Secret Garden Inn & Cottages

So let’s talk about hospitality: we travel extensively by car and prefer to stay in small individually owned properties as often as possible. We were in Santa Barbara for a family event and stayed with Dominique at her charming inn. Dominique and her staff (Cassidy) go above and beyond to make their guests’ stays as comfortable as possible. Always charming and accessible, the Secret Garden Inn and Cottages was one of the best places we’ve stayed. It is abundantly clear that hospitality is at the top of their list! Breakfast is amazing and the location is perfect. Dominique’s lunch recommendation was spot on and we could walk to Derf’s Cafe. We will definitely be back to stay at the Secret Garden when next we visit Santa Barbara!

This little "garden" is situated just uptown from the Santa Barbara buisness/tourist district, in a quiet , mixed use nieghborhood. seperate and conjoined cottages and rooms dot the property, with paths leading to and from the main house, street, and rear parking. the room was small, but nicely appointed with a good-size bathroom/shower, an enclosed wooden patio, and hot tub in good working order; which we used after returning to our room later that evening. The host(ess) had an old world, brusque manner to her french accent, and there were many "voila's" as she showed the room and informed us of the ammenities available, including breakfast. We found her to be accomadating; but she has some rules which she strictly adheres to, but none seemed unreasonable. we found that just around the corner is a full sevice coffee palace with all the baked goods and typical foodstuffs, as well as a nieghborhood pub (derfs) with an outdoor patio and nice burger/sandwich/salad menu, as well as full bar with tvs and friendly locals. we also spotted a local sit-down Mexican restaurant as well, which is a welcome change from todays predominant "drive throughs". Santa Barbara is fairly flat, and this location lends itself to walking and/or biking to sites like the Mission and the downtown restaurants and shops. We were in town for a concert at the bowl, and this location was just a short, 5 minute taxi ride, courtesy of Nate, from Yellow Cab. This site is old constuction, and the one drawback to our semi-attached cottage room was the thin walls in the morning, but not a "deal breaker"... We would reccommend this quaint little "garden", and hope to stay again next time we are in SB.

We stayed in the main house. The inn is located very close to the heart of the village. The garden is so beautiful, and the house is charming and full of interesting antique touches and beautiful paintings. Our room was spacious, and there was plenty of space for us to put our belongings. The wifi worked perfectly, which came in handy for work. The breakfast was incredible. Fresh quiche, juice, great coffee and delicious croissants and bread. A true highlight was our lovely hostess who was so helpful and kind. I would highly recommend this inn! I went with my mom for a quick girls weekend. Was perfect!