My husband and I are going to Santa Barbara the end of September for a wedding and we're trying to decide where to stay. We tend to shy away from mega resorts and bed and breakfasts. We do not golf. Looking for reasonably upscale, quiet, good service with a nice pool area and maybe a view. Any suggestions?

Try the Fess Parker Doubletree Inn. Very nice and accross from ocean.

Just a word of advice from recent experience-- book ASAP, even if you continue to look for the perfect place. I had a very hard time finding availability for Sept 8 over two weeks ago, and my first choice for Oct 6 is fully booked. To avoid stress, get something locked in, and then continue to collect ideas.

Dear Tony and Robin, Thanks for the promt reply. The Doubletree sounds good. I'll give them a try. Do you know any thing about The Santa Barbara Inn? And how might it compare to The Doubletree? I've heard it's lovely.

May I recommend the Harbor View Inn, very close to the pier, right across from the beach. We recently had a 2nd floor room with a patio and view of the ocean. The Belgian Waffles out on the patio, delivered room service, were delicious, and the ambiance of a warm ocean side morning was terrific. Rooms were spacious, bathrooms large, and featured terry cloth robes. Very nice pool. It's not cheap, but less than Fess Parker down the street. Hope you enjoy Santa Barbara.

My husband and I stayed at the Fess Parker this past spring and thought it was wonderful. We also try to avoid both huge and tiny when picking places to stay, and found the size of the FPDT to be a little on the large size without feeling overwhelming. We had great walks along the beach and thoroughly enjoyed watching high school prom shenanigans in the open air pavilion while we ate dessert at the steakhouse!

Also, they are extremely dog-friendly, and even provided our pooch with a "doggie bag" of goodies and info at check-in. (Though we passed on the $45 doggie massage option...)

Another vote for Fess Parker. You cannot go wrong!

Lisa,
Just a friendly warning, whatever you decide, just please don't stay at Holiday Inn Express (downtown). We have just returned from a one night stay thre and couldn't be more disappointed. Ugly, dirty, unfriendly place. If you want details (I don't think you will, however) - just ask. We have really nothing positive to say about the place, except maybe that they have deducted $60.00 from our bill because of my complains and the problems we had there.
We did visit Double Tree (not the rooms though) and it seemed to be very nice and elegant. Have a good time at the wedding !

Lisa, We were in Santa Barbara last March for a conference. We stayed at the Four Seasons. It was beautiful, great location and wonderful service. We had lunch at the Montecito Inn and picked up some information about staying there. It is a great looking small hotel...the kind we really like to stay in..so much personality. It was built by Charlie Chaplin in 1927. I think about 60 rooms. www.montecitoinn.com Either hotel would be wonderful. There are some great restaurants in Santa Barbara and wonderful shopping and people watching. A really nice place to spend several days.

The El Encanto up by the Mission is lovely. Nice to stay in a place that is really old Santa Barbara, not a chain you could stay in anywhere.....

You will love Santa Barbara! My husband and I have spent many great vacations there. We were married at the El Encanto in their garden. Any of the places that people have e-mailed you about would be lovely. I must say, I was surprised that Chris did not have a good experience at the Holiday Inn Express. We have stayed there and found it to be delightful! It is very centrally located just off of State Street within walking distance of lots of great restaurants. The staff was warm, friendly, and helpful and our room was spotless. There is a great continental breakfast bar in the lobby every morning. Don't cross this one off your list! We would definitely stay there again.