We needed a place to stay for one night on a weekend for a family wedding and there are not a lot of hotels in Santa Barbara that offer one-night stays on the weekend, so we ended up at the Lemon Tree despite some not-so-favorable reviews here. I am really happy we did! The Inn admittedly doesn't look like much on the outside and the rooms are VERY basic -- the hotel has clearly not spent anything on updating the decor. But our room was fine and there are several other qualities about the hotel that make it somewhere we definitely will return to: - First, each room (or at least that's how it looked) has it's own patio overlooking the interior courtyard (where there is a pool, lush landscaping, and spa). This was nice because it added a little extra space for our room. - The pool is very large and wasn't crowded even on a June weekend. Also was very warm which was great for the kids. - There is a restaurant on-premises so you can grab a bite or a beer without having to leave (there's also a Ralphs nearly next door that you can walk to). The staff there was really wonderful and accommodating. - The rooms, while not pretty, are large and the bathroom/sink area is also large. (We had a room in the back so any State St. noise was not an issue for us.) Personally, I loved the motel -- setting and architecture had a very '60s vibe -- if they invested some money in redecorating the rooms, they could charge a lot more and play it up as a mod kind of hotel/motel. I'm reluctant to write this in case they decide to do just that -- I want to be able to get reservations in the future!!

We ended up needing a place to stay at the last minute. All hotels along the beach were booked and we ended up here with no prior information about it. It was very basic- more motel than hotel. But, clean, easy to access downtown area, beach and most of SB. Not a destination hotel, but great price from SB if you're looking for a bargin and basics. Has pool, parking, restaurant (didn't eat there), no in room amenities.

We were promised a group discount when we made a reservation with a wedding party. When we arrived, the Inn refused to honor the discounted rate. The girl at the front desk told us, "you're credit card has not been charged, you can leave." Then she gave us the name and number of a manager on a small scrap of paper. So we booked a stay at another hotel and DID NOT STAY AT THE INN. Since then, the INN CHARGED my husband's credit card for one night's stay and REFUSES TO REMOVE THE CHARGE, even though they do not dispute our version of the events. We are currently disputing the charge through our credit card company.

Me and my boyfriend were supposed to stay at the Lemon Tree Inn for 4 nights but moved out after just one night. We couldn´t get any sleep for almost the entire night.. At about 2 am in the morning the people staying in the room next door came back with friends and kept talking and drinking until 4.30 am in the morning. We could here every word they said because of the walls of the hotel are very thin. When we checked out the next day the staff at the reception desk was first friendly but when we mentioned that we almost didn´t get any sleep the night before she wasn´t that friendly anymore and told us that all the hotels in Santa Barbara had thin walls. NOT TRUE! + Our room and bathroom was very clean. The pool looked nice. - Very thin walls! (Above the sink there is only glass shutters). Location, its located on State Street but it is no walking distance to where most of the shops and restaurants are. Maybe we were just unlucky this time.

Their website promises free Wireless internet service. I was charged $7.50, It isn't much but I chose them because of this service and the advertised refrigerators in rooms which also wasn't available (and a problem as I am on a special diet.) The phone in my room didn't work. The walls were scatched up with holes in them. The room was sparsely furnished and the road noise was very apparent. This was quite suprising that I had the entrance to the room off the main street as I was set up for a courtyard/pool view. They don't tell you that the room has an outside entrance onto a major road right by a bus stop. That produced a great deal of noise all heard very clearly inside the room. There was not a manager on duty to discuss the issues with until the following morning and the front desk staff just kept shugging her shoulders and blowing me off. I am very dissatisfied and will be reporting them to AAA.