Where to Stay
Which part of town suits which trip, and the long-standing places to stay in each.
Where to stay in Santa Barbara: the short answer
The town is small, but where you sleep decides what kind of trip you have: sand at the door, the Courthouse down the block, or a quiet road under the oaks.
Staying on the waterfront
Along Cabrillo Boulevard the sand is across the street, the harbor is a stroll away and the mornings start with pelicans. Here is what the postcard leaves out.
Staying downtown, on foot
Downtown trades the sea at your door for everything else within a few blocks: the Courthouse, the arcades, the theaters and a morning walk up to the Mission.
Also in Where to Stay
Hotels with a history
Santa Barbara was a resort before it was much of a city. Its hotels burned, fell in the earthquake, closed and came back, and a few have taken guests for more than a century.
When Santa Barbara was a motel town
The word motel was invented a hundred miles up the coast highway. For half a century, the road that brought travelers to Santa Barbara was lined with motor courts, neon and vacancy signs.