3525 State St, Santa Barbara, California, United States | (618) 248-8274
Budget motel with reasonable rates
Variety of room configurations including apartments with kitchens
Heated outdoor pool and hot tub with lounge chairs
Free continental breakfast served in a bright breakfast room
Desktop computers available for guest use in the updated lobby
Small, carpeted gym on-site
Free Wi-Fi throughout
Not within walking distance of downtown and the beach
Room decor is somewhat dated
Bathrooms are dated
The 74-room Sandpiper Lodge is a two-pearl budget motel with reasonable rates for Santa Barbara. There are a variety of room configurations available, including apartments with kitchens. Amenities include a large heated outdoor pool with a hot tub, a small carpeted gym, and a free continental breakfast. This hotel has a bit more personality than the Motel 6 next door, but rooms are somewhat dated, especially the bathrooms. The location is outside of downtown. For travelers looking to be near the beach and closer to downtown, rates are often similar at the Blue Sands Motel, which also has rooms with kitchens.
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Scene
Two-pearl motel with some modern updates, including a clean outdoor pool
The two-pearl Sandpiper Lodge is an older, motel-style property. The reception area is bright and updated, with couches and armchairs upholstered in cheerful blue and green solid and patterned fabrics plus green textured wallpaper. Open-air corridors are accessed by both stairs and elevators and there’s a scattering of trees around the property. The small pool area is clean with a collection of lounge and regular chairs, some in front of a vine-covered wall with an overhang. There’s no real scene here, but the pool is popular with families. Guests that are looking for value over location will find this property to be a decent pick.
Location
On State Street, about a 10-minute drive to downtown and the water
This hotel sits on State Street, next to a gas station and surrounded by other small hotels and motels near a grocery store and a number of local restaurants and shops. It’s about a 10-minute drive to Santa Barbara’s downtown, which is also on State Street, and Stearns Wharf. The Old Santa Barbara Mission is a six-minute drive, while the well-regarded Santa Barbara Zoo is a 10- to 15-minute drive, as is the Santa Barbara Airport.
Rooms
Somewhat dated rooms and apartments with kitchens
There are 74 rooms at the Sandpiper Lodge, available in a variety of configurations including standard rooms, larger two-bedroom units, and one- and two-bedroom apartments with full kitchens and living rooms. The rooms range from 400 to 450 square feet, and have a king-size or two queen-size beds. Rooms are clean, with updated carpeting, orange walls behind the beds, bed runners in a bright plum, pink, and green print, forest green bed skirts, and older-style light wood furniture. The bathrooms, with pink walls and accent tiles, have a dated, 1970s-style look, with long curtained stall showers, though the spacious exterior vanities have double sinks. All rooms have TVs (some have flat-screen TVs while others are older tube TVs), safes, Keurig coffeemakers, hairdryers, irons, and ironing boards. Wi-Fi is free throughout.
Features
Free continental breakfast, outdoor heated pool and hot tub, and a small gym
A continental breakfast with breads, baked goods, yogurt, coffee and tea, and juice, is included in the room rate. It’s served in a sunny room located just above the clean, heated rectangular pool, which is surrounded by a collection of chairs, with an adjacent hot tub. There's a small carpeted fitness center with some cardio machines and free weights. Two desktop computers are available in the lobby for guests to use and Wi-Fi is free throughout. Flavored water, coffee, and tea are available to guests throughout the day. Parking is free.
