Fess Parkers Doubletree Resort Santa Barbara

This is a large sprawling complex on the quiet side of State Street, along the beach, away from Stearns Wharf. It's not cheap but the rooms are bigger than the average hotel's and all amenities are available.

Our room was a first floor room off of the lobby, and it was nicely decorated. The deck door had a safety lock and bar, and the patio table and chairs looked onto a nice garden and an ivy-covered wall that was supposed to be sound-proofing from the train whose tracks ran the entire length of the hotel property, along the parking lots. (By the way, parking is $5/night and you don't find out about this until you check out, when they slip it onto your tab.)

The room was not as clean as I would have liked. Our room obviously had not been vacuumed because we found food on the floors---pieces of salad, bread and/or cookie crumbs, popcorn---scattered throughout the room. We did not hear the traffic in the hallways from our room, but we could hear kids running and crying in the room ABOVE ours! Room service is expensive in all hotels, and this was no exception---19% charge with a $2.50 service fee tacked onto the price of your order. The hotel is close enough to State Street, though, that you can leave the hotel premises and get a very nice meal on the outside, for much less. The beds were very comfortable.

Would I stay here again? Maybe, just for the convenience, but knowing it's not a deluxe accomodation despite the price charged.

My room had a lovely room overlooking a garbage transfer station with about 75 garbage trucks and the attendant smell! Also there is a main line railroad track immediately adjacent to the hotel site. Trains are not too frequent but they must blow their whistle for a crossing not too far away. I can't believe people would pay resort prices for the facilities here. The room is nothing special. It is across a busy four lane highway from the ocean. Staff is unfriendly and unknowledgable.

This is my second visit to Santa Barbara and my second stay at the

Doubletree. This stay was way above average. I was picturing paying the

same rate for the same room we previously had, and was surprised when

the staff upgraded us to a 'parlor suite' since I recently aquired

'HHonor' Gold status. I felt like we were at a different resort.

Extremely clean and well kept, large balcony, great bed, comfortable

oversized couch, seperate tub and shower. We arrived at lunch time and

the room was available for us immediately. What convenience, seeing

that check-in is at 4 p.m. The grounds are lush and very well kept. The

staff was courteous and the bellman even looked like he recognized me

and greeted me back. What a great feeling.

I've done research on Bacara and the Four Seasons and know people who have stayed at all three places, and think this Doubletree is where I will continue to stay.

I went to Santa Barbara looking for the best hotel available. Don't let them fool you. The ocean view room that cost over $300 in the fall hardley had a view of the ocean. Make sure you look between the other buildings and trees in front of you...then you might be able to get a peek. The staff was very unknowledgable and were in desperate need of some customer service training. It is a beautiful hotel and could easily earn their reputation back if they cared enough about it.

Still a great place to stay with everything you need. Large pool, good workout room, nice tennis courts and steps from the beach. The grounds are very well manicured and everything seemed clean. We called for early check-in and were told "no problem". However when we arrived we were told check-in is at four, but they could accommodate us. Not the best customer service training in the world. Great location in Santa Barbara steps to beach and steps to State Street.

Use to be the nicest place to stay. This really upsets me to say this.

But the last 2 times we stayed this summer, we stayed in rather dirty rooms, and payed a high price for anything to be at all dirty. The Carpets always were dirty. The people are always nice. Except for the front desk reservation clerks, they can be rather rude at times. But last time we ask for early check in and waited what seemed to be a long 1-1/2 hours for our room to be worked on. Please clean all the carpets and get new bedding the rooms look rather worn in many places, for anyone to pay $365.00 a night. Honestly it hurts me to even say this about our favorite place ever. Hope things change for the best!

We had what they called a resort view, which was a view of the pool. My first impression when walking to my room was of a messy guest laundry room and an unattractive elevator. The room size was okay but the accomodations were nothing special. The room was also not the cleanest, the return vents were flthy and the bathroom was of small size . The pool and jacuzzi were full of sand and in need of repair. size. We paid $325 for the room plus tax, I would say it was worth $150. When they built this place quality was not in mind. We also had the buffet breakfast, which was okay, but the service was terrible, and they charged my 2 and 3 year olds for the meal. The only positve was that the grounds were attractive . I would not recommend this place nor would I stay here again. I have stayed at a lot nicer fro less.

My favorite place to stay in Santa Barbara. Always feels safe and clean. The service has always been above average for me. It is a wonderful and delightful experience.

Great Fido friendly resort! We have two labs and they were treated like royalty. They were given doggie treats upon arrival plus they have an in-house masseuse for dogs! Right across from the beach and walking distance to shops and restaurants. 4-paws up!

This hotel is highly overrated. For the price of this hotel, I was deeply disappointed. The only redeeming factors of this hotel are the size of the rooms and its proximity to the beach. Otherwise, it is a hotel that pretends to be in the upper echelon of hotels but fails miserably. The staff are unknowledgable and rude. The bathroom toiletries are the same as I'd expect from a motel chain. (They claim to have Neutrogena products, and the bottles say Neutrogena, but they instead you get the overly perfumed conditioner and the run-of-the-mill french milled soap.) There is one swimming pool and hot tub for the complex that are always overcrowded. When I checked in, the reception person told me I was given a "pool-view" room, and there was no pool in sight outside our room. Customer service is not at its best here.