This is quite a nice hotel. I asked for a quiet room, and they put me in the building across the street---if you want ocean views, that's not the place to be, but it was perfect for me as it certainly was quiet. (It's not like it's very hard to go see the beach from the hotel, anyhow, as it's only a stone's throw away.) The room was very clean and fully up to date. A minor nit is that the shower head in the bathroom was lower than usual, but that wasn't a problem for me and it's what you can expect from an older building. The hotel staff was friendly and accommodating. The hotel restaurant is a definite step above what you normally find in a hotel. So, all in all, this is a very nice place.

Not sure what the problem is with the mediocre reviews... We got an ocean view room in the Santa Cruz building, and it was beautiful.

We stay in Hyatts all over the place, & they are consistently good. This one is beautiful - nice decor, comfy beds, gorgeous view of the ocean. Service was great, everyone was very helpful and friendly.

Self-parking is $15/day or valet for $20, but you can park on the street for free & they were kind enough to let me know that. I guess I'm just a jaded Californian because I'm used to ridiculous per day parking prices. You do have to pay for Wi-fi per day, but they have free internet access and printing in their "business center" in the lobby, so get over it.

You can take a 25 cent trolley down Cabrillo to State Street if you like, and it stops right in front of the hotel. There is a great restaurant/bar in the hotel, and there is a breakfast/lunch place on the beach directly across from the hotel, so once you park your car, you really don't need to take it out again.

They just re-opened their spa, Oleastro Spa, in the hotel. It is small, but very classy, & the masseuse Catherine was FABULOUS.

Stay here for a wedding in Santa Barbara. Reserved the room nearly three months in advance but when we arrived they didn't have the room type we wanted available. This has happened to me before at other Hyatt hotels. They tried to give us a room with roll away bed. Shameful.
Self Serve parking is $15.00 per day but with limited spaces available most of the time you have to valet park. Rooms are in three separate buildings so the place feels very disjointed.
We were in the farthest away from the Lobby on the third floor with a smallish balcony that had a very unscenic view of the parking lot. Lovely. The room was small, bathroom even smaller.
We felt cramped. Breakfast was expensive for a standard buffet. Overall, this place just did not live up to the standard Hyatt has set for its locations. This place really falls short.

Great location, but regrettably, the Hyatt Santa Barbara (formerly the Hotel MarMonte) is in dire need of extensive work to bring the hotel up to the standards associated with the Hyatt brand. Such a shame that the hotel does not match its location (Cabrillo Blvd. fronts the ocean - great walk to Stearn's Wharf and near trolley to State Street historic center.

Overall, the property and rooms are dated, carpets are dirty and worn, rooms are dusty, the guest rooms and hallways smell bad (we were part of a large group and most of our group reported similar conditions - the hotel was sold out and hotel's response was to bring in some type of chemical cure that was not effective).

Upon check-in we were told we had been upgraded (it was our anniversary so this seemed a nice gesture) but our room was no better than other rooms we saw, and in fact, overlooked the parking lot - given what we paid and our hotel status we were disappointed. The hotel charges $15/day for wifi and $10 for self-parking (spots are in short supply - there is valet ($15/day) and street parking). The hotel does not offer a complimentary breakfast, but has hot cider/citrus-flavored water throughout the day in the lobby.

The hotel is a series of buildings and most we spoke with appear to prefer the Santa Maria Building (furthest from the main office). Rooms with balconies are always nicer than those without.

The one positive note is that the staff, especially the valet/parking staff are extremely friendly and do their best to be helpful. It's a shame the hotel has not come close to fulfilling its potential. In truth, if you can get a room here for @ $100 it's no doubt worth it, but otherwise you would do better to stay at one of the many surrounding hotels.