Motel 6 Santa Barbara, CA - Beach

Fantastic location. Terrific recently updated rooms. Pool. Parking. Dogs stay free. What’s not to like at the very first Motel 6 (established 1962)?

Overall, we had a good stay. The hotel has a charming old-school Santa Barbara vibe—maybe a bit 80s/90s—which we actually really enjoyed. The location is also great and close to plenty of amenities. The disappointing part was our arrival. The room wasn’t ready when we got there, and we had to wait over an hour. The staff member helping us seemed inexperienced in handling the situation and told me she would speak with her manager, but there was never any follow-up. We never heard from her or from a manager—not later that day and not even at checkout. No apology, no small refund, no drink voucher, nothing. I wasn’t expecting anything major, but some acknowledgment of the inconvenience would have gone a long way. That part felt like poor customer service. That being said, once we were settled in, we enjoyed our stay. The hotel itself is charming, comfortable, well located, and has a fun sense of old Santa Barbara character.

I will start off with the location is perfect. The rooms were very clean, bed comfortable, although portrayed alot larger in the pictures, as well as the pool area (tiny). Parking was adequate. The young lady that checked us in (30 mins early) was very stern about notifying us there is a charge. She also was very quick to say if "we didnt agree with it we could take it up with the owner". We travel quite a bit, and this came off very rude. She also did not give us the pool code, there was actually nothing said about it and nothing about enjoying our stay, which is just common courtesy. When I went back in to ask for code, she seemed very "put off". After doing a celebration of life for my father's passing, her attitude was the last thing I needed. Other than that, our stay was only overnight, but great, since it was right down the street from the rest of our family that lives in town. I understand dealing with tourists can be frustrating at times, but when you deal with the public in a very busy tourist town, you do your best. We will not be staying here again.

Cozy little retro place near the beach.