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Santa Barbara, CA

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Motel 6

3.2 (194 reviews)
InexpensiveHotels
Open • Open 24 hours

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Ocean view
Aang A.

Come here If you're on a budget. Highly recommend. The more you spend, the better the room, obviously. Do yourself a favor and spend the extra $25 for an ocean view on the top floor. Spend another $20 for the corner room by the pool. Look. It's cheap. So expect thin walls and loud neighbors. But for this price, at this location, ya five stars.

was posted in the reception area.
Myra V.

The very first Motel 6, it is called the classic Motel 6. They are very retro, surprisingly very clean and the sheets smells great Like it just got out of the washing machine/ dryer. I saw a cleaning lady wiping all the doors and door knobs. That is awesome. They are also very close to the beach. a little farther to the marina but good enough coz it is far from the noise. They have fresh coffee served by the reception area. Do you know why they named it motel 6? They used to charge $6/ night. This Motel 6 change my attitude towards This motel. Should not doubt the choice of my husband. He reads all the reviews before booking coz he knows i can be a snob as to where we stay. The 4 stars is the small pool and no jacuzzi avail.

Nancy P.

First time here we stayed in for a night while touring at Hearst castle in San Simeon. Overall it was pretty good. The rooms are in a small size but clean and well organized. I would recommend the motel for people who are not looking for an upscale place. Pretty location across from the ocean and closer to many restaurants.

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7 months ago

Very clean and felt safe. You can't beat the walking distance to the beach!! Loved it!!

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7 months ago

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1 year ago

Its cute bit VERY primitive and super expensive. The parking is rough and frankly the staff was unfriendly and rude.

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4 months ago

motel 6 does not heat their pool!!! it's freezing!!! especially since sb no longer has heatwaves!!!

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1 year ago

Actually pretty nice. OG Motel 6. Well decorated and not sketchy. Also close to the beach

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3 years ago

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Motel 6 Reviews in Other Languages

Ask the Community - Motel 6

I looked on the map & it does not look close to the beach. How close is this motel to the beach?

Motel 6 Number One (443 Corona Del Mar) is 500 feet from the beach (Santa Barbara Beach). It's a two minute walk.… 

Was this motel formerly the Ming Tree Motel?

No. I found a postcard of the Ming Tree Motor Hotel, made before WW II. It says the Ming Tree was… 

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Review Highlights - Motel 6

“As we checked out, we learned that this particular hotel was the first motel six ever.”

Mentioned in 10 reviews

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La Playa Inn - Loved their continental breakfast, they had delicious options.

La Playa Inn

(114 reviews)

Me and my group friends stayed here from August 20-22, 2026. We made our reservations over the…read morephone and received a better deal. Although checkin was not until 3:00pm, two rooms out of three were available at 1:30pm to checkin. The room was clean as well as the bathroom. The white towels in the room looked very dingy though. Honestly those dingy towels including face towels need to be tossed and replaced with new ones. Although this hotel is walking distance to the beach I really prefer staying at a hotel with a pool. Note this hotel has NO pool. This hotel does have FREE parking. Which was a plus as one of our friends drove to Santa Barbara. The customer service we received during our stay was excellent. The breakfast snacks laid out in the morning was a nice touch. Especially if you want something light before you start your day. You'll find that the hotels in Santa Barbara are pricey including La Playa Inn. I don't regret staying here though because of the excellent customer service we received from staff.

Overall, this inn is fine for what it is: a basic, no-frills accommodation somewhat centrally…read morelocated in Santa Barbara. It is not, however, somewhere I would personally recommend unless you are mainly looking for a place to crash. We booked a room over the phone the same day we arrived and were happy to receive a discount, which brought the total to just over $300 after fees. Having been away from Santa Barbara for many years, we were excited to have a restful and celebratory evening and trusted the internet's recommendation of this place. The service was nice enough when we arrived, but the lack of amenities and the quality of the bed and pillows were a real letdown. I wish I had called the other hotels nearby to ask about their rates before committing, but we were on a road trip and didn't have the patience. Our room was modern and clean, but it faced and was right above aneighboring parking lot, and that combined with the street noise, was not especially conducive to rest. The AC unit also made a remarkable amount of noise. It did not bother me too much, but for light sleepers it could be a challenge. The best parts were the exterior, which feels very Santa Barbara, the free parking, and the complimentary pastries at breakfast. That said, there are several inns and hotels around the same rate, or sometimes only $50-$80 more after fees and parking, that offer on-property bars, restaurants, pools, and amenities I had assumed were fairly standard at a $300-a-night inn or hotel, including things as simple as Q-tips and comfortable pillows, and bathroom doors which actually insulate your private moments from the rest of the room. We should have done more research beforehand and noticed that this place did not have a pool or any facilities beyond a vending machine. However, it appeared in online results alongside full-service hotels rather than motels, so I expected a little more. My primary complaint is the bed and pillows. The pillows were barely more than bags filled with an extremely lightweight, shapeless foam material, and the mattress sank so deeply that the bed felt more like a nice pull-out couch than a proper hotel bed. The pillows reminded me of what I bought at Target for $11 before moving into my college dorm room. Fine in a motel for $150/ night, disappointing for twice that. The free parking seems to be a major draw, and it is certainly convenient, but I would still encourage people to explore other options if they have an extra $50-$80 to spend and care about the quality of the room where they spend the night. With one exception, the nearest restaurants and bars are about a 10-15-minute walk away. State Street is at least a 12-minute, 0.6-mile walk, while many other inns and hotels in the area have bars and food on the property or immediately nearby. The beach is technically one block away, although this property is toward the far end of it rather than near the main activity. We ended up ubering from state street back to the hotel. I think that if you are traveling with children, do not need many hotel amenities, or are really just looking for somewhere clean and convenient to sleep, this is a perfectly fine spot. I also should have done more research beforehand, and I cannot blame the property for amenities it never claimed to offer. Still, I do think its surprisingly glowing online reputation creates expectations that the actual experience does not truly meet. In my opinion i would describe this place as a nice, well-kept two-star inn /motel, and if that is what you are looking for, it could be a lovely choice. Many other guests were happy and that is certainly worth something.

Kimpton Canary Hotel - Room Suite

Kimpton Canary Hotel

(607 reviews)

$$$

We love kimpton hotels and we are members of IHG group. This Kimpton canary hotel is at the most…read morepopular location in downtown Santa Barbara. Walking distances to EV superchargers, shops, restaurants and bars. Also not far away from train station and the beach. Hotel provides free bike rentals. Kimpton hotels are all cozy little boutique hotels with nice amenities. Little bodega in the lobby, gym and rooftop pool for hotel guests, on site restaurant and bar opens daily. Complimentary coffee and tea in the mornings. Also early evening wine hours. Our junior suite with a small balcony was cozy and relaxing, bathroom was spacious, bed & pillows were so comfy. Evening turndown service with cookies and S. Pellegrino waters was a nice touch of luxury. We absolutely loved our weekend stay at this Kimpton! Highly recommend this hotel for convenience and hospitality!

Absolutely love Kimpton properties. My friend and I stayed 4 nights, 5 days. Check-in was easy,…read morevery friendly staff (Kimberly was GREAT). The valet was fast and efficient. We were upgraded to a suite which was wonderful. The room location was very quite, no noise issues. Plenty of room in the living room, bathroom and bedroom, a lot of charm. The rooms seem very clean and well equipped with a mini refrigerator Nespresso machine and robes. The only item missing oddly in the rooms are hotel luggage racks. We went up to the roof to see the pool, looked nice, it was empty due to the cooler weather temps in Santa Barbara during our stay. We did enjoy the "Wine Happy Hour" and the complementary Coffee station in the morning. There are ice machines on every floor and on the ice machine you can also get filter water for your water bottles. To note: it is a dog loving paradise at the hotel, dogs everywhere, big dogs little dogs, I love dogs so I had fun watching all of them. OK, so our only 2 criticisms are is the fee for parking per day $55... crazy! The second criticism is why can't the hotel spare space for a small gym? The hotel is affiliated with a Free 24 hour gym, "Key 2 Gym" which worked out great, BUT it's a 16 minute walk... a 1.07miles. Might not seem much, but I work out daily at 5:00AM to get it out of the way. Walking on State Street at 4:45 AM in the dark, when the only people on the street are the aggressive homeless does not make me feel safe at all. Other than those 2 items, we loved our stay!

Lavender Inn by the Sea - Love the Dried Lavender bag on the bed.

Lavender Inn by the Sea

(216 reviews)

$$

This place is great. One of the best continental breakfasts I have used. They have a cocktail hour…read morewhich I missed. But seems fun. Across the street at their sister hotel you can use their hot tub.

Beautiful outside property, poor customer service for our anniversary…read more Pros- There were a few positives during our stay. The bed was very comfortable, the evening wine and cheese service was a nice touch, and the continental breakfast had a decent selection of pastries. There is a pretty courtyard in the front with comfortable outdoor furniture. Also, the room we had included a little kitchen with a stove and full fridge. CONS- Unfortunately, the negatives outweighed the positives. The room had a damp, musty smell and the towels were rough and uncomfortable. The biggest issue was that the hotel was renovating the room directly next to ours. We endured CONSTANT construction noise and workers yelling throughout the day, and it continued well into the evening. My husband and I brought the issue to the attention of the front desk three separate times, both to daytime and evening attendants. Each time we were told, "I'll let the manager know." Unfortunately, we never heard from the manager, no one followed up with us, and nothing was done to address the situation. The noise continued for all the days we were here. We were not offered another room, an apology, or any form of compensation. Even a simple gesture, such as a complimentary bottle of wine, would have shown that the hotel cared about our experience, but nothing at all was offered. In fact we were told by the female evening attendant to "Contact your booking agency to complain". To make matters worse, one of the reasons we booked this hotel was the advertised back patio, but it was not accessible during our stay. If an advertised amenity is unavailable, guests should be informed before booking. If a hotel is undergoing renovations, guests should either be notified in advance or not placed directly next to active construction. Between the constant noise, the musty room, the unavailable amenity, and the complete lack of customer service and follow-through, this stay fell far below expectations. Truthfully, we would have stayed here again if the manager or staff showed any kind of care for the situation. I cannot recommend staying here.

Santa Barbara Inn - Hotel Room

Santa Barbara Inn

(248 reviews)

$$

This place is amazing, we have stayed there several times and just got back from a weekend to see a…read moreconcert. The rooms are big, the location perfect as it is right across from the ocean / walking path / bike path and right down the hill from the Santa Barabara Bowl (where we saw our concert). There is also a 12:00 checkout which I like as opposed to other hotels 11:00 checkout. The one thing I would recommend is paying for the upgrade for an ocean view, at least for me it was worth it. The staff, what can I say. They are fantastic, remember who you are, and are there for anything you need. On our last trip I would like to single out Pam who seems to do everything. We got there early and decided to get something to eat on the restraint patio, she was our hostess. When our room was ready she is the one who checked us in. Later at the pool I saw here serving drinks and food. She was also the one at the desk when we checked out. She was just always there/everywhere and even remembered our name and room number. This may sound weird but I have to give a shout out to the car valet's. They are a team of great young guys, super friendly, always asking if they can help you with your bags, if you need a water and are there the second you need your car. Try it and you will not stay anywhere else the next time you go to Santa Barabara.

Had a wonderful stay!!!…read more Valet is nice and quick. Our room was very spacious, comfy, and clean! I loved that the tv was a little bigger than what they give you at most hotels, The bed was comfortable and I loved having a balcony. The bathroom was HUGE! The room came with an information binder with lots of info including suggestions for local restaurants. Everyone here is very kind and professional. Overall our stay was very relaxing - I look forward to coming back!

Hilton Santa Barbara Beachfront Resort

Hilton Santa Barbara Beachfront Resort

(585 reviews)

$$$

The Hilton Santa Barbara Beachfront Resort is a solid choice for accommodations on any Santa…read moreBarbara trip. I stayed in a single king room while attending a conference, and it was clean, comfortable, and had everything I needed. My room was on the first floor and had a pretty nice ocean view. Everything was up to the usual Hilton standard. The bed was warm and comfortable, the air conditioning kept things cool, and the shower was decent. Nothing particularly fancy, but everything worked as it should and the room was a comfortable place to come back to at the end of the day. This hotel has a good location and is not too far from the pier and of course is right across the street from the beach. There's also a nice looking pool and spa area, along with a gym, although I didn't have much opportunity to use them during the conference. Parking wasn't super expensive by hotel standards, and they also have free EV chargers available, which is a nice convenience if you're driving electric. Overall, a comfortable hotel with a great location that delivered exactly what I expected. I would stay here again. Four solid stars.

A beautiful property from the lobby, to the main restaurant/bar views to the fire pits with comfy…read moreloungers. Beautiful windows, architecture in the building. Waited awhile for check in but the service was excellent-- my gf is a diamond preferred member and we had 5 rooms booked between 14 of us. We were given free kids zoo tickets to enjoy! There is Starbucks coffee and breakfast options at the cafe next to lobby. I was able to get a venti vanilla latte, caramel macchiato for under $10 each which isn't far off from a regular Starbucks. The breakfast burrito was tasty here. Swimming pool was large, hot tub large with interesting jet streams spitting out water obnoxiously but felt nice. If you're trying not to get your hair wet, good luck. Pool towels in a machine you have to use your room key to access (never seen this before). Pool area had many loungers in shady areas. At 5pm, I believe, there was complimentary individual s'mores kits and sangria they would set up at the fire pits for hotel guests. Plenty of grass for kids to run around and enjoy themselves. Kids also enjoyed the pool. Cons: waited a really long time for staff to rent a bike. Waited at least 20 min at 9am. First 2 hours free. Once the guy came and gave me a waiver to complete, and disappeared again. At that point we completed it and went off our merry way. Rode the bikes down the main beach with a bike/walkway. It was beautiful!

Hotel Virginia Santa Barbara, Tapestry Collection by Hilton - Newly Renovated 1 King Room

Hotel Virginia Santa Barbara, Tapestry Collection by Hilton

(73 reviews)

$$

4.5/5 stars! Stayed for a quick weekend getaway at the start of summer and had a great time…read more Stayed in room 314 Pros: - GREAT location. Literally around the corner was State Street which is full of restaurants and ships. A nice 15 min walk to the pier - Room 314 had beautiful huge windows that overlooked the street - Staff are all very friendly and professional - Cute outdoor balcony/patio area on the 2nd floor, right off the elevator. Nice comfy outdoor couches, chairs, tables. Shaded and cool. It was a great spot for a quick afternoon drink, or if you need to do some work. We were the only ones there both times we went during the weekend - Lobby was small but very cute - Free bikes for rent (see picture)? DTSB is very bike friendly so it was a great way to get around - Valet used a text service (scan the QR code on your ticket to text the valet to bring your car around), so minimal wait time - Room had a really nice sized drink fridge. I was able to put in an entire pizza box - 2 sinks - Keurig coffee machine in room - Smart TV, I was able to sign into my streaming services - Lobby has a small bar that served coffee and continental brekkie for a fee - Relatively quiet on the 3rd floor. My room was right off the elevator and you could definitely hear some people walking to and from, but honestly pretty quiet. The ice machine was across the hall and that could be noisy but I only heard 1 person getting ice my entire stay Cons: - I can only speak for the room I booked 314, but the shower was a stall with the dreaded flappy shower curtain. If you're uncoordinated (like me) or big and tall, you will definitely feel the slap of that wet curtain on your body while showering - So the showerhead was actually leaking, spraying water above the showerhead onto the ceiling. It not worth my complaining or changing rooms, so I never said anything, but the last morning, before I checked out, it miraculously stopped spraying water. - If you're sensitive to city noises I suggest opting for a room that overlooks the hotels parking lot, away from the street. Our room faced the street right above corner on State Street and Haley, and even being on the 3rd floor, we definitely heard some night life noises - Expensive! This was on the pricey side but, due to location. I thought it was definitely worth it - The hotel is definitely older, but they worked hard to renovate it. It's not just a motel with a facelift - No pool, but the beach is just a 15 min walk away Tips: - Definitely sign up for the Hilton honors app, it'll make it easy to check in and you can pick your own room, get room key access, and check out, etc Would I come again? Yes

Very convenient location to everything you want to explore in the city. Walking distance from…read moreeverything. I love that they have valet and the doors to lobby lock after a certain time for safety. They have breakfast burritos and coffee and wine for purchase in the lobby. Not a full restaurant service but definitely a plus for your stay. The rooms are very nice and comfortable beds. And rooms also have fridges. They also have a cute patio on the second floor that looks out to the street. It is so relaxing.

Motel 6 - hotels - Updated October 2026

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