Ala Mar by the Sea

The location was great but no air conditioning and the rooms were a little small

ZERO STARS. While you may be inclined to believe this boutique hotel is lovely and charming, what's inside is despicable! Prior to reserving a room, I called to check availability, and a young man answered and asked if I could be placed on hold. The receiver on his end was placed on the counter, where I then was privy to an entire 10-minute conversation between the employees and a guest checking in. The 'hold' turned into momentary warbling muzak, and I was then disconnected. That alone should have been my red flag. Despite this, my husband and I decided to roll the dice and book a one night stay at this property. We were greeted by the front staff and placed in a lower king bedroom, street view. Fast forward to bedtime. There was an occupant directly above us who, for several hours, moved what sounded like furniture back and forth across the floor. In addition, between redecorating their room, they proceeded to bang on the metal railing for about a couple of hours. The room does not come with a telephone, so we were not able to call the front desk. When this was mentioned in the morning, we were given a lukewarm apology and no offer of credit, a discount, zip. What is really disconcerting is the 'hold' placed on my card. An amount of $150 was placed against my card that was to be removed post checkout and within two days. Two business days have come and gone, and my statement now reflects a pending charge. When calling the property to clarify, a young woman I spoke to immediately interrupted me before I was able to explain the situation. When I told her she was rude for interrupting me, I was told to calm down. I was told the hotel did not charge me, my bank did, and to take up the issue with my bank. A representative at my bank confirmed that the hotel did, in fact, charge my card, TWO DAYS AFTER I checked out in the amount of $150. Just a few minutes ago, I received a call from a restricted number. It was a woman by the name of Maria who scolded me and instructed me to call my bank 100 times, and that what I described didn't matter. She then hung up on me. Suffice to say, these people should not be in the service industry. I have stayed at 5 star hotels in the heart of Paris and dumps in the desert. I have never been treated so terribly. For an industry that depends on word of mouth and good reviews, this place is the worst! It's clear that the owners and operators of this establishment have zero clue about how to treat their guests, take no responsibility for the well-being and comfort of their guests while in their care, and exact unscrupulous fees which will take concerted effort to recoup. Please consider all of this before stepping into the spiders web that is known as The Ala Mar Inn. Buyer Beware!

Great location! Situated directly across from beach and pier. Nice staff. Big huge koi! Cute little pool area. Beautiful eclectic decor, Mexican style tiles throughout. Walking distance to restaurants. Lovely plants,beautiful colours!

Excellent customer service. Front desk staff was very friendly and helpful. Made us feel comfortable and secure after a long day of traveling. The view from the room was stunning you can literally smell the beach right from the comfort of your room. There is no way to get this close to the beach for the price. If you are on any kind of budget and want to save money for other things then this is the place to come. We will for sure return here next time we pass through the area.

I have been visiting the Alamar hotel for years over 10+ and I will continue to return for years to come !!! The location is perfect Directly across from the beach And very close to downtown ! The rooms are being renovated, so they’re being made more comfortable ! The new staff that I have met are very friendly and always stay comfortable and easy.

We had a terrific time on our recent stay. What a fabulous location with very helpful staff! The view was terrific as well as the convenience to just walk out the door and explore Santa Barbara. We were very pleased with the room and will definitely be staying here again..

Great location, and reasonbly priced. I was working in Santa Barbara for a few days and need a reasonalby priced hotel in a location near the ocean. Location is near the pier and numerous resturants, like Brophy Brothers. Very clean with comfortable beds.

Motel room was with tobacco smell. Pictures at Ala Mar inn webpage are not corresponding to real rooms. Our room was run down , 😰, really sad to see that . Checkin was at different hotel , we had been helped to change the room to that hotel , Hispanic vibes, clean and nice, they lock the front door for the night ( give you the key from front door). Do not use that motel, the inside will ruin any holiday mood . Very dissatisfying, but glad at least the stuff helped us to relocate to normal nice hotel ,

Location!! This place is direct across the street from the beach and is a block from restaurants and shops. The staff was very kind. Check in was simple. My king room was spacious and also had a twin bed. The beds and linens were soft and comfortable. The room and bathroom were very clean. My room came with a lanai with chairs and a fire pit for outdoor evenings. There’s was a well rounded continental breakfast to be had outside by the pools. Overall, it was a friendly, lovely experience and I would not hesitate to return or recommend.