I will be in SB next week for a night.
I am looking to spend under $175 a night, I need to be within walking distance of the train station and I would like to be within walking distance of the beach and trolly.
A b and b or a h/motel is fine. Quiet (I hear that you can hear the trains at the Eagle Inn, for ex.) area and thicker walls please. Also, if you were going to be in SB for the 1st time and only had from 10am to 9am the next morning, what would you see/do? Thanks.

You can't have everything. If you want to be walking distance to the train, you're gonna hear the train.

Try the Country Inn by the Sea....it is on Castillo and is maybe 2.5 blocks from Amtrack station and 1.5 blocks from the beach. In the same area, consider the Francisan Inn. Neither is right on the beach, but an easy walk.

I got a very good price-$70-at the Franciscan Inn. My only conern is that I will be there alone-is it safe to walk to the downtown area from there? Are there good restaurants (not need to be fancy)nearby that I can walk to? I can also get a room at the SB Hotel for about $130...is it much more desirable?
Thanks so much.

We stayed at the Santa Barbara Inn on our Sideways tour and really enjoyed it. they have outside seating that is ocean view yet private (over the pool). We were very happy with this choice. We rode a shuttle that ran pretty close to Amtrack too. You really could walk it in a pinch. Make sure to walk or shuttle over to the end of the pier to the seafood restraunt with a narrow deck all around the top. It was crowded, but wonderful. We especially liked the original sambo's. Kind of a strange place to find it!

Franciscan is excellent and a safe walk. There are a lot of homeless in Santa Barbara but it's not unsafe, just unsettling.

Thanks but the SB Inn is not the same as the SB Hotel!