but we still needed a place to stay for the night and had expected to stay with them--and also expected that they would honor our reservation. They said the only way we could stay is if we moved to a different, more expensive room with only one bed (impossible because there were three of us). At that point, they refunded our money and we went off to find another place to stay. We found one--for $10 more per night--right accross the street at the Ramada. But the experience left a very bad taste in our mouths.

I have worked in customer service/hospitality for a number of places, and it is certainly true that customers are not always right. I'm sure they have their two-night policy for a reason, and understand them wanting to stick to it. But there are diplomatic and graceful ways of handling situations where misunderstandings/errors/differences of opinion or expection arise. The owners at the Inn at East Beach prefer to berate their customers than to work with them to find solutions to problems. I'd recommend staying elsewhere, among people with a better attitude.

The charm is the personal attention

I stayed at the Inn at East Beach during a working vacation--sadly more work than vacation. I needed a room quickly and was heading to Santa Barbara on a busy holiday weekend. The Inn at East Beach had availability and the room rate was about what other comparable hotels were charging. The Inn was easy to find--one street back from the beach--behind the Radisson. I was greeted by Frank (the owner) and he couldn't have been more charming or helpful. My room had a fire place and had an ocean view--(somewhat blocked by the Radisson, but what the hey). The room had a microwave and fridge--very handy. Also had the usual iron, ironing board, hairdryer. The room was clean. Linens could use an update, but everything was clean. The location was very convenient for me. I will agree with one of the previous reviewers that the Inn is more of an old style motel with some upgrades. The breakfast in the morning was lovely. So what if you have to drag your bum out of bed and come to the lobby to get it--worked for me. The owner and his wife live on site. They need to get some sleep, too. That is the reason for no late check-ins. I would stay at the Inn at East Beach again for the convenience and the location, but even more so for the personal treatment and genuine interest that the owner Frank has for each guest. He was lovely--charming and very helpful. Great for assisting me with directions and providing helpful insights and recommendations. The personal attention I received was the true luxury at the Inn at East Beach.

Don't arrive after 8pm!!

I made reservaions a month in advance to stay at teh Inn while at a conference. I drove down from SF, leaving at 3pm. I called from the road to say I would be arriving late and was told that after 8pm, I would have to make a special arrangement for the room key. When I called back(construction in SLO slowed me up even more than expected), I was told that they would close at 11pm and no key arrangements could be made without advance notice. I asked if someone could stay an extra few minutes - I did think I could get there by 11 - or a few minutes later, I was told that they came in at 5(one assumes am) and no one would stay. Since I was talking to the manager, I asked for the owner. They would not give me his full name and said all correspondence to the owner would go through the desk. Luckily, a friend called around for me and found another room. The "inn" may have been good in Ronald Reagans time, but they are lacking in hospitality, customer service and just plain good manners. I would not recommend them for anything.

This place is good!

My boyfriend and I are big fans of The Inn at East Beach. Frank(runs the place) is the best! We have stayed there for the past two Valentines weekends.....and this most recent one Frank hooked us up with a five minute wait at one of the BUSIEST restaurants in town on Valentines Day! The wait for two people was 2-3 hours and we only waited 5 mins! They have GREAT customer service and the fireplaces are great in the rooms the only thing I would change would be to replace the windows with something more sound proof.....other than that I have nothing bad to say about this place! Also the rates are cheaper if you book thru them directly and not on an online service!

Paid Too Much

My husband and I wanted to stay in Santa Barbara for another couple of nights, so after a crummy experience at another motel, we decided to spend a bit more money and stay at The Inn at East Beach (as it's now called). We got a great rate for the Friday night (as they didn't have too many people staying the night), and they were good enough to let us arrive 3 hours earlier than the usual check-in time. We were extremely pleased with the room (extremely large, and it had a fireplace) and the service, so we weren't unhappy to pay an extra $51 (USD) for the following night (Saturday). However, we were not pleased with the partying at two separate rooms that went on for hours. It would have been nice to have gotten a reduction in our Saturday night room rate, when we advised the manager that we didn't sleep too well.

Look elsewhere for the price

I stayed at the inn at east beach recently for a couple of nights. It's more appropriately called the motel at east beach. The room with a fire place was acceptable at first, though smaller than I was lead to believe. The ocean view it offered (which was extra, it's more "ocean facing" than "ocean view") was obscured by the Raddison hotel in front of the inn. The windows are the old pane windows that consist of several individual slots so when closed air still gets in. At night, the wind outside cut right through the window bringing a cold draft into the room. The next day when I tried to change rooms I was told they'd charge me for both the old room and the new room because their maid was leaving soon. Also, the breakfast (bagels, danishes) they served was available only in the lobby, not delivered to your room, and the orange juice tasted like it was made from sink water. If you want customer service or quality go somewhere else. Overall the location was good but there are many alternatives in that location and the room was fairly clean minus a dirty hand towel and a spider web.