Canary Hotel in Santa Barbara Gets Harsh LAT Review
Santa Barbara's got a new hotel but judging from this review of the Canary Hotel by the LA Times' Valli Herman, the place still has a long ways to go before it's on the same level as some of its famous neighbors. And we don't mean Oprah. We mean Ojai, Bacara.
The Canary Hotel is actually the new incarnation of the Hotel Andalucia, a five-story boutique hotel that opened in 2004 just a block off State Street. The place got a gigantic facelift courtesy of the group behind two of our fave Santa Monica hotels--Casa del Mar and Shutters on the Beach--the Edward Thomas Collection (ETC Hotels).
As for the name, it really has nothing to do with the bird but rather the Canary Islands off Morocco's coast. Thus the decor is mix of Spanish and Morrocan but the bird makes an appearance in the logo and the hotel offers binoculars in each room and named the rooftop poolside bar, the Perch.
Despite all this cuteness and a great downtown location. Herman was severely displeased with the service.
My two-day visit was a mixed bag of beautiful décor, awkward and absent service and hit-and-miss meals at the in-house Coast Restaurant & Bar.
For example, I got the lunch menu at dinner, incorrect prices at the bar, waited more than an hour for a sewing kit to be delivered to my room and suffered through an unexplained, and endless, accidental fire alarm one afternoon.
No one even explained all the features of her guestroom nor do the staff seem competent in answering any questions about what's to do in the area. The hotel does have some bright spots in the guestrooms with yoga mats and DVDs, in-room spa services, iPod player, two flat-screen TVs and free Wi-Fi.
But all of that comes crashing down for us since (speaking of gym fees), the hotel charges $15 to use the Spectrum Athletic Clubs next door.
Room rates in April are still low at $229 a night and continue through May but only during the week. On the weekends, rooms start at $525 a night.
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