santa barbara was a lovely place and the hostel had a brilliant location - v close to the beach. our first problem was one very unhelpful staff member who when we tried to check in asked us to "come back later" as he had been working since 6 and was tired (it was lunchtime). we thought it was a bit... more

I made a reservation for my 10 year old son and myself on-line. After checking in early in the evening of the 23rd and spending an hour or so at the site I decided not to stay there and left despite the check-in person telling me that the manager was very unlikely to refund the approximately $120 dollar charge to... more

A friend and i stayed here for 3 nights in June, it is the only hostel in Santa Barbara and they take full advantage of it. First the good parts - it was generally clean - thats it. The rooms are tiny and the backpackers are shoved in like sardines there are 12 ppl per room and no room for... more

My wife and I stayed here in a private room. For the money I was pretty disappointed. We did have a private room with a bed (they provided bedding, towels, and some little soaps), night stand (with a little hot water maker), and tiny TV (no cable, just antenna). There was no room for much else (our bag took up... more

I stayed in a private room, alone...well, for my surprise I wasn't alone, I had bed bugs as company for the night. The sheets smelled bed, and had stains all over it, disgusting. I simply didn't sleep that night, I was disgusted. Then the girls changed me to another room, they were very nice. But this other room was also... more

Service was extremely slow, and there were bed bugs in our private bed. Seriously, just get rid of the mattresses and get new ones. Extermination doesn't work, clearly. When I informed the people at the front desk about the bed bugs and about the fact that my friend was COVERED in bites, she merely looked at me like, "So what... more

We stayed in the private room and paid pretty much what you would at a budget hotel, and were not completely pleased with the room. The bathroom floor hadn't been washed in years and the showerhead sprayed water everywhere. Yes, it's a hostel, but if you're paying hotel prices, you should get nicer rooms than those at your average hostel.... more

If you have to stay here make sure to get a room in the main building. Although the website lists nothing of this (a serious omission on their part I think) there is another building fifteen minutes walk away and six blocks from beach- not easy at all when you are laden down with bags. They call these rooms cottages... more

You may read some reviews and think maybe they are being a little bit harsh, might be a personality thing but trust me I am willing to sleep in some pretty dodgy places but this hostel was not nice. The bathrooms were dirty and yuk, the rooms were small (smaller than other hostels I have stayed in), the walls were... more