Stayed here for one night en route to the wineries and the coast. After the usual chain hotels, the Solvang Gardens Lodge was a refreshing, endearing change.

It's just a couple of blocks from the centre of Solvang but is in a quiet residential location. The staff are friendly and welcoming and, although the room was perhaps a little old-fashioned (or quaintly retro depending on your view) , it was clean comfortable and not without charm. There's a lovely garden to eat breakfast in.

Good value.

I was introduced to this hotel by a loyal friend and now it is the only hotel I will stay while in Santa Ynez. Being a concierge, I am extremely picky about every detail of an experience and have never been so impressed by a smaller inn such as this. We always chose room #1, not the biggest but it has it's own parking space and your door and wrap around windows open to the big garden with the fountain. Everyone working (or not) is so very nice and always there for advise of where to go for dinner or just there to bring a bucket of ice for wine chilling. The morning room is fun to meet fellow guests and get filled in for the events of the day and night. Paul is really very nice and genuine, no wonder every time we are here we meet repeat guests that have the same loyalty.

This place is nice. We stayed here for the first night of out honeymoon. It is a little on the small side and just on the end of the main street. Not that small is bad, I would rather stay here than a 12,000 room monolith any day.

The room we had was recently remodeled and was very cozy. I am guessing they got a deal on granite since the bathroom was all granite, floor to ceiling. Just a little too much for my tastes, but very opulent.

My wife and I stayed at the SGL 4 nights in late August 2007. We were in the Forget Me Not Room (room 2) which has a king bed, separate living room, sink, fridge and microwave. The room was very clean, comfortable, quiet and the A/C worked fine. The owner, Paul, was very friendly and gracious. I can’t imagine more beautiful and relaxing grounds. There are two garden areas which are perfect for reading and relaxing. One area is between the U shaped front portion of the lodge and has two fountains and many flowers and plants. In this area are several sets of tables and chairs for the guests. We found this a wonderful area to enjoy the provided breakfast (tasty granola, oranges, coffee, juice, and delicious pastry coffee cake). The second garden area is behind the second row of rooms. This area has fountains, apple trees, plants and several sets of tables and chairs. The SGL’s location helps in the peacefulness since its not in the center of town, but is an easy 2 or 3 block walk away. We took the Wine Tour package which was great fun. The tour was by Stagecoach Co. Wine Tours http:[--] and took us to 4 local wineries at each of which we tasted 6-7 wines. The package includes a $50 gift certificate for any of several restaurants. Paul recommended the Vineyard House in Santa Ynez. We ate on the patio and the food and view were both fantastic. If you’re looking for a very nice, cozy, friendly and very relaxing place to stay then go the SGL. Next time we go to Solvang we will definitely stay there!