Harborview Inn has a great oceanfront location. The hotel is convenient to all of Santa Barbara. The rooms were quite large and very well appointed. The staff at the front desk and housekeeping were most considerate and helpful.Although the room rates are somewhat pricey, it was worth it for our visit. Always check their specials, if you plan a visit.

I realize the Harbor View Inn does have a prime location just across from the pier and the harbor, etc, but for the price I paid for my room, I expect things to be perfect, not Motel 6 quality. My flight got in to S. Barbara at 11 a.m. so I knew I would have to wait to get into my room. Check in time is shown as 3 pm, but when I got to the hotel, they said that was incorrect, that it was 4 pm. So, there's miscommunication between this hotel and hotels.com about the check in time. Originally, it had said check in was 3 and check out was 11 a.m. at hotels.com. But it should be the responsibility of the hotel to insure that check in times are accurate with the companies who book their rooms. Anyway, I asked if they could get me into my room and they said they would try, but "try" ended up being ten minutes til four. At these prices, I would have thought Harbor View would have made more of an effort to get me into my room at least by 3, but I ended up sitting a LONG time. I'm not sure who to point the finger at about the check in time mix -up, but I didn't feel Harbor View made that much effort to get me in earlier. One guy even said, "Gee, you've been so patient".
Yeah.
I finally got into the room which was in the older wing of the hotel, second floor. The room itself was no big deal. Clean enough but the decor was just okay. They'd painted the bathroom a rather unattractive shade of icky green which I found quite unappealing. It had a separate tub and shower. The shower door didn't have a latch on it (maybe they make them that way these days), but I felt it was a hazard and a stupid style of construction. The first thing that went wrong was the tub drain. It was broken (the mechanism that shuts the plug), and I finally got it to hold water by pushing down on it.
I didn't report it to the repair people because I am sick and tired of paying top dollar at places and having repair guys in and out of my room, but I left a comment on the comment card. When I tried to iron some of my clothes, the iron leaked like crazy and left spots on a pair of pants. Also, the power plug that was nearest to the iron was so loose that every time I ironed, it fell completely out of the plug. Unreal. Again, top dollar prices for Motel 6 quality. I noted that they were very skimpy on their towels, a lot less towels than I'm used to at a four star place. I ordered room service twice. Big disappointment both times. The breakfast I ordered was two muffins (small and nothing special), and for lunch I ordered a hambuger which I asked to be WELL DONE as I can't stand undercooked meat. The meat was PINK inside and I took a photo of it which I will send to the management. I also took a photo of the busted drain plus and the wall socket which will go in a letter to the manager. When I got my bill I had been charged for use of the mini bar. I did NOT use anything from the mini bar. I opened it several times to see what was inside, but that's all. Nothing was consumed. In fact, the room wasn't advertised as having a mini bar, but a "refrigerator". Naturally, I opened it to put some food in there to keep cold, only to discover that it was a mini bar. So, did I get charged 7.00 for merely opening the mini bar? NOTHING was consumed by me of their mini bar because I don't pay 3.00 for a can of pepsi. The weather was quite chilly when I was there, so I never used the balcony (Santa Barbara weather is not exactly made for bikinis and sun bathing, so the balcony is a waste). I realize most of the reviews for this place are great. I'm sure there are rooms in the newer area that are fantastic (at god knows what kind of rates), but I paid very high rates in my wing and was not impressed. Everyone has different experiences in different parts of a hotel, and I think unless you are willing to pay absolute top dollar for their best of the best, don't waste your money. There are hotels all along Cabrillo that you can get to the pier and harbor from. Unless doing a little extra walking is totally out of the question for you, I wouldn't waste your money on Harbor View. I was truly expecting a much more elegant looking room, and it wasn't as great as some of the nice chain hotels I've stayed at. All the hotels in SB are expensive, true. So, why spend more than you have to just to be a little bit closer to the pier? It all depends on what you, the traveler, are looking for. I'm just saying that things weren't perfect in my room, as they should be for these prices.
Underdone meat, leaking irons, broken bathtub drains....these are not acceptable when you tout yourself as high-end boutique hotel. It's your money - spend it wisely.

We just returned from a one night stay at the Harbor View Inn. I picked this hotel based on the its location and reviews on Trip Advisor. I had called the hotel directly to book the room in February and told the reservation clerk that it was my boyfriend's birthday and wanted to request a resort view room in the newer/remodeled wing based on the traveler's photos on Trip Advisor. I also called the hotel a few days before to confirm my reservation and my request. Thinking my request may have fallen on deaf ears we drove up to Santa Barbara on Saturday morning. We arrived around 1. Upon check-in we were told our room was ready....Surprise #1 ! This hotel is made is made up of several buildings so we were told where to drive to get to our wing. There was an underground garage and we had no problem parking. We went up to the second floor and found our room, but unfortunately the key didn't work....uh oh.....got new keys and walked into A SUITE!!! Surprise #2!! It was an amazing room! The living room was beautifully furnished with a sofa, chair, flat screen tv and wet bar.....a large balcony overlooked the mission creek and to the left you could see the ocean and Stearn's Wharf......the seperate bedroom had a king bed and a fireplace!! with another smaller balcony. The bathroom was huge!! Bigger than my own master bathroom.....there was a large granite-topped double sink....seperate large shower and a huge tub! After getting settled in we walked to Stearn's Wharf for a couple of Birthday drinks at Longboard's. When we returned there was Champagne on ice with a birthday card. Surprise # 3! This hotel takes the time to listen to it's guests! I have no idea what I did or said to get this lucky, but I do know that the next time we go to Santa Barbara we will stay at the Harbor View Inn!!

Picked this hotel out the Rough Guide. Stayed 1 night in April 2008. Was given a room with 2 queen size beds, for myself and my husband and 2 children. Bathroom enormous 2 sinks massive bath, and shower all marble ,beds comfortable and spotless, everything you could wish for.flat screen tv. Pool great, warm clean. Great place to stay. If on holiday in March or April, recommend whale watching, saw 2 humpback whales and 500 pod dolphins. kids loved it.