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Reviews of The Steward, Santa Barbara, a Tribute Portfolio Hotel

4 out of 5
The Steward, Santa Barbara, a Tribute Portfolio Hotel
5490 Hollister Ave, Santa Barbara, CA

Reviews

8.4

Very Good

Rating 10 - Excellent. 27 out of 47 reviews" "
Rating 8 - Good. 9 out of 47 reviews" "
Rating 6 - Okay. 6 out of 47 reviews" "
Rating 4 - Poor. 3 out of 47 reviews" "
Rating 2 - Terrible. 2 out of 47 reviews" "

9.0/10

Cleanliness

8.8/10

Staff & service

8.0/10

Amenities

8.6/10

Property conditions & facilities

8.2/10

Eco-friendliness

Reviews

8/10 Good

Lauren

Traveled with partner, Traveled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
The hotel is beautifully updated and the rooms are spacious. Lobby/bar is also really nice! The staff were also so friendly, every person we encountered was super nice. However, I did have two issues with my stay. 1. the gym never had any gym towels stocked when I was there working out. This was frustrating especially given that I was there earlier in the day to work out, when fresh towels would likely be stocked. 2. Our room's thermostat was not working, so we had to switch rooms because the room was too hot to stay in. We paid for a king suite and there were no king rooms left, so we had to switch to a room with two queen beds. Being that we were in town for our wedding, this was a HUGE disappointment. The front desk staff meant well by giving us free breakfast to help rectify the situation, but our stay was still slightly tarnished because of this issue. That said, I would stay here again as long as everything works properly and get the room that I reserved and paid for.
Stayed 2 nights in Apr 2024
Response from GM on Apr 18, 2024
Thank you for the feedback. We have shared this internally so it remains an isolated event. We look forward to your next visit!

8/10 Good

Tanya

Traveled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service
Disliked: Property conditions & facilities
I really liked the aesthetics of the place, however the parking has to be paid for daily at a $30 rate
Stayed 1 night in Feb 2024
Response from GM on Apr 15, 2024
Appreciate your feedback! I will share with the organization.

10/10 Excellent

Tanya

Traveled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Next to a super main road but once you are inside you would never know - we did a pool day and the bar served wonderful drinks Service and stay were brilliant
Stayed 1 night in Apr 2024
Response from GM on Apr 15, 2024
I am glad the team provided excellent service.

8/10 Good

Paula

Traveled with group
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
The place was beautiful. Comfortable and very relaxing. Two thing that we felt that needs attention. First, water in the shower is very light, no pressure at all. A bit disappointing when taking a bath. Second, we can hear heavy steps in the room above us. Quite bothersome when going to bed.
Stayed 1 night in Apr 2024
Response from GM on Apr 10, 2024
Thank you for your feedback. Overall I am happy you enjoyed your stay. We look forward to your next vist.

10/10 Excellent

Raul

Traveled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Will definitely be back
Stayed 2 nights in Feb 2024
Response from GM on Mar 29, 2024
We look forward to your next visit I am glad you enjoyed the property.

8/10 Good

Eric

Traveled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Overall a good stay. We liked the hotel and cleanliness and would stay here again. Just some small stuff, like a room for 5 people and only 2 towel hooks, one hook coming off the wall. Didn’t have the room we booked (maintenance issue), but sorted things out rate wise which was fair to us. A bit noisy at times from other rooms (we were on first level) but nothing that kept us awake all night.
Stayed 3 nights in Mar 2024
Response from GM on Mar 25, 2024
Thank you for the great feedback. I am glad the maintenance issue was addressed. We look forward to welcoming you next time to The Steward.

10/10 Excellent

Krystal

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Stayed 1 night in Dec 2023
Response from GM on Mar 19, 2024
Appreciate the great review. Hope to see you again in the near future.

10/10 Excellent

John

Traveled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Very friendly and helpful check-in staff. Very clean room and overall classy hotel grounds.
Stayed 1 night in Mar 2024
Response from GM on Mar 13, 2024
Delighted to hear you enjoyed our staff and grounds. Please come visit us again in the near future.

6/10 Okay

Liliana

Traveled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, property conditions & facilities
Great room
Stayed 1 night in Feb 2024
Response from GM on Mar 4, 2024
Thank you for the feed back about our great rooms. We look forward to your next visit.

6/10 Okay

Alexis

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Stayed 1 night in Feb 2024
Response from GM on Feb 19, 2024
Appreciate the feedback we will ensure we communicate your review out accordingly.

10/10 Excellent

Carly

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Clean rooms and nice property.
Stayed 1 night in Jan 2024
Response from GM on Feb 5, 2024
Happy to hear you enjoyed your stay with us. We look forward to your next visit.

4/10 Poor

Santino

Traveled with partner
Liked: Staff & service
Disliked: Cleanliness, amenities
The room was incredibly loud on the first floor, you could hear everything guests were doing above you. The vent for the heater is right next to the bedroom and quite loud as well. The Hot tub was beyond disgusting, a smell of feet was coming off of it and it had a foamy green hue, our swimsuits needed to be thrown away after due to the scent. Our toilet also had brown water from some water line issues they had and it wouldn't clear for the whole first day we were there. This place has a great marketing team, it looks like a resort on the website and when you show up you realize you have been scammed.
Stayed 2 nights in Jan 2024
Response from GM on Jan 9, 2024
Appreciate you taking the time to review our property. We have shared your feedback internally and will address accordingly.

10/10 Excellent

phil

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service
Stayed 3 nights in Jan 2024
Response from GM on Jan 9, 2024
Appreciate the great rating. We shall see you next time you come to Santa Barbara.

8/10 Good

Shannon

Liked: Staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
It was alright for the price!
Staff was very friendly and welcoming. The hotel is new and rooms are very spacious with easy access for parking. Unfortunately the wifi didn’t work the entire stay and the rooms are not insulated well, walls are super thin (you hear people moving around above you easily which made it hard to sleep).
Stayed 1 night in Jan 2024
Response from GM on Jan 9, 2024
Thank you for your feedback it was a pleasure having you stay with us. We have shared you comments accordingly.

4/10 Poor

Allison

Stayed 2 nights in Dec 2023
Response from GM on Jan 24, 2024
Thank you for your feedback. We will share your message within the organization.

10/10 Excellent

Rosa, Buena Park

Traveled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Rooms are spacious and nice.
Stayed 1 night in Dec 2023
Response from GM on Jan 9, 2024
We look forward to your next visit!

6/10 Okay

Stephen

Liked: Cleanliness
Disliked: Staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
The Wi Fi was useless, there was limited hot water and the desk clerk could not have cared less about it. Charging $30 for parking each night when there is no need other than pure profit is wrong.
Stayed 2 nights in Dec 2023
Response from GM on Dec 21, 2023
Thank you we will share this internally and ensure this gets addressed.

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveler

Business traveler
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stayed 1 night in Dec 2023
Response from GM on Dec 21, 2023
Thank you for the positive review. See you next time your travels bring you to Santa Barbara.

8/10 Good

Lindsay June Shurick

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Stayed 1 night in Dec 2023
Response from GM on Dec 21, 2023
Appreciate you staying with us!

10/10 Excellent

Dat

Traveled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stayed 1 night in Dec 2023
Response from GM on Dec 21, 2023
Thank you for the great feedback. See you next time!

10/10 Excellent

Andrew

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stayed 2 nights in Dec 2023
Response from GM on Dec 21, 2023
Thank you for the amazing review!

2/10 Terrible

Pantea

Disliked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
They just over charged me for everything I paid $150 more than I supposed to pay. Shampoo and body wash was empty and towel was dirty .
Response from GM on Dec 21, 2023
We will be sure to take your comments and share them within the organization.

10/10 Excellent

AMIR

Traveled with family and small children
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Very nice hotel, recently fully renovated and definitely we are looking to come back again
Stayed 3 nights in Nov 2023
Response from GM on Nov 28, 2023
Appreciate the great review. We look forward to your next visit.

6/10 Okay

Vanessa

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
I stayed here for two nights. The room itself was clean and as advertised, which pleased me, but had I known this property was literally next to the freeway, I would not have booked here. I heard the freeway noise and felt the car rumblings both nights, which made it hard to fall asleep. Also, it's not well-insulated with sound proofing. I think the glass is single-pane and I could hear my upstairs neighbor clomping and stomping around both nights and mornings. If you sleep like a rock, it would be a good place to stay, but if not, book somewhere else.
Stayed 2 nights in Nov 2023
Response from GM on Nov 28, 2023
Thank you for your feed back I will be sure to share your comments accordingly.

10/10 Excellent

Rahil

Stayed 1 night in Nov 2023
Response from GM on Dec 4, 2023
Thank you for the great review! We look forward to the next visit.

10/10 Excellent

Michelle

Traveled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Lovely property and close to the SB airport. Beautiful grounds and fabulous updated decor. Our party loved the pool and restaurant. A little trouble with the AC but the staff graciously moved us to another room. They also allowed an early check in which was so nice. Yes we would book here again!
Stayed 1 night in Oct 2023
Response from GM on Oct 10, 2023
Really excited to hear you enjoyed your time with us. Looking forward to your next visit!

4/10 Poor

Cheryl

Disliked: Staff & service
Stayed 1 night in Sep 2023
Response from GM on Sep 29, 2023
Appreciate you taking the time to review us. I see we had a few areas of opportunity. Please feel free to reach out to me directly, thank you.

10/10 Excellent

Ailin

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Stayed 1 night in Sep 2023
Response from GM on Sep 29, 2023
Thank you for staying with us. Look forward to the next stay.

10/10 Excellent

young

Stayed 1 night in Sep 2023
Response from GM on Oct 19, 2023
Appreciate the positive feedback we look forward to the next visit.

10/10 Excellent

Iris

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Stayed 1 night in Sep 2023
Response from GM on Sep 19, 2023
Thank so much for the great review! Appreciate you staying with us.

10/10 Excellent

Diana

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Loved our 1 night stay here. Recently renovated, a chic/modern style boutique, clean, pool view room was quiet considering it's off a highway. The bar should be advertised open as I thought it was closed since the kitchen was closed when we checked in until dinner. The bar and lounge area are superb to have cocktails and take to the pool, many seating areas and all instagram worthy. Rooms are spacious and we slept well! Overall great stay.
Stayed 1 night in Sep 2023
Response from GM on Sep 19, 2023
Appreciate you taking the time to review our property. We look forward to your next visit to our secret hideaway.

10/10 Excellent

NICOLAS

Traveled with family and small children
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Lovely setting, very comfy room near the pool Wld have loved staying longer.
Response from GM on Aug 26, 2023
Thank you for taking the time to review our hotel. We look forward to your next visit!

8/10 Good

Santos

Traveled with family
I paid nearly $1500 for a 2-night suite which included breakfast. But when checking in I was told at the front desk that breakfast was not included. This was a huge disappointment. Please don't advertise false claims.
Stayed 2 nights in Aug 2023
Response from GM on Aug 26, 2023
Apologies for the confusion on our end. I hope this doesn't deter you from staying with us in the near future.

10/10 Excellent

Vita

Liked: Cleanliness
Stayed 2 nights in Jul 2023
Response from GM on Aug 26, 2023
Appreciate the good review. Look forward to the next visit!

10/10 Excellent

Paul

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
It was easy
Stayed 1 night in Jul 2023
Response from GM on Aug 26, 2023
Thank you for the great review. Look forward to the next visit!

10/10 Excellent

Nichole

Traveled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Adorable, Quiet, Clean, with small issues.
We thought the hotel was beautiful, quiet, and really well done. There were a few small details that were an issue, but overall we loved our stay at the hotel. The pillows on the bed were not comfortable, for the rate they can invest in better pillows. A room that sleeps 6 should offer more than one free bottle of water in the room. The room has an electric kettle, but the coffee offered in the room was for a pod brewer, not a pour over or instant. I need coffee in the room, even if it's not great coffee, we want it, and if you have pod coffee packets then you should have a pod coffee maker. Finally, we had luke warm water at best, even when showering early in the morning there was no hot water. Overall we enjoyed our stay and found the room to be clean, well done, quiet and the grounds were beautiful. The staff was friendly and check in was a breeze. I think some attention to the small details will make this the exceptional property that it could be.
Stayed 1 night in Jul 2023
Response from GM on Aug 26, 2023
Thank you so much for taking the opportunity to review our hotel. We really appreciate all the insight you have given us. I will be sure to share with the team, until next time!

6/10 Okay

David

Traveled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Since changing ownership, they eliminated the included cooked to order breakfast and free parking (now $20/day). They redecorated and reworked the rooms. Now it is impossible to get the air conditioner to not be too hot or cold, the bathroom door swings into the bedroom, the bathroom light has a sensor that turns it on and there is no way to not have the light zap you in the middle of the night when you enter the bathroom. The door closers throughout the property are lethal - don't get caught in them. They are the strongest closers I have ever encountered. The refrigerator is miniscule. They offer valet parking for $40 per day - though I cannot imagine anyone using it. Overall, the place is now overpriced and has lost its homey Santa Barbara vibe. I feels like LA has invaded. We have stayed at the property many times, but this stay was our last.
Stayed 4 nights in Jul 2023
Response from GM on Aug 26, 2023
I apologize for any inconvenience we may have caused. We will take the feedback and share it with our team. We hope this hasn't deterred you from staying with us in the near future.

10/10 Excellent

melanie

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stayed 2 nights in Jul 2023
Response from GM on Aug 26, 2023
Great pictures of our historical Sexton House, grounds and pool! See you all again in the near future.

8/10 Good

Simon

Traveled with group
Liked: Staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Disliked: Cleanliness
Nice accommodation with big rooms, but cleaning could have been better. Cornflakes, crayons, food crumbs on the floor. Also quite noisy since it’s next to a highway.
Stayed 1 night in Jan 2024
Response from GM on Jan 29, 2024
Thank your feedback we have addressed the cleanliness issue accordingly. We look forward to your next visit.

6/10 Okay

Julio

Liked: Cleanliness, property conditions & facilities
Disliked: Staff & service
Stayed 1 night in Dec 2023
Response from GM on Jan 5, 2024
Thanks for your feedback we will share accordingly with the team.