Los Angeles is a great place to live, but one of the blessings of living in Southern California is weekend trips out of LA. One of my family’s favorite getaways is a two hour drive north to Santa Barbara. When we go, we stay at the Hyatt Centric Santa Barbara.
It’s not my favorite hotel by any stretch of the imagination, mind you. The hotel has a storied history, but is fairly tired and in desperate need of a refresh. Nevertheless, it’s in an ideal location, with the beach literally across the street and great restaurants within walking distance. Furthermore, the Category 4 hotel in the World of Hyatt program represents an excellent redemption option for your annual Chase Hyatt Visa Card free night certificate.
Hotels are not cheap in Santa Barbara and this hotel isn’t either. Rates often run in excess of $200 during low season and $400 in high season. That makes using your free night cert a tremendous value.
The former Hotel Vista Mar Monte opened to grand fanfare in 1931. It is a California classic. There is not one hotel building but three…and they are not connected.
At check-in, I am usually upgraded to an ocean-view room thanks to my Globalist status. But for whatever reason, I always end up with two queen beds instead of a king. That’s the tradeoff. The lobby is comfortable, with a fireplace, free coffee, and computer workstations.
Hyatt Centric Santa Barbara Guest Rooms
Let’s start with some pictures of the room. Here are pictures from my last two stays–
Room 1 (Santa Clara Building):
Room 2 (Santa Cruz Building):
Both rooms had nice balconies and both rooms were large. Both rooms also had small, but perfectly acceptable bathrooms. The rooms were clean and the bed comfortable. So what’s the problem? Light. With only a few cold fluorescent lamps, there really was not sufficient light in the room at night. The furniture and carpet is also showing its age. I like classic hotels and traditional looks, but this just seemed worn out.
Hyatt Centric Santa Barbara Pool + Fitness Center
A heated swimming pool and whirlpool is open year around. Expect plenty of people if the weather is nice outside.
The fitness center is located on the ground floor of Santa Cruz building and contains primarily cardiovascular equipment, with a single strength training machine and free weights. Water and headphones are provided.
Hyatt Centric Santa Barbara Dining
Next to the pool is the Mar Vista, a bar/lounge with an indoor side and outdoor side. Drinks and tapas are available.
The hotel’s main restaurant is called Marbella, which offers breakfast and the morning and a Spanish-inspired menu for lunch and dinner.
In the morning, both a breakfast buffet and a la carte menu are available. As you enter the restaurant for breakfast, you are given an omelet card with pencil as well as the menu. On it, you can choose what ingredients you want in your omelet.
I tend to order off the menu while my wife enjoyed the buffet selection, including:
- fruit
- bread
- yogurt
- scrambled eggs
- bacon
- pancakes
- potatoes
Meanwhile, I tried something different each day:
Hyatt Centric Santa Barbara Parking
A note on parking. Directly behind the hotel is a park and residential neighborhood. While parking is $28/night at the hotel (valet only), complimentary street parking is readily available.
Santa Barbara House
A few years ago, the hotel opened a fourth building called the “Santa Barbara House”. It offers renovated rooms and a more “residential” experience. Located on Por La Mar Drive, a few blocks from the hotel, the Santa Barbara House can be booked at a premium as a hotel within a hotel. Details here.
CONCLUSION
We don’t go to Santa Barbara for this hotel. We go to Santa Barbara for the beautiful weather and change of scenery from LA. But we’ll keep coming back to the Hyatt Centric. It offers a great value using World of Hyatt points or free nights certs and is located ideally in a beautiful neighborhood of Santa Barbara.
And even if the rooms are rather dull and drab, I love the heritage of the common areas–
This property is far beyond “tired and drab”. The wall a/c units are terrible and loud. The decor was dirty and straight from the 1970’s. There was also a wet odor in all three rooms we tried. Maybe on points. Never at the insane rates that Santa Barbara is known for.
Come on Matthew-I hope you were compensated for this or it speaks poorly of your standards.I paid to stay at this dump.It should not bear the Hyatt name.Check Trip Advisor reviews.Yes it has location but then I suppose the homeless on beach would top even that if it’s the only standard we judge by.
I was not compensated. I know the room looks dumpy. Indeed, it is dumpy and that’s exactly what I said. But the location is ideal and the common areas beautiful. I like the hotel.
FWIW I’ve “won” this property bidding on Priceline for $110 a night on a weekend in the not so distant past. (3 stars downtown etc) The hotels in Santa Barbara seem to do this ie, keep their normal prices really high, but if you go on a quiet weekend there are deals to be had.
Stayed as a Globalist. One night, $350. Tired, threadbare room. Horribly loud A/C unit. “View” was of an adjacent rooftop A/C condenser and some sky, but only if you looked straight up. Bed as uncomfortable as any Courtyard Marriott I’ve ever stayed at. Breakfast was OK.
Location was the best part about it. But next time, I’ll do the Motel 6 across the street for less than half the price.
Enjoy Motel 6. It’s a total dump, but we’ll leave the light on for you.
Love the design of the common areas. It reminds me a lot of Scotty’s Castle in Death Valley. But I have to agree with the other posters – those rooms look like they’re in pretty bad shape for the price charged. I love classic design as much as anyone, but the decor is way past that point!
My brother has lived in Santa Barbara for more than 30 years and says that if you talk to locals they will tell you this Hyatt has a terrible reputation. I stayed there once, many years ago and said “Never again.” Really, it’s a MESS. That it works for you and your family is fine, but personally, I don’t think it’s worthy of being included in your well-respected blog. Honestly, S.B.’s downtown Holiday Inn Express is far superior!