Riviera Beach House

We stayed at the Riviera because it’s one of the few dog-friendly hotels in Santa Barbara. The hotel is clean and modern, and the staff was consistently friendly and helpful. That said, I’m not sure I’d stay here again. The rooms are incredibly small – just as other reviews pointed out. There’s barely enough space to open a suitcase, and the clothes hanger is inconveniently located above the coffee/tea station. The area around the bed is minimal, making the space feel tight. The bathroom is equally cramped, and the awkward layout only emphasizes the lack of space. We booked a garden king room, which had a small patio that was useful for letting the dog out. Unfortunately, the room felt dark and a bit claustrophobic. The patio door provided the only natural light, but with a large museum next door, the room didn’t get much sunlight or offer any view. It was difficult to tell what the weather was like, which made the space feel a little dungeon-like. Another downside is the hotel’s proximity to the Amtrak tracks – just one building away. Trains run until 10 PM, and the horn is clearly audible from the room. If you’re sensitive to noise, this could be an issue. The price felt fair for the area, and aside from the small size, layout, and train noise, I didn’t have any major complaints. If I were to stay again, I’d likely choose a higher-floor room (without the dog) in hopes of more light and less noise.

The location was prime but the rooms were very small. We were on the second floor in the front facing the street so we could hear so much street noise, the train, and the restaurant under us which plays music till 10pm and had drunk people exciting after they closed. This hotel is dog friendly and unfortunately for us, we had 2 rooms next to us who left their stressed dogs in the room while they went out and their dogs were barking relentlessly. Not sure why people bring their pets to leave them unattended. It was a prime location walking distance to a lot but for the money, I wouldn’t stay here again.

This was such an expensive hotel for what you get in return. The rooms are ridiculously small. I'm not kidding when I say there was no room to manoeuvre with 3 people. I pity anyone staying in the room with 4 people (what the room is designed for). The shower was a wet room design which does not work for a room that is as small as it was as water just gets everywhere. The receptionist was rude on check in, acting as if we were an inconvenience to him interrupting him watching YouTube. However, by far the most ridiculous thing is that there were no lifts meaning anyone not on the ground floor had to carry their suitcases up two flights of stairs. (Being a family travelling on a 3 week long vacation we had 3 70lbs+ bags). The only plus side to this hotel is that the Mexican restaurant attached to it was really good (however I don't know if they are even related).

The hotel itself was beautiful, clean, perfectly situated, and the staff was respectful and attentive. The problem we had was the size of the room. We stayed in a Deluxe Garden Patio King and in my opinion, it was anything but Deluxe. It was the smallest room we've ever stayed in (especially considering the amount of money we spent on it). There was just enough room to walk around the bed, leaving nowhere to set suitcases or do anything else. Maybe we got some weird corner room, or maybe that's the status quo for this hotel, but regardless, I do not feel the room size was portrayed accurately in the pictures or description on the website. I know that may seem like a small thing, but we felt the entire accommodation was extremely cramped and would not stay here again based on that fact alone.

Super little hotel. It's next the the train station. Great little outdoor spaces. This was my second visit.