Hilton Santa Barbara Beachfront Resort

I traveled during a US holiday, so the price was much higher than usual, over 6000 per night. The hotel's location is excellent, and the rooms are spacious, but the facilities are quite dated. Even though the room was large, it didn't feel cozy or comfortable. I booked a room with a balcony or terrace, and as expected, the third-party platform assigned me a ground-floor terrace room, which offered no privacy whatsoever – there was no way I could actually use it. I booked two rooms and made a request in advance, but not only could they not arrange connecting rooms, they couldn't even put us in the same building. I reported this to Trip.com customer service, and they were quite good, giving me some points or something as a consolation.

The room was pretty good overall, spacious and clean. The hotel isn't far from Downtown, about a 10-minute drive, which is really convenient. However, the Wi-Fi was absolutely terrible; it barely worked for a few minutes all afternoon.

With many rooms available on Wednesday, I don't understand why they gave us a room furthest from the central restaurant. We had to walk through another building to get to it, and it faced a cricket ball site. The room wasn't even square; it was slanted. I was a bit disappointed. During check-in, the receptionist talked a lot, seemingly oblivious to whether we understood, which was very pushy. At breakfast, the waitress insisted we sit in her assigned seats, which was uncomfortable. Most ridiculously, the bathroom was terrible. I don't usually give hotels bad reviews, but this night's experience was truly unpleasant. The only positive was the hotel's dinner restaurant. The waiter service was excellent, and watching the sunset outside the window was pleasant.

The beach is right outside the hotel!

The location is fantastic, right by the beach with beautiful scenery, and there are plenty of restaurants nearby. The hotel breakfast is quite good for a US hotel, and the service is very friendly. It was a great experience. My child was very happy to ride a bicycle around in the morning! 🥳

The chain hotel facilities are undoubtedly good, with free amenities and a child-friendly layout. However, the room I was assigned was right next to a train track, and trains pass by at night, which was inconvenient. I discovered the hotel price had dropped before check-in and contacted Ctrip customer service to adjust the price. I also found out I was overcharged by $8, which I discussed with the front desk. Overall, it was just average.

Hygiene: No problem. Service: The staff were quite friendly. Environment: The room was very poorly soundproofed.

Facilities: Slightly old, but doesn't affect usability. Cleanliness: Very good. Environment: Right by the sea, great! Service: Very welcoming.