Hotel Mar Monte

4 out of 5 stars4 Stars - 248 Opinions

1111 East Cabrillo Boulevard, Santa Barbara, California, 93103, United States
Hyatt Santa Barbara

88%

Satisfaction Very Good
Excellent
39%
97
Very Good
31%
79
Average
18%
47
Poor
5%
14
Terrible
4%
11

Value Score Average Value

Similarly priced and rated as other 4 star hotels

Show Prices

Good For Families
  • Families74
  • Couples71
  • Solo62
  • Business73

View all Santa Barbara hotels

More about Hotel Mar Monte

Front desk a joke, manager rude

by A TripAdvisor Member

We recently stayed at the Hotel Mar Monte and we're given a room at first that, although very large, was old, gloomy, and musty smelling and had glossy paint on the walls which made us feel like we were in a public restroom, not a hotel room. We asked about upgrading to a better room and told we could get an ocean view room at the AAA rate which was $14 (plus change) more than the rate of the room we had booked and prepaid. I was assured that all I would have to pay is that $14 difference. Plus, it was midweek and there were very few guests. When checking out using the video express check out, my charges reflected that assured upgrade fee plus our restaurant charges. Several days later we noticed an extra separate $42 charge on our credit card. After calling the hotel and speaking with the manager, he said the upgrade charge is $50 + tax no matter what the girl told me and there was nothing he could do. I have never been treated so rudely from a hotel manager.

Although the room was acceptable (though very noisy), when the service is that bad and they treat their guests so rudely, I would go elsewhere.

Stay here as a last resort

by A TripAdvisor Member

When we checked in we were thrilled to be able to get a room without a reservation. However, our joy was soon turned into disappointment. Room mix-up, slow room clean-up, luggage delivery poor. With all these delays we spent several hours sitting around waiting instead of getting out and visiting the city. Even though the service was friendly I feel they are either under-staffed or really don't know how to run a hotel.

Disappointed

by A TripAdvisor Member

The hotel is next to a very busy highway, not right by the beach as the photo implies. The rooms are very basic and are in need of modernisation. The walls and ceiling are painted the same colour ie in a basic brown to creamy colour, which made you feel quite closed in and not at all pleasant to be in. I was extremely glad to leave. The whole complex needs up-grading. Carpets were dirty and stained. However, the staff were friendly and helpful. Not worth what you pay.

Room not Cleaned

by A TripAdvisor Member

My husband and I stayed at the Mar Monte last weekend and after checking in on Friday night enjoyed the first night and following morning. We had booked the 'budget' room at $199 a night! It was adequate but a little musty and the bathroom was not as clean as it could have been. After returning from a busy day at 5pm we discovered that our room had not been cleaned. The front desk told us that room cleaning was slow that day as they were at full capacity. We walked down to talk with a manager who 'couldn't understand why we were getting so upset'. We had to wait while the room was cleaned and were late for our 6pm dinner reservation. Eventually the manager offered us a 50% rate discount for Sat night which we accepted. The rest of our stay was OK, service was good and staff were friendly and accomodating, but we will probably look for alternative accomodation on our next trip to Santa Barbara.

One night is more than enough

by A TripAdvisor Member

Stayed here for one night at the begining of August. Started off positive as we were given a free upgrade from the Parkside Inn (which looks like a prison hostel from the outside, didn't venture inside). As mentioned in other reviews hotel not on the beach but next to a busy highway! Ate at hotel and the food was average but restaurant and hotel smelt of stale urine!!
As also mentioned in other reviews the decor was old and tired and quite depressing.
Lots of noise from other guests in the corridor including the Fonz who seemed to spend a majority of the night outside our door!!
Pleased we only stayed one night, would not stay again.

Not worth it

by A TripAdvisor Member

Pros:
-Heated Pool and Hot tub was nice at night
-Your staying in Santa Barbara!
-The staff was very nice and accomodating

Cons:
-Rumbling and Violent plumbing made the stay less than pleasant
-Overpriced for what was offered
-Fixtures were more like a motel 6 that a "resort hotel"
-First room we were assigned had a huge Tree in front of the balcony, making the view of the ocean a moot point. They did switch us to a different room though.
-The photograph on the website is ridiculously deceiving. It is NOT on the beach, as the photo implies, it is on VERY busy 4 lane road with cars whizzing by at 45mph. It is not relaxing to open the french door and hang out on the balcony until about 2am when all the cars are gone. The bldg in the photo is a community arts center which IS on the beach, but the hotel is actually behind the arts center across the 4-lane street (Cabrillo Ave). Heres a tip: go to (---) and look at the satelitte photo which shows its exact location and you'll see what i'm referrring to.
-Too far away from Stearns Harbor and downtown (state street)
-We paid about $250 a nite for the "Ocean View room with a balcony", which was entirely too much. I don't think I would return to this hotel.
-Needs an update, from fixtures to old elevators, this place feels 'ghetto'.

Not that bad, but not that good

by TripAdvisor Member Fozzie_001

We had spent the previous night in a Best Western (as had arrived in SB at middle of night) so were looking forward to somewhere much nicer. For $210 we expected a fantastic room. What we got was Ocean view but right next to the busy road betwen the hotel and ocean. However, the balcony doors are well insulated and noise from traffic isn't really noticable. The rooms were OK and breakfast was good. I think it's way overpriced for what you get. Bearing in mind that we went on to stay in a fabulous place in Santa MOnica (really pricey place) for the same price - makes you realise that here you dont' get much for your money.

Nice location and that's about it

by TripAdvisor Member backyardhippy

This hotel is what my husband and I call a "functional hotel" meaning it provides a clean room, a bed with clean sheets and that's about it.
When we checked in they tried to give us a room w/ 2 queen beds even though we booked a king. The room they gave us w/ the king bed was right off the lobby and when you opened the curatins you had the midday "sun" of the soccer field glaring into your room. We went back down to the front desk and requested another room. We had to laugh as we were waiting for our new room, a traveler was hauling his luggage thru the lobby and up the stairs the whole time making a clicking sound over the Spanish tiles...that is what we almost had to listen to all night!

The new room was clean and overlooked the very busy street but we had a view of the ocean. The whole place is old and smells of it. The staff was nice when we were there but we will not stay here again.

High priced and low-moderate service

by A TripAdvisor Member

Stayed recently at this hotel for a family celebration. Payed for 3 room for a total of 8 nights. Hotel is old, damp and noisy yet close to the beach and short distance from the famous State Street. Service was less than average as compared to other major chains. I was considering this hotel for a company week-long company function for our corporate executives (about 45 people) but decided not to.

Smokers be aware. The hotel claims to be a non-smoking hotel (did not see this on any of their website info) and makes you sign/initial an agreement of smoking policies. I understand their standpoint of the smoking and applaud them to try to keep a smoke free environment. However, as a smoker, we smoked outside the building and outside on the balcony. A $250 charge was assessed on my credit card after the fact with no explanation. I emailed them and they replied indicating a "smoking penalty" was assessed. Their reservation manager suggested I call the Manager of Rooms if I wanted to contest the billing. When I talked to the gentleman explaining how we did not smoke in the room and followed up with a question on how they determined to assess the penalty. He indicated that their housekeeping personnel assessed it by "smelling". Kind of un-scientific and real subjective considering we took all precautions to preserve their "smoke free" room.

I tried to appeal the charges but the suggestion by the reservation manager to call the room manager to "contest" the billing was just a formality. He had no intentions to change the billing regardless. Now back home a few hundred miles away, there is hardly any course of action I can take short of trying to get my credit card company to reverse the charges. I guess I have to mark up as a learning experience.

One of the worst experiences ever!

by A TripAdvisor Member

This place was extremely overpriced and an awful place to stay. We stayed 2 nights and the first night our room was dirty, the heater was broken, the TV was broken and the fridge was broken. But that was better than the second night when they gave our room away and then moved us to a much worse property they also manage. I can't recommend strongly enough avoiding this place. The front desk staff was also completely unhelpful during our troubles.

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 Hotel Mar Monte

We've found that other people looking for this hotel also know it by these names:

Mar Monte Santa Barbara
Mar Monte Hotel
Hyatt Santa Barbara Hotel Santa Barbara

Address: 1111 East Cabrillo Boulevard, Santa Barbara, California, 93103, United States