Holiday Inn Express & Suites Carpinteria

Surfers Paradise–
We just stayed here with another couple during a short surf trip to Santa Barbara. It might be the closest nice hotel to Rincon. The staff were very welcoming and helpful. The room was very clean and the bed’s as comfortable as could be. We had the multi-​bed room, which means two queens and a sofa. I wasn’t sure when I was booking by the wording they used. Definitely recommend staying here if you are looking for a place under $ 150 bucks. Our room was around $ 133.00 for a weekday.

One of the more reasonable priced places you can stay out on the Gold Coast although this place comes with its own problems. While the full breakfast bar was stocked with everything to make you start the day full, (omelettes, bacon, sausage, pancakes, yogurt and plenty more), when the lights go out and you try to fall asleep, those like me who are light sleepers can hear water running through the pipes of the upper units and cable tv that has more signal drops then a sacked QB. All in all, staff is great and accommodating and the bed and pillows are nice and firm. It even smells fresh, which the ladies like.

Super friendly and helpful staff, comfortable beds, clean and modern rooms, and a pool/​spa area that is very inviting. What more can you ask for in a hotel??? They also offer a great breakfast with too much to list. We will definitely stay here again!!!

Lack of attention to detail is what best describes this hotel. It has an efficient operation and comfortable beds but it stops there. The AC/​heater is 4 inches from the bed and it just doesn’t stop blowing. It doesn’t have any controls left for that anyway. What’s wrong with you hotel managers? This company produced this AC/​heater and spent lots of money on its design and buttons. Why would you just bypass all that and make a dumb on/​off switch to control everything in a coarse way?
Oh, the breakfast is horrendous in the usual manner

The room is clean and the coffee is great. However, the front desk staff is totally indifferent, especially one guy in particular who seemed to be the one in charge of scheduling the housekeepers. They never smile. Say «How can I help you?» or even a «Thank You for staying with us». There are no services at all. You drag your own bags up to your room. the air conditioners are extremely loud. the breakfast is very clean and organized but the food is very low quality. So avoid the staff as much as possible and you’ll be OK.

No need to search further for a GREAT place to stay while you are traveling along the Santa Barbara Coast in California. This is it! Near the freeway, tucked in where it’s quiet, warm welcome by staff, great immaculate suites holy moly, can I say more. Don’t let anyone talk you down on Holiday Inn. Once you walk in your room, you would swear you are in a 5 star property. The beds are big, comfortable, starch white bedding, fabulous pillows, large screen TV, separate sofa living space. I can’t say enough. Trust me, you won’t be disappointed… oh, you even get free breakfast. I’ll even share a secret… I ordered a Chinese dinner — delivered to my door. It was fabulous!

Clean, spacious room. A standard hotel with an exceptionally cozy touch. Friendly services. Decent continental breakfast. Good for family!

This was OK for the price, but nothing to impress you. We had to change 2 rooms until we got one without any issues. The breakfast was typical junk food you’ll find in any hotel. Close to the highway.

We had a really good time here. We had to pick this particular Holiday Inn because of the pet policy — only $ 15 dollars a night is very affordable considering the fees some other hotels charge. The Inn is 2 floors with ample parking, and there’s a section of the hotel on the first floor that is pets-​okay. Judging from the number of dogs we saw in the parking lot, it seems like a LOT of people come here with their pets.
The rooms were very clean, spacious and pretty nice. Room service was quick but thorough. There’s a free breakfast which includes the basics — a cool pancake machine, scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, and biscuits and gravy, as well as the usual continental breakfast goodies.
Despite the number of dogs, you can’t really hear any barking if you’re in the room. You can definitely hear it if you’re in the hall, but it seems like the soundproofing is adequate when you’re in the room.
Carp is a pretty charming place to stay, and it’s only a 15 minute drive away from Santa Barbara but way more affordable.

Our wedding group stayed here with a room block of 30 rooms for the weekend. The staff was so friendly and nice and accommodating. The hotel had been newly renovated so it does not seem like you are at a Holiday Inn AT ALL. Will definitely come back!

My first impression of this hotel was that it was decent. We went inside and liked the room. However, by morning we had a lot of ants in our room which we didn’t pay attention to. We called the front lobby so that they could do something about the problem, they said they would send someone and never did for several hours till I decided to take action and go In person to the front desk. Some guy came and just sprayed something which still didn’t resolve the problem. The guy at the front desk (who’s supposedly the manager) honestly didn’t care at all. He made ridiculous comments which made me feel unwanted at the hotel. I will definitely never go back here again. I’m giving 1 star for the breakfast, because it was pretty amazing.

Comfy, very clean, frig & microwave, free breakfast. Kids in the pool perpetually, so if you are thinking about a swim with your sweetheart, forget it.

I am a fan of most IHG hotels, an Holiday Inn Express doesn’t usually disappoint, however I was not as pleased with this location. The service from the desk was good, the amendities were so-​so. The wi-​fi was not fully functional, to which I was disappointed. In addition, I found long strands of hair on the comforter, on the bathroom mat, and in between one of the towels. The tub appeared dirty, as the tub grip to prevent slipping on the shower had noticeable stains. The room was a suite, however it was a lot of noise that could be heard as I tried to sleep coming from the hallway. I would have rather stayed at the other location in Santa Barbara. I left too early to experience the complimentary breakfast, so I cannot speak on that.

Stayed 2 nights here. Place is clean and the staff is friendly. Rooms are large and very comfy. Breakfast is included with your stay. Only complaint is the breakfast room can get really packed so I recommend going early. I noticed some people were getting their food and returning to their room with it. Also, the door to the bathroom seem odd so close to the front door that if you did not close the bathroom all they way, you could not open the front food. Place is 20 minutes away from Santa Barbara with traffic. They offer free parking. I picked this place because it is close to Santa Barbara without the Santa Barbara prices. Their are many cool places within 5 minutes to eat or get a drink. Carpinteria, I was mildly surprised, offers plenty of options for a quick weekend get away without running into Santa Barbara. Parking is a lot easier than in Santa Barbara. I would definitely stay here again.

I recently stayed here for the weekend (Fri-​Sun) and had a good experience. The rooms were spacious with a living room area, 2 beds, and a large tv. The bathroom was big and came with bath and body works toiletries. Other pros: Hotel is located close to Santa Barbara (15 – 20 minutes), there are lots of eateries/​bars within a 5 minute drive, the room is clean and new, there’s free wifi and free parking. The only con was the free breakfast which didn’t taste as good as other holiday inn express locations. They had a couple hot items (omelette like thing with questionable cheese, sausage, and biscuits), breads, bagels, cereal and juices.

Overall — Not worth the money.
Based on some other positive Unilocal reviews I booked this place but turned out to be a bit of disappointment.
There were ANTS in the room which were all over the place and could have easily gone to luggage and stuff, who knows. The reason you pay high price for these hotel versus a Motel is to atleast expect a clean room.
When I spoke to front desk about it — answer was «Ants look for water in drought season and thus can sometime come to room looking for it «- Seriously !! and he just apologized.
location is good and breakfast is good also but if you are looking for a clean room and better experience — surely there are other prices at this price.

Walls are thin, but the bed makes up for it big time. Suuuuuuuuuper comfy. Probably the softest bed I have ever laid in. It has a mix between soft and firm. It is the perfect combo. NOT lumpy either. The pillows are feathery and amazing as well. I have never found hotel pillows that I actually liked. The bed will help you sleep. Only bed that has trumped this bed were the beds at the Hyatt Place at Ontario Mills Mall. Holiday Inn usually is about equivalent to Hyatt in my opinion. They know comfort. :-)

This was a great place to stay. The rooms were freshly renovated and the staff was very accommodating. This place is not just «dog friendly» but is very accommodating to people with dogs. We were very happy with our stay and would stay here again!
Also, this place is very close to dog friendly beaches and parks. If you are traveling up the coast with a dog or dogs, this is a great place to stay. For a frame of reference we have two 100lb Labs!

Unbelievable hotel. Exceptionally clean.
Very modern and tasteful décor. Bed was great. Our room had a small refrigerator, microwave and coffee maker.
Staff was very accommodating. The night before our wedding we had to clean some clothes after the laundry room was due to close. The manager made an allowance that we could finish, provided, however he had no complaints of sound. Evidently, there were no issues and we were able to get ready without worry
For anyone thinking of staying in Santa Barbara, I would highly suggest you give this hotel in Carpinteria a chance. Carpinteria is a charming beach community. Besides morning and evening rush hour, it is a quick 15 – 20 minute drive to downtown Santa Barbara. Try taking the backroads for a breathtaking road trip.
The hotel has a small pantry and freezer stocked with the basics and a small variety of frozen dinners if you don’t feel like going out.
Internet was quite fast.
Breakfast is included but that is the only thing that we’d give an average. It is breakfast and it is edible but it is just utilitarian. The pancakes are from a machine, which though cool in concept, nevertheless taste like a machine cooked them. They were rubbery and void of flavor. The staff, however, was excellent. We came at the tail end of breakfast and they stayed open for us, never rushing us and even restocked things that were out. That is amazing service.

I’m gonna go ahead and give them four stars because being able to travel with my pets is very important to me.
My family stayed 1 night there because it was close to the Santa Barbara. The pet fee was ten dollars per pet, which is really great for a pet family.
Breakfast was meh… but can’t complain when it’s free.
My family and dog children will be back.
Ohhhh free wifi… thats a plus!