Franciscan Inn,
|
Perhaps it was just the look of the place, as we felt good about it before we'd even checked in. It's a lovely 1920s Spanish-style building, typical of Santa Barbara, that used to be a ranch but has been stylishly and sympathetically converted into a motel-style Inn. The owners have kept the history and atmosphere, but made the Inn an unpretentious and welcoming home from home.
Our Room at the Franciscan Inn, Santa Barbara
There were several different people manned the check-in desk during our stay, and we peppered them with questions about Santa Barbara. We have to say that every single one of them was friendly, helpful, and knowledgeable about the town. Nothing was too much trouble for them, and their good humor helped to make for a very friendly visit.
We were in room 174 (above), on the upper floor of the motel-style Inn. It was light and bright, with two huge beds, acres of space, and no noise at all from either neighbors or the street. The Inn is in a quiet residential neighborhood, but only one block from the beach and a few blocks from Stearns Wharf and the main State Street.
Amenities at the Franciscan Inn, Santa Barbara
As well as the complimentary parking, the Inn offers free wireless internet to guests, free local phone calls, cable TV with HBO, complimentary breakfast, and has a free movie library if you just want to stay in and relax in your room – or keep the kids entertained. There's also a small spa and a year-round heated outdoor pool.
Location and Parking
The Franciscan Inn is easy to find if you're driving the Pacific Coast Highway, in either direction. Directions are on their website, but basically you just head for the ocean and one block back from the seafront along Bath you find the Inn. There's plenty of free parking. And if you're taking the train it's walking distance from the Santa Barbara Amtrak station.
Franciscan Inn
109 Bath Street
Santa Barbara, CA 93101
Tel: (805) 963-8845
Go from Franciscan Inn, Santa Barbara
to Main Pacific Coast Highway Travel Where to Stay Page
Popular Pages
The most popular pages on Pacific Coast Highway Travel right now are:
Drive the Pacific Coast Highway
Whale Watching in California
Pacific Coast Highway Maps
Where to Stay on the PCH
PCH Hotels Guide
To help you in choosing your Pacific Coast Highway hotel, guesthouse, inn, bed-and-breakfast, resort, motel or other accommodations, we've prepared our Pacific Coast Highway Hotels Guide ebook. In it we do mini-reviews of accommodations along the Highway, from Seattle to San Diego, through Washington, Oregon, and California.
The 2012 edition is now available direct from us as an ebook. In all there are over 200 hotels listed, complete with 8 pages of color maps showing the towns where our recommended hotels can be found. There are both alphabetical and geographical indexes, helping you plan your journey.
We also include color photos of all the hotels that are our Personal Favorites. Here's the link to
read more about our ebook guide to Pacific Coast Highway hotels
Or you can buy it here for $7.99:
KINDLE EDITION
The 2012 edition of our Hotels Guide is also available but without the maps and color photos in the US Kindle Store for $4.99 and in the UK Kindle Store at a price based on the US price.
PAPERBACK EDITION
If you want a paperback edition of the 2012 guide without color photos and with only black and white maps, it costs $8.99 at the US Amazon Book Store
NOOK EDITION
The 2011 edition of the guide is also available at Barnes and Noble for the Nook.
We've also published our PCH Hotels Guide as an app in the Apple Store.
You can buy it here and
read about it here.
