My husband and I fell in love with the Inn On Summerhill. It is warm and inviting and it's obvious that the owner lavishes it with love and money. The decor is exquisite. The beds are the most comfortable we have ever slept on. The staff is wonderful. The chef creates delicious afternoon treats, tempting evening cookies and sumptuous breakfasts. We are so glad that we ignored the reviews that focused on the highway noise. Yes, the highway is nearby. However, it really never became an issue for us and I'm so sensitive to noises that I sleep with earplugs! The Inn is so delightful and well maintained that if it were not for the proximity to the highway, the rooms would probably go for over $500 per night. It's that nice.

The noise from 101 destroys the charm that the room might have
had. We stayed in an upper level room with balcony but there's no point in sitting outside when all you see and hear are cars and
trucks on the 101 and the regular train service.

I selected the Inn based on the ocean view pictures and was dissapointed that there's no way you can enjoy it. If I had read all the reviews, I wouldn't have made this mistake.

If you don't mind road noise and are looking for a really nice room and bed and breakfast experience then this can work for you. The staff does an excellent job. The provided breakfast was good.

If US 101 were not within earshot of this hotel, I would definitely give it five stars. I loved this hotel and if I'm ever anywhere near Santa Barbara in the near future, I will definitely return.

We stayed in room 14, a King Balcony room that is just over the lobby. The room itself is decorated nicely, the bathroom is very clean and well done, and the jacuzzi tub is a great edition. There is also a gas fireplace with an on/off switch and a stereo, although it only plays the radio and reception is horrible (they should improve their receiver with an ipod hookup or cd player, something like that to take advantage of the speakers in the wall). The tv comes with a dvd and vhs player, which is nice, although we never used it.

The grounds of the small hotel are immaculately kept up and the town of Summerland that it is in is quaint with several coffee shops and cafes that you can stroll to from the hotel.

The real highlight of the hotel is the food. I am utterly confused about the previous review that said breakfast was little more than continental breakfast. I have included a picture of one of the breakfasts we ate on our balcony. Breakfast was five star quality and cooked to order. Additionally, there were afternoon snacks with wine and tea that were out of this world. We couldn't get enough of the stuffed mushrooms. And if that weren't enough, each evening dessert is served. Everything that we tasted was delicious, and it's all included in your rate.

Service here was small town friendly -- everyone was incredibly helpful. I needed an iron for a wedding that I was about to attend and they tracked one down in the maid's quarters for me. The next day I needed my suit steamed, and they tracked down a steamer and brought it up. If only every hotel had service like this.

The hot tub area is on the second floor in a space between the main and second building, which is closer to the highway. It is a very cute setup, although the hottub smelled a little too much like chlorine for my taste.

The highway is the only true negative about this place, although the balcony doors are soundproof and you cannot hear anything outside with the doors closed -- and trust me, I'm a light sleeper, so this would have been an issue for me. However, it would have been fantastic to have been able to sit out on the balcony, looking out at the water, without the noise of a busy highway some 20 yards away. This is the only reason I didn't give this place five stars.

That being said, it is well worth the money and I wouldn't hesitate to return.

I needed a last minute getaway out of Los Angeles and found a room at the Inn on Summerhill on their website the night before I checked in. Our room was absolutely beautiful. Usually, when I book hotel rooms online, I end up somewhat disappointed when I actually see the room. This was not the case with the Inn on Summerhill. The room exceeded my expectations, even better than the pictures online, and the ocean view was spectacular. It's great that every room has a full ocean view...this is rare with most beach properties (especially at the great rates that they offer here.) The staff was extremely friendly and helpful (probably the best hotel staff I've ever come across, and I travel somewhat frequently), from helping us with suggestions on where to go for food to letting us check out a little later with no problem...and I had accidentally left a dress in the room after checking out, I called the hotel and within a day they mailed it out to my home. Got an amazing rate, a beautiful room, and great service...couldn't ask for much more for a last minute getaway!
The only downside is that the hotel is situated just east of the 101 freeway, so if you're sitting outside on your patio or balcony, you do hear the cars going by. But, in the room with the sliding glass door shut, you can't hear a thing...and even with the doors open, Summerland does not seem to be too busy traffic wise so it's not that bad. We still enjoyed our lunch and dinner out on our patio with the beautiful ocean view.