Kimpton Canary Hotel

We booked a balcony room expecting to open the doors and enjoy the weather and scenery. But, our room was on a busy corner, across the street from a gas station and very near an active Fire Department. We never opened the doors. It would have been nice to have a night light in the bathroom, makeup mirror, a walk-in shower rather than a tub and a robe to wear to the pool. Housekeeping skipped our room, requiring a call. In the absence of a concierge it would have been helpful to see a list of recommended nearby restaurants and special attractions. Suggestions from the Front Desk were hit and miss. Although the mariachi music in the lobby from a wedding was festive and fun, it was also deafening. We invited friends for drinks and dinner and literally could not hear each other while it lasted. Staff were friendly and the hotel was clean. Location near State Street is excellent. At $800+ a night the value was not there.

This is a decent and average stay, but absolutely NOT worth its prize. “Kimpton” is just a name added to the listing, not a signal of a quality hotel. Its 4.5 rating is very very generous. For $500/night you’d expect at least drinkable water for guests; if you’re thirsty you’re charged $10 for a water bottle. I won’t even go into the wishful idea of a minibar. I paid a for a “balcony suite” expecting to have some outdoor space but it’s literally a door that looks into the outside… of the parking lot. (See photo) And finally, the amount of noise in the hotel is insane; I called the front desk every night to report parties in nearby rooms from people who have weddings or events at the hotel. Every morning we were awoken by banging coming from the roof. I felt cheated into a splurgy and special stay and got a Courtyard with nicer furniture (absolutely no shade to Courtyard; on the contrary). Kimpton is just the latest brand to absolutely downgrade its properties post-Covid, turning into an almost self-service hotel without adjusting it’s prizes.

Used an IHG free night certificate to book one night at this cool hotel located a half-block from State Street in the heart of Santa Barbara's theatre/restaurant/retail district. Overnight parking is quite expensive, valet-only so we took full advantage of the location by walking everywhere. If you intend to spend most of your time at the beach or wharf area, you may prefer other hotel locations but for us, this was perfect. We had booked a standard room but due to Platinum status we were upgraded to a suite. Very nice. See photos to see stylish furnishings, a charming arched wall treatment, and nice tile-work in the large bathroom. The view from the room included a peak at the mountains and the Moorish-style tile decoration at the hotel's porte cochere. The hotel has a small rooftop pool with nice views of the surrounding city. There is also an afternoon happy hour with free wine pours. The staff was uniformly efficient and polite.

This hotel is nice in terms of aesthetic however there was a renovation project of a room directly above mine with banging and drilling going on starting at 8am. When I called the front desk they said: there is nothing we can do about it, the manager is not here, and they are renovating the floors. For a hotel that is over $600 per night, this is unacceptable.

The hotel feels lovely and the rooms are for the large part excellent. The doors need work though. They close poorly, meaning sound proofing to outside is poor, bathroom doors are noisy and the external door in our kids room was faulty, kept opening on its own. Location is good, one block from main street, although 2km from beach. Lobby, bar and restaurant are lovely. Staff were helpful. Would stay here again.