Best Western Plus Santa Barbara: an Airbnb alternative for families with a pool

Big checkmark for the Best Western Plus Santa Barbara because it has the pool that all families seem to need when we travel with kids. By teenager stage, the pool is no longer the biggest selling feature for a hotel on a holiday but it’s still something I look for and helps a place rank high. This Airbnb alternative in Santa Barbara feels like it’s in a neighborhood and has a two bedroom apartment suite that families will appreciate especially if visiting the Santa Barbara area for a conference or work-related trip. And it’s even more perfect because the pool is heated and was warm enough for a swim in January and even during a fairly unusual California winter rain storm. For Seattleites, Santa Barbara has an airport with direct flights from Seatac that take just over two hours making this an easy weekend getaway too.

A hotel with a two bedroom suite in Santa Barbara perfect for a family of 4 (or even 6)

We were hosted in an apartment suite at the Best Western Plus Santa Barbara when we visited Santa Barbara and it has a kitchen so if we wanted to we could have made meals very easily. There is a comfortable sitting room space in the suite as well. With one room that has two double beds and its own tv our teenagers were very pleased-often on trips they end up sharing a sofa bed so when we find a place with beds for each of them its pretty golden. The beds at the Best Western Plus Santa Barbara were especially comfortable and there was a queen bed in the primary room in this suite. (The maximum occupancy is 6 for this apartment suite which I know is helpful for families traveling too)

There is only one bathroom but it has a tub and the bathroom itself was pretty spacious. Because this is a suite-style room it is the type of place you can stay for a longer time and it probably would feel more like a home than a holiday hotel.

The Best Western Plus Santa Barbara has a great central location with so many places only a 5-10 minute drive away

We ate dinner one night at the Santa Barbara Public Market (our favorite dish was the pancit from Empty Bowl Gourmet Noodle Bar) and we had a really fantastic banana ice cream from Rori’s Artisanal Creamery as well. The Public Market is more like a food hall than an actual market and it was really bustling and busy when we visited.

We also went to the Santa Barbara beachfront area for a bike ride with Wheel Fun Rentals at Stearns Wharf and it only took about 5-10 minutes to drive there as well. One of our kids decided that breakfast at Chad’s Cafe would be delicious and it was a really sunny morning so we were able to eat outside. Breakfast at Chad’s Cafe ended up being pretty perfect and one of the dishes even came with pancakes with a palm tree made of powdered sugar.

I looked up walkable places nearby our hotel and found Mission Street Ice cream and Yogurt maybe a 10 minute walk away. We were in the area during an unusual weather system where a few bomb cyclones had hit so we didn’t want to chance the walk but it would be something we would do at any other time. The hotel itself even has a restaurant on site (the Live Oak Cafe) and a coffee shop called Daily Grind I wanted to try that was about a 5 minute walk away too.

Our favorite coffee experience was at Caje coffee where we tried a coffee that came with a “side of fire”. We picked up bread to bring home from Helena Avenue Bakery (which is also conveniently within walking distance of MOXI , a science museum for learners of all ages that is also part of the ASTC passport program so if you are from Seattle and have a PACSCI membership you can likely visit for free). Dune coffee had a delicious latte as well.

And how were the Santa Barbara beaches?

We had really bad luck with the weather on this trip and still ended up with a glorious bit of sun for a morning in Santa Barbara and the beaches are so picturesque with palm trees swaying in front of lush green rolling hills. For a moment we felt like we might have been on the Island of Hawaii. But this is only two-ish hours from Seattle so we’ll definitely be back again and hopefully soon.

(PS. The Best Western Plus even has a little aviary on site near the pool. I saw a few families with small children stop by to watch the birds play on their way to the restaurant or pool.)

(PPS. do you love California travel? So do we! Here are a few more California ideas if you are looking for places to visit.)

Terumi

Terumi Pong is a Seattle-based family travel writer and mom of twin teenage boys.  She loves coffee and pastries, shopping local and looking for greener ways to live.  She is also known as Scout’s mom (Scout is a 5ish pound little black yorkie-poo)