Sandyland Reef Inn

frienly stuff confortable beds and free HBO What else you need. lol

Two stars because I can tell that someone is trying to make this sketchy old building into something hospitable. My bed linens and drapes looked updated and the tv was newer. The lady at the desk gave me a 2^nd-​floor corner room which I can only guess was for my safety and privacy. I thank her for that. There were a few thug-​like people going in and out of one particular room at midnight but quiet otherwise. Lots of cameras around. Not the best place for a lone female traveler.

Fortunately for me I arrived in Carpenteria a day before my reservation and had ample opportunity to see this flea bag hotel poor to actually staying in it. I never would have booked a res at a dump like this in the first place but I needed to be in the area at the last minute and everything was booked since it was summer. I was shocked at the clientele entering and leaving the place. Suffice it to say that bathing was not a priority for this crew. I called the main number to cancel my reservation. A woman speaking Spanglish answered — told me she was putting me on hold but neglected to hit the hold button so I hear her arguing with the customer about how he was promised a microwave but he didn’t get one. When the argument ended she muttered some nasty comments to a co-​worker and then proceeded to cough into the phone for 5 minutes. Clearly she had forgotten a customer was on the line waiting for her service. I hung up — called back and she said she could not cancel the res — told me to o it online. WOW — somebody needs to shut this rat hole down.

This was the least expensive hotel in the area. Since just staying one night I went for it
I wouldn’t stay another night. The pillows feel more like rocks shoved into pillow cases. There is mold in the shower. There is only a tiny 4 by 6 inch shelf in the bathroom to put your travel bag on. No coffee in the room. And the coffee in the lobby is not good. I could go on but u get the gist

Hello there,
I stayed at your location last evening and to say the least it was a nightmare. Although it didnt start bad it ended worse then i could have imagined.
The room that i stayed in was 211. I am told you are already aware of the situation which almost makes me more upset on the way it was handled.
When the bathroom toilet had clogged i called the front desk to get something as simple as a plunger. About 10 –15 minutes later the front desk calls to say they didn’t have one. WHO DOESNT HAVE PLUNGER!!! After this he told us he would make a note for the morning? why does that do me any good? Not only did the toilet never get fixed but i had to leave the property to use one.
When I was checking out I went to the front desk to see if there was something they could do for me. I am going to be coming to Santa Barbara area very often in the coming months and had not stayed in the are before. I was looking not only for the one night i stayed but for future trips.
The way that the situation was handled i will not be back. I could not believe that the front desk lady told me there was nothing she could do for me until she talked to the managers who never answered her calls. She tells me to wait until 4 when he arrives? why would I wait over 7 hours to be helped? After i get on the road the desk calls me back to tell me they were going to take off 20% off my nights stay? 20%?
The reason that i am so frustrated is i payed 160 $ for a room with a bathroom and all i ended up getting was a bed and a whole lot of inconvenience. No one even apologized for the situation they just blamed the kid who didn’t know where a plunger was. Take some responsibility for a mistake.
I would say you wouldn’t want me to leave a poor Unilocal review but it clearly looks as though you don’t care about your guests.
Don’t Stay here

Nope, just all kinds of nope.
When we got there, guys were drinking beer and playing soccer in the parking lot… at 9pm. Meanwhile they require you to wait for a room inspection upon check out if you pay cash. For almost $ 130 a night in a queen room that’s super cozy (read as small). Carpet felt moist, not wet, but moist. Terrified to shine a black light in the room. Won’t be back, not even on a bet. Customer service is a joke.

The staff was friendly enough but I have never been in so much back pain after staying one night here. The most uncomfortable bed I have EVER been in. Definitely would NOT stay there again.

I would give this place negative 5 stars if I could based on their «customer service».
In desperate need of a place to stay the night, my boyfriend and I booked this place on
. (I was not able to read all of the AWFUL reviews in that time span)
It took 45 minutes to check us in and once we were inside of the room we decided that even though it was so late we could not spend the night there. The room was dirty and disgusting. It smelled like stale cigarettes, there were bugs, and the floor was cheap linoleum. They had broken a lawn chair in lieu of real chair, it was just awful. So, after no more than 10 minutes of being disgusted I told the front desk man (short, scrawny guy with greying hair) that we were leaving because the room was so dirty.
He told us he would check the room and comes back after about 5 minutes to tell us that, wait for it, THE ROOM WAS CLEAN BEFORE WE CHECKED IN AND WE MADE IT DIRTY SO HE WAS GOING TO CHARGE US A $ 30 CLEANING FEE.
Of course when I expressed my feelings about why it was wrong to charge someone a «cleaning fee» when they are fleeing your filthy hotel to the A*hole desk guy, he was still going to refuse to refund me so I refused to let him help anybody until he refunded me. SO, he called the police who showed up and TOLD THE A*HOLE TO REFUND ME. They also told me that they had been called to this place many times before to deal with shady people/​meth heads. Of course this POS didn’t refund the ridiculous cleaning fee.
I did end up getting a nice and beautiful room at the ramada inn for a huge discounted rate because it was so late at night already so my night was not completely ruined. But all i have to say is EFF this place so hard!

I stayed here 2 years ago and would agree that this place was a dump, but decided to stay here again and I expected the worst but I was pleasantly surprised. Updated bathroom with new tile floor and shower, and a hair dryer. They’ve added AC/​heater units to the rooms! All the sheets and towels seemed very clean, king bed was very comfortable, nice mini fridge, flat screen tv that includes HBO, quiet, ample parking, and I have not seen a single bug or critter. I think they’re trying to turn this place around. Yes there were lots of workers present but they didn’t bother me and everything was quiet by 10pm. In the back of the hotel and can still here a little bit of freeway noise but that doesn’t bother me. Pleasant stay for $ 60. I actually might stay here again.

Just checked in and so far so good. Parking couldn’t be better, plenty of spots and all private to the hotel. Easy check in, and the room is to expectations. Decent bed, nice bathroom, mini fridge, several drawers, plenty of room to hang clothing. My room overlooks the 101 so I was concerned at first, but after closing the window I can hardly hear the road.
Negatives so far? No iron in the room, TV cannot take an HDMI cable for my PS4.
To be updated later in the week, but so far so good!

Upon arrival the not-​so-​friendly guy behind the counter could not found our booking even after I provided him with the ref. number. After several minutes he tracked down the booking in his old school filing system.
Luckily we got a room towards the back. The highway is right next to the Inn and it’s very noisy. The room was big and very clean but the furniture is outdated. The bed was big and comfortable. There’s no coffee in the room. You have to go to reception and if you want breakfast you’ll have to ask Mr. Not-​So-​Friendly as it’s behind his counter.
If you are a smoker, DO NOT stay at this place or in Carpintretia. There’s a no-​smoking policy throughout the town and if you are caught you will be slapped with a $ 500 fine.

my husband and I got a room here, it seemed fine, until we left for a few hours. When we came back we realized someone had been in our room! When we told the manager at first he acted like he didn’t know what we were talking about until we showed him the food trash, then he told us he had mistakenly given the room to someone els. We couldn’t sleep the door didn’t have a lock. We had to secure the door with a chair!
We complained but stayed because we had no where we could go, so he said we would get a discount, which we didn’t!
In the end, it was a nightmare!!!

Okay, this has to be the WORST motel experience my wife and I have EVER had…
I made reservations for a 2 nite stay a week ago, got a price, used my AMEX to hold a room and got a confirmation # from «Ivonetti». When we showed up at this DUMP, the Desi at the desk (owner, mgr) tells me that he cannot find my reservation. When I show him the confirmation info, he finds the reservation but it is only for 1 nite, tomorrow, AND now the price is over $ 100 more than originally quoted. I show him my notes from Ivonetti, and he will not budge nor will he speak to Ivonetti. «She is my employee, why should I talk to her?»
I now become agitated and animated (BTW, I am dressed in motorcycle leather) and he becomes the motel Nazi…“No room for you, I refuse service. I can refuse service to you!” My wife, watching from her scooter outside sees what is happening and comes in to the office. She calls the guy a bozo, and knocks the call bell off the counter. Desi panics and grabs the phone to call the sheriff as we leave. We drive ½ block to the Motel 6 and get a room there. I return to the parking lot and see my wife talking to a Sheriff, laughing. She has told him the whole story and he is laughing! He then tells us that we are much better off NOT staying at Sandyland Reef… nothing but complaints from travelers.
Bottom line… avoid this establishment at ALL costs; the other reviews are spot on

Don’t expect your reservation to be honored, nor the price quoted. This place is a nightmare to deal with. Although they have attempted some minor upgrades, the place is very old and needs renovation. I would not recommend this especially since it was $ 25 more per night than the Motel 6 next door.

My husband and I stayed at the Sandyland Reef Inn while visiting Santa Barbara for a conference. We are both low maintenance travelers, so I was pleasantly surprised by the cleanliness and comfort of the room we stayed in. It was also incredibly cheap! For only $ 48/​night, this is a great deal.
We would definitely consider staying here again.
Pros:
+ Newly remodeled bathrooms– floor and shower seem to be brand new stone.
+ Extremely inexpensive by comparison to every other motel in the area
+ A short 15-​min drive to downtown SB.
+ Large king-​sized bed, mini fridge, flatscreen TV.
Cons:
— The lock on our door did not work. We used the chain lock that had been mounted on the door, though.
— No closet (but clothing rack on the wall)
— No bathtub, only a shower
— No blow dryer or clothing iron.
The room had a two small tables, one for work (with phone on it) and one breakfast table at the window.

I stayed in room 112 on October 5^th, I ended getting bit over 30 times by bed bugs I contacted the hotel and will update this review after speaking to Marco the manager. DO NOT STAY HERE!!!

Woohoo just survived the night here!
The room (288) was pretty dang large for only $ 48! The bathroom obviously has had the most improvements. Water pressure and hot water were both good.
The sheets on the bed, like others have stayed feel like paper. Super itchy!
Also the noise from the highway is pretty obnoxious, we kept the A/​C on the entire time to drown out the noise.
The TV is very old lol but up and running.
Basically you get your money’s worth.
The woman working the counter was very nice and pleasant during check in.
One thing that really weirded us out though was the number of people/​worker (?) hanging out on the property. They were everywhere, we couldn’t tell if they were guests or contractors. It did make us feel a little worried leaving the car parked in the parking lot. We also noticed that they were coming in and out of some of the rooms, where even more men were inside watching TV. VERY WEIRD!
When we returned from dinner, most of them were still there, but at this point most of the men had beers in their hands. Like I said very weird.
I think if we are in the area again we might consider staying here again.

Who I am: Twenty-​something year old wine enthusiast/​foodie.
What I want in a room: Somewhere clean and comfortable to stumble back to after a long day of wine tasting. When I travel I hardly ever spend time in the room other than to sleep and shower.
Value:
Pros
–Suuuuper affordable. Every place to stay in the surrounding area was basically 100+ and as a college student that’s not a realistic possibility. A king size bed with double occupancy was 52/​night. That’s pretty impressive considering how close we are to downtown.
Cons:
–N/​A
Room:
Pros:
–Curtains never let any light in. The room was clean and didn’t smell like smoke which is a must for me because I have wimpy asthma ridden lungs that freak out. TV with good channels. Plenty of outlets for electronics (between the both of us we each had laptops, cell phones and a camera). The bathroom pressure was great and I never ran out of hot water. There were four different wifi options so no matter what room you stayed in the signal was pretty strong. Plenty of parking near your room no matter how full the place gets.
Cons:
–No full length mirror. This is kind of a must when you’re a female. No iron. No closet (just a metal rack with no hangers). There was no iron but to their credit there really would be no place to put one. The walls are a little thin but it wasn’t too bad. They were remodeling the room directly next to ours but they didn’t begin working until about nine so we had time to sleep in a bit. There wasn’t any stationary or a pen which I like to have handy at any time.
Randoms:
Staff was very friendly and always available.
I made a reservation online and somehow they never had any record of it, but we got a room so no harm. I strongly encourage you to call when booking a room so you can speak to a human. Make sure you get a name and confirmation number.
Bottom line: if you’re not a princess and want a comfortable place to spend the night on a get away this place is pretty awesome. Highly recommended.

Pros:
Dark room (curtains are awesome! I feel like it’s still night time)
Cheapest hotel to SB during the busy summer season
Easy to find
«sanitized» band around the toilet when you walk in
Doesn’t smell too bad, could have used an air freshner maybe — the windows were wide open when we walked in.
Check out at 11am, you have the option of paying an extra $ 10 per hour for two hours, so you can extend that until 1pm. Past 2 hours is another fee.
Check in guy was pretty nice as far as they go.
Closest «food» at 2am is the Chevron, 7 – 11, and McD’s two miles away off Casitas Road.
Sheets don’t feel as bad as I thought?
Wi-​fi comes with the room (didn’t use it though).
Cons:
Not worth the $ 125, even if it is a heavy tourist season
Very minimal (read: SMALL) room — not much in it. Space included.
Not much parking either — people were parking in front of the office. We had to park a block away and walk.
Checking in late? There’s someone there but you should call ahead, as they need to charge your card first to make sure you’re coming — else I’m sure they’d give your room away
NOISY! Right next to the freeway (101) which always has some vehicles on it. Walls feel paper thin, I heard and am hearing lots of neighbor sounds
No plugs! We had to unplug the bedside lights to charge our phones.
Water was boiling hot after the shower-​burnt my tongue gargling after brushing teeth. And speaking of temperature, could not figure out how to moderate the shower temp either.
Would NOT rebook here.

The reef is a staple of Carpinteria. There’s nothing fancy about the place, but it’s affordable, offers free internet, and most of all I just like it there.
Plus it’s the cheapest in the area, and that’s hard to argue with.