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Ala Mar by the Sea

2.0 star property
Beachfront motel near Stearns Wharf

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Photo gallery for Ala Mar by the Sea

Front of property
Room, 1 King Bed | View from room
Property grounds
Deluxe Room, 1 King Bed, Ocean View | View from room
Property grounds

Reviews

6.0 out of 10

Popular amenities

  • Breakfast included
  • 24/7 front desk
  • Parking included
  • Housekeeping
  • Pet friendly
  • Free WiFi

Explore the area

View in a map
102 West Cabrillo Blvd, Santa Barbara, CA, 93101
  • Stearns Wharf
    ‪7 min walk‬
  • Santa Barbara Zoo
    ‪3 min drive‬
  • Santa Barbara Bowl
    ‪5 min drive‬
  • Santa Barbara, CA (SBA-Santa Barbara Municipal)
    ‪14 min drive‬

Room options

View all photos for Room, 1 King Bed

Room, 1 King Bed | View from room

Room, 1 King Bed

  • Ocean view
  • Sleeps 2
  • 1 King Bed

View all photos for Panoramic Room, Ocean View

Panoramic Room, Ocean View | View from room

Panoramic Room, Ocean View

  • Ocean view
  • Sleeps 2
  • 1 King Bed

View all photos for Room, 2 Queen Beds

Room, 2 Queen Beds | Individually decorated, individually furnished, blackout drapes

Room, 2 Queen Beds

  • Sea view
  • Sleeps 4
  • 2 Queen Beds

View all photos for Deluxe Room, 1 King Bed, Ocean View

Deluxe Room, 1 King Bed, Ocean View | Individually decorated, individually furnished, blackout drapes

Deluxe Room, 1 King Bed, Ocean View

  • Ocean view
  • Sleeps 2
  • 1 King Bed

About the neighborhood

Santa Barbara

On the beach.Within a 15-minute walk of this Santa Barbara Beach motel, you'll find Stearns Wharf and Leadbetter Beach. Presidio Santa Barbara and Santa Barbara Zoo are also within 2 miles (3 km).
View more Motels in Santa BarbaraOpens in a new window

What's nearby

  • Santa Barbara Harbor - 3 min walk - 0.2 miles
  • Stearns Wharf - 7 min walk - 0.4 miles
  • Leadbetter Beach - 12 min walk - 0.7 miles
  • Santa Barbara Zoo - 3 min drive - 2.1 miles
  • Santa Barbara Bowl - 5 min drive - 2.1 miles

Getting around

  • Santa Barbara Station - 7 min walk
  • Santa Barbara Municipal Airport (SBA) - 12 min drive

Restaurants

  • ‪Jeannine’s American Bakery And Restaurant - ‬3 min walk
  • ‪Finney’s Crafthouse & Kitchen - ‬4 min walk
  • ‪Chad’s - ‬3 min walk
  • ‪Longboard's Grill - ‬6 min walk
  • ‪Santa Barbara FisHouse - ‬8 min walk

About this property

Ala Mar by the Sea

Beachfront motel near Stearns Wharf
Free breakfast is available. WiFi is free in public spaces. A terrace, tour/ticket assistance, and concierge services are also featured at Ala Mar by the Sea. Self parking is free.

This Santa Barbara motel is smoke free.

  • 18 guestrooms or units
  • 2 levels
  • Continental breakfast (free)
  • Front desk (24 hours)
  • Tour and ticket information
  • Concierge
  • Terrace
  • ATM
  • No smoking on site
Ala Mar by the Sea offers 18 accommodations, which are accessible via exterior corridors and feature complimentary toiletries and fans. Each accommodation is individually furnished and decorated. Refrigerators and microwaves are provided.

Guests can surf the web using the complimentary wireless Internet access. Flat-screen televisions come with premium digital channels. Irons/ironing boards and hair dryers can be requested. Housekeeping is provided daily.

Languages

Danish, English, French, Italian, Spanish, Swedish

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  • Breakfast included
  • Pet friendly
  • Parking included
3.6 out of 5, Good, 954 reviews
$333 nightly
The price is $380
Sep 20 - Sep 21
Total with taxes and fees
Villa Rosa Inn

Property amenities

Family friendly

  • In-room microwave
  • In-room refrigerator
  • Rollaway/extra bed (surcharge)

Internet

  • Available in all rooms: Free WiFi
  • Available in some public areas: Free WiFi

Parking and transportation

  • Free self parking on site
  • Wheelchair-accessible parking and van parking available

Food and drink

  • Free continental breakfast

Things to do

  • Personal motorized watercraft

Accessibility

  • If you have requests for specific accessibility needs, please contact the property using the information on the reservation confirmation received after booking.
  • No elevator
  • Wheelchair accessible (may have limitations)
  • Wheelchair-accessible parking
  • Wheelchair-accessible path of travel
  • Wheelchair-accessible registration desk
  • Wheelchair-accessible van parking

Room amenities

Entertainment

  • Flat-screen TV with premium digital channels

Bedroom

  • Bedsheets provided
  • Blackout drapes
  • Rollaway/extra bed (surcharge)

Bathroom

  • Free toiletries
  • Hair dryer (on request)
  • Private bathroom
  • Towels provided

Food and drink

  • Microwave
  • Refrigerator

More

  • Access via exterior corridors
  • Fan
  • Heating
  • Individual decor
  • Individual furnishings
  • Iron/ironing board on request

Policies

Check-in

Check-in start time: 3:00 PM; Check-in end time: 10:00 PM
Late check-in subject to availability
Minimum check-in age: 18

Check-out

Check-out before 11:00 AM

Special check-in instructions

An adult age 18 or older must assume all liability for the booking
The property charges USD 28.50 for credit card payments
Front desk staff will greet guests on arrival at the property
For any questions, please contact the property using the information on the booking confirmation
Guests are asked to check in between 3 PM and 11 PM on Saturdays and by 10 PM Sunday through Friday. To arrange check-in outside of these hours, guests should contact hotel/vacation rental management in advance.

Access methods

Staffed front desk

Pets

  • Pets: USD 50 per pet, per day
  • Food and water bowls are available
  • Service animals are exempt from fees

Children and extra beds

  • Children are welcome.
  • Rollaway/extra beds are available.
  • Cribs (infant beds) are not available.

Property payment types

Important information

Optional extras

The fees and deposits listed below will be charged at the time of service, check-in, or check-out.

  • Pet fee: USD 50 per pet, per day
  • Service animals are exempt from fees
  • Rollaway beds are available for an additional fee
  • Credit card charges are subject to a surcharge of USD 28.50

This may not be a comprehensive list. Fees and deposits are subject to change and might not include tax.

You need to know

Extra-person charges may apply and vary depending on property policy
Government-issued photo identification and a credit card, debit card, or cash deposit may be required at check-in for incidental charges
Special requests are subject to availability upon check-in and may incur additional charges; special requests cannot be guaranteed
The name on the credit card used at check-in to pay for incidentals must be the primary name on the guestroom reservation
This property accepts credit cards and debit cards; cash is not accepted
This property reserves the right to pre-authorize the guest's credit card prior to arrival.
Safety features at this property include a carbon monoxide detector, a fire extinguisher, a smoke detector, and a first aid kit
This property has outdoor spaces, such as balconies, patios, terraces which may not be suitable for children; if you have concerns, we recommend contacting the property prior to your arrival to confirm they can accommodate you in a suitable room
Please note that cultural norms and guest policies may differ by country and by property; the policies listed are provided by the property
Charges for extra guests may apply and vary according to property policy.
A cash deposit, credit card, or debit card for incidental charges and government-issued photo identification may be required upon check-in.
Special requests are subject to availability at the time of check-in. Special requests can't be guaranteed and may incur additional charges.
    This property is managed by a professional host. The provision of housing is linked to their trade, business, or profession. This property has outdoor spaces, such as balconies, patios, terraces which may not be suitable for children. If you have concerns, we recommend contacting the property prior to your arrival to confirm they can accommodate you in a suitable room. The name on the credit card used at check-in to pay for incidentals must be the primary name on the guestroom reservation. This property accepts Visa, Mastercard, Discover, JCB International, and debit cards. Cash is not accepted. This property reserves the right to pre-authorize the guest's credit card prior to arrival.
    For guests' safety, the property includes a carbon monoxide detector, a fire extinguisher, a smoke detector, and a first aid kit in each accommodation.

Property is also known as

Ala Mar
Ala Mar Sea
Ala Mar Sea Hotel
Ala Mar Sea Hotel Santa Barbara
Ala Mar Sea Santa Barbara
Ala Mar Sea Motel Santa Barbara
Ala Mar Sea Motel
Ala Mar by the Sea Motel
Ala Mar by the Sea Santa Barbara
Ala Mar by the Sea Motel Santa Barbara

Frequently asked questions

How close is Ala Mar by the Sea to the airport?

Ala Mar by the Sea is 10.6 mi (12-min drive) away from the Santa Barbara Municipal Airport (SBA) airport, the closest popular airport to the property.

How much does it cost to stay at Ala Mar by the Sea?

As of Aug 26, 2025, prices found for a 1-night stay for 2 adults at Ala Mar by the Sea on Sep 8, 2025 start from $327.17, excluding taxes and fees. This price is based on the lowest nightly price found in the last 24 hours for stays in the next 30 days. Prices are subject to change. Choose your dates for more accurate prices.

Does Ala Mar by the Sea have an airport shuttle?

Airport shuttle services are not available at Ala Mar by the Sea.

How close is Ala Mar by the Sea to the beach?

This motel is on the beach. Don't forget your sunscreen!

Does Ala Mar by the Sea offer free breakfast?

Yes, Ala Mar by the Sea offers free breakfast.

Is there a casino at Ala Mar by the Sea?

No, there is no casino at this motel.

What time is check-in at Ala Mar by the Sea?

Check-in start time: 3:00 PM; Check-in end time: 10:00 PM.

Is there free parking at Ala Mar by the Sea?

This motel offers free self parking.

Does Ala Mar by the Sea have a pool?

Ala Mar by the Sea does not have a pool.

Does Ala Mar by the Sea have a spa?

There are no spa services available at this motel.

How close is Ala Mar by the Sea to downtown Santa Barbara?

Ala Mar by the Sea is 1.1 mi away from Santa Barbara.

Ala Mar by the Sea Reviews

Reviews

6.0
Rating 10 - Excellent. 189 out of 950 reviews
Rating 8 - Good. 182 out of 950 reviews
Rating 6 - Okay. 185 out of 950 reviews
Rating 4 - Poor. 156 out of 950 reviews
Rating 2 - Terrible. 238 out of 950 reviews

6.2/10

Cleanliness

6.8/10

Staff & service

5.6/10

Amenities

5.4/10

Property conditions & facilities

6.0/10

Eco-friendliness

Reviews

6/10 Okay

Ray

Liked: Staff & service
Disliked: Property conditions & facilities
Stayed 1 night in May 2025

8/10 Good

Gustavo

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Stayed 1 night in May 2025

2/10 Terrible

Verified traveler

Traveled with family
Disliked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort

Awful terrible place

Way overstated the accommodations at this hotel. What is not disclosed is it has not been updated since maybe the 80s- furniture was broken, mattresses old, linens etc threadbare. The only new thing in the room was the tv. Pool? In the next door hotel. Check in? No check in on site, next door? Weird. Breakfast? Defrosted soggy bagels and pastries. Not one redeeming quality except for the location, which is why they are still in business. Oh and construction in the room next door sounded like the drill was going to come through the wall. Just awful.
Stayed 2 nights in Apr 2025

10/10 Excellent

jeffrey

Traveled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Very cool place. Melody was a delight.
Stayed 2 nights in Apr 2025

2/10 Terrible

Nicole

Traveled with family
Disliked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
pictures not like on expedia! a motel not a hotel! disgusting, unclean, dirt everywhere, toilet had crap from prior guest, candy on floor, no blankets, window on top of side of bed and shutters never cleaned, cobwebs everywhere, rude check in (done on property across street!), floor unsafe, half used toilet paper roll on toilet (no TP holder), half used dirty dial soap bottle on sink (no vanity), chunks of cement on floor , paint all over things on celing and room, check in gave our room key to someone else who came in our room and then apolgized, check in was rude and dirty too
Stayed 1 night in Apr 2025

10/10 Excellent

Sean

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort

More than we expected!

Our room was perfect. From the cobblestone flooring to the decor and furniture, it really makes you comfortable All the amenities for a night in Santa Barbara.
Stayed 1 night in Mar 2025

10/10 Excellent

Tiffany

Liked: Property conditions & facilities
The location in relation to the train station and the beach is spectacular. The neighborhood is late-night-walking to the hotel, very friendly. There were multiple families walking with us down the street to other hotels/hostels after our midnight arrival on Amtrak
Stayed 1 night in Apr 2025

10/10 Excellent

Brad

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stayed 1 night in Mar 2025

4/10 Poor

Verified traveler

Liked: Room comfort
Disliked: Staff & service

Well, at least you can see the beach

I don't like to be negative -- this place could be really nice, but it needs some work. The main problem was that the toilet was not properly attached to the floor, and it leaked. Beyond that, I would have liked to have a coffee maker, a closet with hangers, and a comfortable chair or two; and my gal would have liked to have a hair dryer. But the bed was comfortable, and we slept well. Otherwise, I would have given it a rating of 1 star.
Stayed 3 nights in Mar 2025

4/10 Poor

Kelly

Disliked: Cleanliness, room comfort
Stayed 1 night in Mar 2025

8/10 Good

Josh

Stayed 1 night in Feb 2025

2/10 Terrible

Stephen

Traveled with partner
Disliked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Decided to book for my wife's birthday, a little last minute but the went with the best room available. Once we entered, we noticed the AC wasn't working fans broken and the bathroom fan not working. The bed was on the wrong size frame and held together with exposed woodscrews. While there were ocean view, you could hardly see out of the window because of how dirty and failed it was. I brought up the AC and fan fixes needed, every day while being told they would be right on it. Nothing ever got resolved. Very disappointed in my stay!
Stayed 2 nights in Jan 2025

6/10 Okay

Matt

Liked: Staff & service
Older hotel and it shows. Beat up like an old house.
Stayed 2 nights in Jan 2025

2/10 Terrible

jessica

Traveled with partner
Disliked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
First off the office was closed and to check in you had to go next door to villa de Rosa. Second there was a charge of $25 that was supposedly not covered in the Expedia cost which I don’t understand. Third the room we were put in was #109 which took us 15 mins to find because no where does it say 109. We were lost looking for it. So we randomly used our keys to open a random door and it worked. Then the up stairs neighbors or guest were walking around non stop we couldn’t sleep. This motel was not up to par. It should not be bookable on Expedia. The only good thing is they allowed us to park before check in time. We chose to do this because of the very limited parking. I will not stay here again and I recommend you skip this location.
Stayed 1 night in Jan 2025

2/10 Terrible

Verified traveler

Traveled with family
Disliked: Staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
When I booked, price said included all taxes and fees. But checking in they charged me an extra $30 fee Breakfast was a joke.
Stayed 1 night in Dec 2024

6/10 Okay

SANDRA, Ridgecrest

Traveled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service
My husband and I stayed 2 nights while exploring Santa Barbara. Very convenient to the harbor and State Street, with its fabulous dining. Parking in the lot can be a challenge but street parking is available. Check-in was at the lobby of the hotel next door for some reason. The hostess was nice but I don’t think she ever made eye contact with me. Our room was quaint with the 2 queen beds as requested. I didn’t have a very comfy bed (I used 2 pillows which were both pretty flat) but husband was fine in his bed. Amenities were limited - shampoo/conditioner/lotion and one small round of soap in the bathroom. Refrigerator, small microwave, ice bucket with 2 plastic cups. I wish I could’ve opened the bathroom window to let steam from our showers out (no fan) but it appeared to have been permanently locked. All in all we would stay again just for the convenient location but it is pretty no frills.
Stayed 2 nights in Dec 2024

8/10 Good

Melissa

Traveled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, amenities
Disliked: Staff & service
The location is excellent and the second floor patio has a great view. This old hotel has some beautiful details like tile floors and nice tile work in the bathroom. However, it’s clear they are relying on the location to sell the place and not bothering much with upkeep and service. Check-in was frustrating. We checked in on-line as requested, including giving a digital copy of a driver’s license which seemed like an invasion of privacy. When we arrived to actually check after dark (a few minutes ahead of when we had said we would), there was no sign of life at the office and a sign I could barely make out in the dark said to check in at the Villa Rosa hotel next door. This hotel had no obvious entrance but all the doors were locked. Knocking didn’t work and neither did calling the number on the door. I had to pound on a door to be let in. The desk clerk was clearly overwhelmed dealing with unhappy guests who needed things (towels, TV remotes, a new room because their first one had no glass in the window) so we had to wait to check in. Once in our room we found it clean and the windows all had glass. But the bathroom doorknob kept falling off, almost trapping me in the bathroom once. And the TV remote had no batteries so the TV couldn’t be used. By this time it was late and it seemed like too much trouble to rouse the clerk from next door to get batteries so we just went to bed. However, waking up to a beautiful view of the sunrise over the water made up for it all.
Stayed 1 night in Dec 2024

4/10 Poor

Jordyn

Traveled with partner, Traveled with family
Disliked: Cleanliness
I had higher expectations for this stay. The floors in our room were dirty and we had a broken window in the bathroom. There was a man standing out by our window in the morning trying to get back into his room. Not a hotel problem but speaks to the locals. Our room details stated there was a jetted hot tub. It’s a standard bath tub with a couple jets. I liked how close this hotel was located to the wharf and downtown state street. We made the best of our trip but I would not stay here again for the price.
Stayed 2 nights in Nov 2024

8/10 Good

Zovinar

Stayed 2 nights in Aug 2024

10/10 Excellent

Isaac

Stayed 2 nights in Sep 2024

8/10 Good

Deborah

Liked: Cleanliness, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Because it was off-season, I had to go next door to check in. There was no one to call at midnight when the neighbor was having an argument - someone locked out and angry. Otherwise, the room was lovely.
Stayed 1 night in Oct 2024

6/10 Okay

nancy

Traveled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
expedia dont notice me about this motel charge 28.50 for use credit card to pay a deposit and the room smell too much a tobacco
Stayed 1 night in Oct 2024

6/10 Okay

Tamara

Traveled with partner
Liked: Staff & service
Disliked: Cleanliness, property conditions & facilities
N/A
Stayed 6 nights in Sep 2024

2/10 Terrible

Chris

Stayed 2 nights in Sep 2024

6/10 Okay

Tamara

Traveled with partner
Liked: Staff & service
Disliked: Cleanliness, property conditions & facilities
Stayed 6 nights in Sep 2024