Santa Barbara is arguably the best town in California. Between the gorgeous beaches, delicious food, great hikes, and unique culture, Santa Barbara is a must-visit destination.

It’s been my second home for most of my life, living there full time for four years and now spending a week or two at a time there every few months. There is no place more familiar to me than Santa Barbara, and I love to share about my beautiful town with you!

There are a few different areas in Santa Barbara, all of which have their own unique personalities and attractions. Where you choose to stay in Santa Barbara is dependent on your personal preferences and reasons for visiting (e.g., romantic weekend getaway, college drop-off, family vacation).

If you’re having a difficult time picking hotels in Santa Barbara or which areas to stay in Santa Barbara, this guide will help you find the perfect place for your trip!

Santa Barbara Hotels: Best Areas to Stay For Every Budget

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Best Hotels in Santa Barbara

Want to skip the full post and book right away? Below are my top picks for the overall best hotels in Santa Barbara!

Best Overall: Hotel Californian
Best Luxury: Palihouse Santa Barbara
Best Beachfront: Santa Barbara Inn
Best Budget: Inn by the Harbor
Best Boutique: Riviera Beach House

You can also use the map below to find more hotels in Santa Barbara. If you cannot see the map, try disabling your ad blocker and refreshing the page.

Know Before You Go

Cost: Santa Barbara is on the upper end as far as expensive destinations go. Many of the well-rated hotels are a minimum of $200 per night, especially during peak times — summer, college graduation, college drop-off, and weekends.

While many of the places listed as “budget” are still on the higher end, they have the lowest nightly costs of the BEST-rated hotels. I’ve also added an “ultra-budget” option for each area, which is a truly budget place with good reviews.

Weather: You can expect beautiful weather almost year-round in Santa Barbara. Spring is warm and sunny, summer is mostly warm and sunny aside from June gloom (fog that rolls in early summer), early winter is mild and sunny (my favorite time to visit), and late winter and fall are mostly mild and sunny with some rainy days.

Hotels vs. Airbnb: Some of the nicest hotels in California can be found in sunny Santa Barbara. There are options for everyone from small boutique hotels to large luxury resorts.

Santa Barbara has a housing crisis due to the skyrocketing costs of living there and therefore has strict laws for Airbnbs. Because of this, I do not recommend staying in an Airbnb in Santa Barbara.

The hotels are incredible, often in great locations, and support the local economy in Santa Barbara. There are also many smaller inns that will still give you that cozy feel. Plus, it’s nice to treat yourself to a more luxury getaway if you can!

Colleges: Santa Barbara is home to two colleges: Santa Barbara City College (SBCC) and the University of California Santa Barbara (UCSB). Both of which I attended!

If you are not visiting Santa Barbara for reasons related to these colleges, I would recommend checking dates for college drop-off and graduation to avoid visiting during that time.

These are the two major events that bring in tons of people, causing the hotels to book up far in advance and massive increases in the nightly rate of local hotels.

A few other events to note:

Thursday nights are college nights downtown. Expect tons of college students at the bars!
Halloween in Isla Vista, the college town next to UCSB, is infamous. You can expect a large increase in college students during the weekends near Halloween.
Deltopia is a weekend-long block party in Isla Vista that takes place right before the spring quarter begins, typically in early April. Avoid this area during that time.

Hotels in Downtown Santa Barbara

If you’re planning a quintessential Santa Barbara vacation, the downtown area is the best place to stay. The main street downtown is called State Street — that’s where all the shops and restaurants are located!

Downtown Santa Barbara has a few different areas that are perfect for visitors looking for a quintessential Santa Barbara trip. There are two main areas to stay in downtown: Lower State and Santa Barbara Downtown.

Hotels In Lower State

Lower State is a narrow slice of Santa Barbara that extends from the shore to downtown, with State Street running down the center. It’s near Stearn’s Wharf and West Beach and includes the eccentric area known as the Funk Zone.

The Funk Zone is one of my favorite areas in Santa Barbara! It has a variety of restaurants and brunch places, Figueroa Brewing Company, a few different wineries, as well as coffee shops, art galleries, and murals.

Lower State would be my top recommendation for the best area to stay in Santa Barbara. It’s the perfect combination of beach, downtown, and culture!

Luxury: Hotel Californian (voted the best hotel in Santa Barbara)
Mid-range: Hotel Santa Barbara (closer to downtown)
Budget: Riviera Beach House (Funk Zone)
Ultra budget: ITH Santa Barbara Beach Hostel (great reviews!)

Things To Do in Lower State

Explore the Funk Zone
Stroll down Stearns Wharf
Walk around State Street

Best Hotels in Santa Barbara, California

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Hotels in Santa Barbara Downtown

Santa Barbara Downtown is just inland from Lower State. It’s where you will find great restaurants, theaters, shops, farmers’ markets, and lively nightlife on weekends.

This area is slightly further away from the beach than Lower State is, but it’s still within a short driving distance from the beach (about 5 minutes).

This area of State Street is where all the action is! It’s also where State Street is closed to cars and has been pedestrian-only since the pandemic. The city is still deciding whether to keep it pedestrian-only or open it up to cars again.

Without cars, State Street has become more lively and European-like, with people walking through the streets, dining on the outdoor patios of restaurants, and enjoying the space it offers. I hope it stays this way permanently!

Luxury:

Mid-range:

Casa Jardin (Boutique Suites)
De La Vina Inn (1895 building turned into an inn)

Budget:

Cactus Room (guest house with private entrance)

Ultra budget: Orange Tree Inn

Things To Do in Santa Barbara Downtown

Visit the gorgeous Santa Barbara Courthouse
Get gluten-free brunch at Lilac Patisserie
Explore the Santa Barbara Museum of Art

Beachfront Hotels in Santa Barbara

Book a hotel as close to the beach as possible for a sun-filled Santa Barbara vacation. Surprisingly, there are not many hotels actually on the beach. Even at the hotels closest to the beach, you will still need to walk across the street to reach the actual beach.

Most of the hotels with the closest proximity to the beach are in the West Beach area, near SBCC (see next section).

Below are the hotels closest to the beachfront in Santa Barbara as possible!

Luxury:

Mid-range:

Budget: Best Western Beachside Inn
Ultra budget: Motel 6 Santa Barbara

Things To Do on the Santa Barbara Coast

Play volleyball at East Beach or West Beach
Visit the Chromatic Gate and giant beach chair (some of my favorite photo spots in Santa Barbara!)
Rent bikes and ride along the coastal trail

Hotels Near Santa Barbara City College/West Beach

If you’re visiting Santa Barbara to visit friends or family at Santa Barbara City College (SBCC), then you’ll likely want to stay at a hotel nearby!

SBCC is located in downtown Santa Barbara right across the street from the beach. It’s quite possibly one of the most gorgeous college campuses in the world, but I may be biased after going to school here for two years.

The beach across the street from SBCC is Leadbetter Beach and it has an incredible restaurant right on the sand called Shoreline Cafe. A bit down the street is the Santa Barbara Harbor, and further down from that is Stearns Wharf and downtown Santa Barbara.

Even if you aren’t visiting Santa Barbara for something SBCC-related, these hotels are all amazing spots to stay in proximity to the beach and downtown.

The whole area that includes SBCC, the harbor, Stearns Wharf, and the beach is called West Beach. Look for hotels in this area to be close to SBCC!

Note: These hotels are all within walking distance of the beach!

Luxury:

West Beach Villa 5 & 6 (4-bedroom home)
Hideaway Santa Barbara, A Kirkwood Collection Hotel

Midrange:

Budget:

Ultra budget: Castillo Inn at the Beach

Things To Do Near Santa Barbara City College/West Beach

Have dinner on the beach at Shoreline Cafe
Walk around the Santa Barbara Harbor
Take a sunset boat cruise

Boutique Hotels in Santa Barbara

The official definition of a boutique hotel is “a small stylish hotel, typically one situated in a fashionable urban location.” Santa Barbara has some of the best boutique hotels, all within proximity to downtown and the beach.

With boutique hotels usually comes a higher price tag. That is the case in Santa Barbara, with next to zero “budget” options with good reviews.

Luxury:

Palihouse Santa Barbara (Santa Barbara Downtown)
Hideaway Santa Barbara (West Beach)

Mid-range:

Riviera Beach House (Lower State)
Montecito Inn (Montecito)

Budget: Drift Santa Barbara (Santa Barbara Downtown)

Hotels in Montecito

Montecito is an upscale neighborhood just south of downtown Santa Barbara (technically east since the Santa Barbara coast faces south, but you drive on Highway 101 South to get to Montecito). It’s known for being home to celebrities like Oprah and Ellen, as well as royals Harry and Meghan.

There are fewer hotels and places to stay in Montecito since it is a smaller area than Santa Barbara proper. Many of the places to stay in Montecito are more on the luxury side, and the price tag comes with it. You won’t find any ultra-budget options in Montecito.

You will be a bit further away from downtown Santa Barbara but near beautiful beaches and a nice downtown with great restaurants!

Luxury: Rosewood Miramar Beach Hotel (5-star hotel)
Midrange: Montecito Inn (boutique hotel)
Budget: Coast Village Inn (great downtown Montecito location)

Things To Do in Montecito

Spend a day at Butterfly Beach
Explore the shops and art galleries on Coast Village Road
Have a vegan dinner at Oliver’s of Montecito

Hotels in Goleta

A bit north of Santa Barbara (again, technically west since the Santa Barbara coast faces south) is the quaint town of Goleta. It’s smaller than Santa Barbara without much of a downtown area. UCSB is actually in Isla Vista (which is a small unincorporated area next to Goleta), not Santa Barbara!

Santa Barbara is great, but if you have to drive back and forth from UCSB to Santa Barbara, it can get taxing since they’re about 10 miles away from each other via the 101 freeway. The Santa Barbara Airport (SBA) is also located in Goleta.

Goleta is also a great option if you’re looking for more affordable accommodations that still have great beaches nearby and aren’t too far from Santa Barbara proper. There are fewer hotels in Goleta compared to the dozens in Santa Barbara, and you can expect them to fill up quickly during UCSB drop-off and graduation.

The hotels in Goleta are mostly chains that offer simple accommodations with proximity to the airport and UCSB, with the exception of the luxurious Ritz-Carlton Bacara.

I absolutely love Goleta and all it has to offer!

Luxury: Ritz-Carlton Bacara Santa Barbara
Mid-range:

The Steward (formerly Pacifica Suites)
Residence Inn by Marriott

Budget: Hilton Garden Inn
Ultra budget: Motel 6 Goleta

Things To Do in Goleta

Walk through the Goleta Butterfly Preserve
Have a picnic at Goleta Beach Park
Explore Lake Los Carneros
Go to dinner and the movies at the Camino Real Marketplace (check out the farmers market here on Sundays!)