Hotel Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA March 29-30, 2012

Hotel Santa Barbara

The ultimate rail trip, in my mind, is when you look forward as much to your destination hotel as you do to the train ride. This trip to Santa Barbara is just such an ultimate trip. Sue and I stayed at the Hotel Santa Barbara back in March 8 - 10, 2004. (Link to that Report at the end of this report).

In each room is a nice brochure - Guest Directory Hotel Santa Barbara. I particularly like the section - Past and Present. In the directory I learned:

In 1925, a major earthquake destroyed much of Santa Barbara's downtown area, including the spacious Saint Barbara Hotel. Vowing never to lose another bulding to an earthquake, the owner built a new hotel to specifications far exceeding those required at that time. The name was changed to The Barbara Hotel and the entire building, including all floors and stairways, was constructed of reinforced concrete; tied together by hundreds of steel beams. Boasting exterior walls over a foot thick and a foundation more than five feet wide, the entire structure was built on rollers to allow for movement in the event of an earthquake, a unique innovation in those days.

The Barbara soon became the hotel of choice for many of Hollywood's brightest stars. Clark Gable and Carol Lombard were frequent guests and eye witnesses claim Leo Camillo rode his horse into the lobby on several occasions.

Following World War II, the downtown area, along with The Barbara's popularity, gradually declined. Eventually, the doors were sealed shut.

In 1975 the building, then mainly a residential hotel, was purchased by local residents who began the long process of restoration and renovation.

By the mid 1990s, the downtown area had improved so dramatically that the owners concluded it was time for the hotel to undergo an extreme make-over.

In November 1996 the hotel once again closed its doors, emerging nine months and millions of dollars later as Hotel Santa Barbara--a classic, reborn. Hotel Santa Barbara has once again become the hotel of choice for discerning travelers everywhere.

--www.hotelsantabarbara.com

Check in begins at 3 p.m. and check out is at noon. Rollaway beds, DVD/VCR players, refrigerators, and cribs are available for a nominal charge.

Continental breakfast of fresh pasteries, bagels, cream cheese, waffles, cereal, seasonal fruit, coffee, team, and juice are served from 7 to 10 a.m.

Internet access is wireless at no charge. The front desk will provide the user name and password. They even have wireless laptops or a free wireless card for your laptop. (Use HSB to go online, but if you have a Starbucks account, since they are downstairs, you will see their connection available at least on first floor of the hotel.)

Quiet hours are 10 p.m. to 8 a.m.

Hotel Santa Barbara from State Street	Canopy Entry to Hotel Santa Barbara
View from the Front Door.	Finely furnished Left side of Lobby

Reception Desk, Elevator and meeting room beyond.

Right side of Lobby

Room 200, Double Queen, facing east.	Very large room and bath
Desk beside one window.	Very large bathroom

Table with 2 chairs by the far window. TV in cabinet.	Nice painting of Hwy. 101, the railroad, and the coastline.
Don said, "Look at the bathroom tissue dispenser!" Abundant Hotel Santa Barbara shampoo, conditioner, lotion, and bath soap (right).

Dining near the Hotel Santa Barbara

Enterprise Fish Company's Mesquite Broiled Fish, 225 State St. For Lunch, I enjoyed red snapper with bread, chowder and salad for $12.95 plus a glass of Chardonnay.	Don even found a delicious chicken salad and they have a burger for those who do not want fish.

An alternative to the Enterprise Fish Company is the FisHouse where I had eaten lunch 2 weeks earlier while on the Vino Train. For supper, we went to Joe's directly across State Street from the Hotel Santa Barbara.

Carfree sights in downtown Santa Barbara

We walked down State Street to Stearns Wharf and took theWaterfront Shuttle east on Cabrillo Blvd. to the Santa Barbara Zoo and Bird Refuge. This was a test run to see if when Don brings his grandson up for an overnight, they can get to the Zoo without a car nor a cab. It worked and we even noticed a stop on the retun to Stearns Whard at the Carousel - another great place for grand kids.

Faux lighthouse along Cabrillo Blvd. near Stearns Wharf.

The bike trail on the beach is a great place for bicycles. You can rent them from this place on Cabrillo Blvd.

Next I took the Downtown Shuttle north on State Street to Anapamu St. where I walked a half block to the Library where I always enjoy the two rooms devoted to local art. Then I walked another half block to the Courthouse.

	Santa Barbara Courthouse Clock Tower with accessible observation area at the top.
After a Starbucks on State Street, I walked on north to photograph the Granada Theatre where Yo Yo Ma was the next artist to appear, then Steve Martin and his banjo.	The Arlington is a movie theatre.

A few blocks north of the end of the Downtown Shuttle is Cantwells Market, 1533 State St. - nice place for deli sandwiches and other groceries.	The Downtown/Waterfront Shuttle heading down State Street.
A very reasonably priced shop for resort wear is at Mason and State...a couple of blocks from Stearns Wharf. I got a 'Santa Barbara, California' sweatshirt for $10, and a long sleeved tee shirt for $12.	Also at Mason and State, I see that "The Californian" Hotel is being refurbished.

Returning home on the Pacific Surfliner

The founder of TrainWeb.com was onboard our train back to Orange County, as well as Bob Manning of SWRail. When we went online using the Surfliner's Wi-Fi, it said we were onboard the Acela Express and showed the map above. Hope no one took this seriously because it is about 3,000 miles off and April 1 was not until the next day.	It was overcast again, but still a beautiful sea-view ride back to LA.
Many students have Spring Break this week, from the California Universities, and were camping along old Hwy. 101 which is now a seaside campground of sorts.	The California farm workers, however, were not experiencing Spring Break as they continued to harvest food crops near Oxnard.

Orange groves were ripe for picking near Simi.	This school group had just detrained and were 'squeezing in' for a final photograph for the day with the Pacific Surfliner as their backdrop.
Not a scene you would expect in Southern California.	This is the new Amtrak Bus from Fullerton to the Imperial Valley. It leaves at 6:20 pm and we got back at 6:15. Bob Manning (pictured above) made the connection, but we noticed nearly an hour later that the bus had not yet left. It was to meet both 784 and 785, but we heard 785 had been delayed by an accident in Anaheim.

Our Santa Barbara Adventure had been a perfect 'overnight-turn-around' trip on the Amtrak Pacific Surfliner. The main ingredient to this rail adventure was our stay at the Hotel Santa Barbara.

For an earlier Rail Travelouge about the Hotel Santa Barbara, click the link below. For information on a private rail car trip on the same route, and for notes about wine tasting rooms within walking distance of the Santa Barbara Amtrak Station, click the link below.

"The American Riveria" - Santa Barbara, California, is ready to welcome you. Check the discounts on Train, Hotels, and Activities at the Santa Barbara Carfree website - link below.

Click Here for a Slide Show of all large format images used in this Report. Photo Credit: Carl@TrainWeb.com