What should have been a pleasant 4 night stay was totally ruined by unwanted and unrequested wake-up calls at 5:55am every morning of my stay.

Each morning I would call the front desk after being awoken by the telephone, and each morning I received a different, and totally unsatisactory response. On the 1st day, the operator stated that the call must have been a mistake and I received an apology. Ok - that can happen. On the 2nd day, the operator indicated that they were having trouble with the phone system and assured me that it would not happen again. I asked him to have the manager give me a call - never received one. On the 3rd day - the operator tells me that the hotel is unable to turn off the wake-up calls. I again ask to have a manager call me and receive NO response. I call during business hours to talk to the manager who promises to call me back. never calls me back. I stop at the front desk, and the manager says to unplug the phone if I can to prevent it from happening again - that would have been good to know on the day I checked in. She also promises to have a bottle of wine sent to my room - it never arrived, and she has never receturned the messages that I left with the front desk.

The phone calls were annoying - since there was no need for me to be up at that hour. The total lack of customer service was so disrespectful that I will never stay there again or encourage others to stay there - and I frequently travel to Santa Barbara on business.

I was a little apprehensive about booking this hotel after reading some of the reviews. But, the price was good, and the location was great so we took the leap & booked. We were so happily surprised! Our room was in the Santa Maria building & had a view of the mountains (& parking lot, but what can you do?). I wish we had upgraded to ocean view, but we weren't planning on spending too much time in the room. The room was standard sized, and was clean!

One negative, we ordered room service & needed it quickly, after the time we were promised it passed, we called & they said it would be at least another 10 minutes. We canceled the order. But...when we got back that evening there were strawberries & champagne waiting for us... I think we had mentioned it was a romantic getaway for us. So, that totally redeemed them in our eyes.

The walk to the harbor is long, and we took the shuttle one way &
it was much longer than I expected.

Breakfast was fantastic (banana french toast - wow!).

Loved the free wi-fi!
Fridge & microwave in the room, too + hair dryer & coffee maker

We stayed at the Hotel Mar Monte in May and it was just an OK hotel. It looks like an old hotel that was in it's heyday in the 60/70's, but is getting really run down and has a bit of a smell. We were in a room in the Santa Maria building and the room was a typical hotel room. The bed was an average hotel bed, and I was glad we were only staying two nights there. It was clean though. We were given less than stellar service when we checked in and when we went to get a cocktail and some appetizers at the hotel bar, I was told I could get better service if I came and got the drinks at the bar myself. Mind you we were sitting at a table less than 5 feet away from the bar. Apparently the server did not feel the need to serve. The food was also less than bar food. It was horrible.

The homeless population in Santa Barbara is getting really big and I did not feel safe at night by myself. They seem to hang out and sleep at the park next to the hotel and on the beach.

There were two good things about this hotel: 1. The valet/bellboys are wonderful. Truly helpful. Maybe they should get to work the front desk and restaurant. 2. The breakfast we had at the hotel restaurant was pretty good.

Having stayed many times at the Mar Monte with average to good service, for the price, this time was unacceptable. At check in the receptionist answered the phone at least a dozen times while we checked in. She was abrupt and unapproachable. The front desk personal weren't very knowledgeable about restaurants in the area. When we finally did get a recommendation at 9pm on a weekday the concierge and reception staff didn't seem to be aware that many of the restaurants on State Street stop serving at 9pm (unbelievable) including the one they sent us to. Food service to the room was cold and left in the hall way for over 15 hours. A visit to the spa was pleasant, the masseuse was excellent. However at check out the price for the massage wasn't the same as what was quoted. The amount in question an included service gratuity which wasn't mentioned anywhere, even though I included a generous tip. But the most egregious offense of all, the sheets in our room weren't fresh and had stains. Top all this off with the clock alarm going off at 7am followed by a building alarm at 7.30am and the stay was anything but restful and relaxing.