Best Western Plus Santa Barbara

Santa Barbara, California

Virgin rating

The hotel

Tucked away in a quaint Santa Barbara neighbourhood, enjoy a peaceful stay on the central Californian coast, in touching distance of the historic downtown and the glorious Pacific Ocean. This is a great value hotel, making it ideal for a stop on your West Coast road trip – complete with on-site restaurant. Enjoy breakfast on the patio, or locally sourced seafood and craft beer after a day out in the sun. Whether you’re travelling as a couple or a larger group, there’s a range of rooms to suit you – the suites even come complete with full kitchen if you fancy a night in!

Amenities

  • Bar
  • Fitness Centre/Gym
  • Free Parking
  • Internet Access
  • Laundry Service
  • Restaurant
  • Room Service
  • Safety Deposit Box
  • Swimming Pool

Where is it

Tucked in a quaint Santa Barbara neighbourhood, 2 blocks from State Street and less than 1 mile from the heart of downtown Santa Barbara. Santa Barbara Airport is approximately 12-minutes drive away. 

Hotel information

122 well-appointed guest rooms and suites, all with air conditioning, complimentary WiFi access, hairdryer, iron and ironing board, cable TV, safe, microwave, mini fridge, and bathrobe.

Standard rooms with either 1 king-size bed, 1 queen-size bed, 2 queen-size beds, or 2 double beds, sleeping maximum 4 people. 


One Bedroom Suites feature a separate living room with sofa bed, full kitchen, and bedroom with either 1 king-size bed, 1 queen-size bed, or 2 double beds, sleeping maximum 5 people. 

Two Bedroom Suites feature a separate living room with sofa bed, full kitchen, master bedroom with 1 queen-size bed, and second bedroom with either 2 double beds or 1 queen-size bed, sleeping maximum 6 people. 

  • Booking Bonus: Receive $20 credit per stay, per room for the onsite restaurant, the Live Oak Cafe! when staying a minimum of 2 nights for travel until 23 May’24. Any applicable offers have  been calculated into the prices shown. Offers may not be combinable. Blackout  dates apply. Terms and conditions apply. 

Complimentery self-parking. Complimentary Santa Barbara Airport, Amtrak®, and Airbus shuttle service from 7:30am-10:30pm

Live Oak Café, serving Californian fusion food for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, with enclosed patio and daily happy hour. 

Outdoor swimming pool and whirlpool. Fitness centre. Bird aviary. 

Complimentary WiFi access. Gift shop/Convenience store. Laundry service*. 24-hour front desk. Room service*. 

*Denotes local charge.

Rating summary

  • Location Image of the Tripadvisor rating
  • Sleep Quality Image of the Tripadvisor rating
  • Rooms Image of the Tripadvisor rating
  • Service Image of the Tripadvisor rating
  • Value Image of the Tripadvisor rating
  • Cleanliness Image of the Tripadvisor rating

Traveller rating

  • Excellent (636)
  • Very good (362)
  • Average (157)
  • Poor (56)
  • Terrible (40)
Image of the Tripadvisor rating Excellent team members and service

Nov 28, 2023 Maria A

As we entered the Hotel’s lobby, we felt welcomed, we are so happy with the great service that BRYANNA, MICHELLE and JOAQUIN give us. Best Western in Santa Barbara at 2220 Bath St is great, we recommend it to friends and family. We definitely want to return in a near future.
Image of the Tripadvisor rating Santa Barbara stay

Nov 25, 2023 wholveck Auburn, California

My daughter and two little one came to Santa Barbara for thanksgiving and stayed at the Best Western Encina for the week. We all enjoyed the beautiful grounds and the kids loved the birds at the restaurant. The location is great and so close to downtown and the beach.. we can’t say enough and highly recommend the place to anyone looking for a… Read more
My daughter and two little one came to Santa Barbara for thanksgiving and stayed at the Best Western Encina for the week. We all enjoyed the beautiful grounds and the kids loved the birds at the restaurant. The location is great and so close to downtown and the beach.. we can’t say enough and highly recommend the place to anyone looking for a great hotel. Thank you for your Hospitality!! Read less
Image of the Tripadvisor rating Worst hotel experience ever!

Nov 19, 2023 Helena E

We travel a lot and this was by far the worst experience we've ever had. The room definitely looked very dated with old carpet and an old recliner chair. That's fine though, I'm not a fancy person and was not expecting anything fancy. However, we immedately noted that there were mold spots on the ceiling above the shower. Old is fine, mold is not!… Read more
We travel a lot and this was by far the worst experience we've ever had. The room definitely looked very dated with old carpet and an old recliner chair. That's fine though, I'm not a fancy person and was not expecting anything fancy. However, we immedately noted that there were mold spots on the ceiling above the shower. Old is fine, mold is not! Especially not since I suffer from asthma. Since the very start we were having problems with the cards that were supposed to open our door. They kept giving us new cards and as recommended, did not keep them together with our phone. They still kept failing. Not a problem. Just annoying. The one to last day though, we found out that the door had stopped working alltogether. All our stuff including laptops had been in our room without the door locked all day. Not acceptable! The handyman tried to fix the door, but wasn't able to. The offered us another room, but we didn't want to switch since we were going to check out the next day. Like the door wasn't enough, the bathroom sink that had been slow flowing since the start, decided to become completely clogged. The handyman came back again, but wasn't able to fix the sink either. It was now 11pm. The sink was completely opened with a bucket under it and the smell was horrifying. Not nice, especially not when you suffer from asthma. Checkout time. They gave us a refund for one night. I think they should have refunded us more nights. They couldn't print a receipt for us, because their printer was broken. This entire experience seemed like one big joke. Not a funny one however. I had bad breathing problems that lasted until about a week after we left this place. Read less
Image of the Tripadvisor rating Hospital Stay Easy Close Access

Nov 1, 2023 goffgurley73 Morro Bay, California

Good clean and fresh smelling rooms. Partially updated but odd shaped uncomfortable furniture with wasted empty space and a tiny awkward no room for 2 people bathroom. Though not ADA my wife still struggled with the corner tiny sink and shower to use her walker. Ground floor is loud with doors that slam shut and light curtains that allow… Read more
Good clean and fresh smelling rooms. Partially updated but odd shaped uncomfortable furniture with wasted empty space and a tiny awkward no room for 2 people bathroom. Though not ADA my wife still struggled with the corner tiny sink and shower to use her walker. Ground floor is loud with doors that slam shut and light curtains that allow headlights and noise to enter the room. We did enjoy the comfy bed and the onsite restaurant easy takeout and tasty food. Very accommodating since we had to check out a day early not holding us to the extra night. Front desk managers and staff are wonderful and helpful even showed us other rooms at check in to see if any others suited us. Many rooms still old and dated waiting for refurbishment. Pool is not all that heated and hot tub is in a separate building out back. Very convenient for wife visiting hospital and they work really good rates. A basic clean friendly hotel. Read less
Image of the Tripadvisor rating Very nice old town Santa Barbara hotel

Oct 20, 2023 kuhawk72

Well maintained, upgraded hotel in the middle of old town Santa Barbara. Great location. Beautiful, relaxing pool area with mature landscaping. Breakfast was not included with room rate but there is an adjoining restaurant. Our room was well above average for this type of motel/hotel. Rooms by the pool are probably the best choice.