Kimpton Canary Hotel by IHG

I stayed at this IHG property in Santa Barbara for a b'ness event. Positives: Chloe at check in was super nice, and Hunter at the valet took great care of us; Big room w/ two double beds; The staff at the b'ness event on the 6th Floor rooftop were super nice. Negatives: Not sure what I received for my high level, Ambassador status. As far as I could tell I only received a $10 food & beverage credit (pretty weak vs Marriott, Hilton & Hyatt); Two night stay was over $1,000 including $49/night valet fee. This was supposedly a special rate for the conference; I did not receive a copy of my bill via email; The wifi was spotty; The toilet paper was so thin it was more Holiday Inn vs high end Kimpton; There is no gym onsite, so you can use the Golds Gym next door. The problem w/ Golds is that you have to provide a lot of personal info (i.e., DOB) to use the pass. You also have to agree to receive their marketing emails (Lame). This is my first year staying at high end IHG properties (Intercontinental & Kimpton). Thus far, I have not been impressed. I have high level status at all the majors. Marriott, Hilton & Hyatt treat me much better: I receive upgraded rooms, free bfast, and gifts.

There were a lot of 5 star aspects to this hotel - the beds were amazing, the staff were lovely, and the bar/restaurant was great with nice decor and fabulous food. The pool was gorgeous but there were weddings up there both days I tried to use the pool which limited access. We booked a suite. It was tiny. It said 475 SQ FT but it was smaller. There was only one mini window so there was no light. And there weren't solid doors between the rooms. You could also hear everything outside the suite, like barking dogs all night long. I think a regular room would be have been better. The suite wasn't worth the price at all.

- Walkable to many shops and places to eat - Parking garage right next door

- I wasn’t able to check in until 4:30PM. Keep being told the room is being cleaned.

Great hotel!

Very noisy hotel, small rooms, not a good value.

Location Pool Happy hour Valet parking Service recovery from assistant manager v good when room not ready

Front desk not great at comms - sullen Had to chase to get room serviced on day 2

The decor is nice, really sweet lobby as you enter. The valet parking was really efficient. Our room was nice, everything worked. We had a room described as - with outdoor living space, ie a balcony but what we didn’t know is that it looks out to a petrol station, busy crossroads and empty bit of waste land… so we didn’t use it. The walls are pretty thin so you can hear your hotel neighbours talking… Breakfast was alright, nothing beyond that and we felt really sorry on our 2nd morning as a server was on his own, trying to escort people to tables, take and bring orders… There were no robes or coffee in the room but if you ask they’ll bring them to you. They didn’t replenish the coffee the next day and also took the cups away…… I noticed glasses in the lobby in the late morning one day which someone had left and they were still there when we came back from dinner. It felt like they were trying to do efficiency savings whilst still charging a high price… The pool area is nice and I appreciated the complimentary glass of wine.. hardly complimentary with those resort fees, but any how…. It was nice being able to walk to down town restaurants and the room itself was comfortable. It could be a really nice hotel if it wasn’t penny pinching so much!

The pool

Staff was friendly, property was clean and cute. Great location- easy to walk everywhere.