Ala Mar by the Sea

I was there all of eight hours and was bitten by bed bugs or fleas over 30 times. I have welts all over my body. I will never stay at this place again.

A Spanish style shangri la that immerses you in a full resort style stay. The only thing missing was a in room massage service. Also delicious breakfast included.

The view from the property is beautiful! The motel has a relaxed atmosphere, and the staff is friendly and helpful. Our room was clean, comfortable, and cozy.

The place is really old. The windows did not work and the whole Property is very rundown.

Not clean: stained sheets, food left in fridge from previous guest. We literally went to Marshalls and bought an comforter set

Easy walk to the beach! Room needed some small maintenance fixes

I bought a room ON THE BEACH with a VIEW of the OCEAN and a BALCONY. When we arrived, they moved us to ANOTHER PROPERTY a block away from the beach. NO VIEW. They told us it was better. It was a completely different hotel. It was a room with a kitchenette (we did not care about that). But guess what? That kitchen didn't even have a coffee maker!!! Horrible breakfast and was worst coffee ever (that you had to go get at yet another property) Back door in our room that did not lock..it didn't even have a handle on the outside The bathroom mirror! What a joke: It is on the side and there is no way to even use it! There was no remote for the TV in the living room. The sofa in the living room was filthy No bath towel or any other refresh. The bed was so bad, I couldn't walk in the morning. If I had wanted a room a block from the beach I could have gone anywhere for half the price! We were charged a fortune for this room that was not at all as advertised. I cannot even tell you how pissed off we are. NEVER book this place. EVER. They RUINED our vacation, when we have very LIMITED DOLLARS and splurged on this Santa Barbara place and were relegated to an apartment we hated. I feel like we were ripped off beyond all understanding. We could have stayed in a No-tell-motel for the same price. This is a horrible bait and switch and Expedia should stop listing it.

The room smelled like old wet towels and the private patio had trash on the table and debris and bird poop that had been there a long time. There was no parking available so we had to park on the street a few blocks away. There was no office at the hotel itself so we didn't know where to check in. We found a small sign that said to check in at a neighboring hotel, but it didn't have a map to get there. We did eventually find the office and the other hotel had a nice shared area with a koi pond and refreshments. The location is outstanding, directly across from the beach. In our one-month trip down the west coast, it was the second most expensive lodging, only the five-star Hotel Del Coronado cost more.

1 block to the beach and pier

I recently stayed in the " penthouse" suite. Several of the amenities were broken but, worst of all, the air conditioner was broke. On the third level and in the summer, it was 85+ degrees at night. We could not sleep. The front desk made minimal effort to help fix it. After that didn't work, and they couldn't move me to another room, promised to bring more fans. They never did. I went down the following morning to let them know that my daughter finally got to sleep and may leave a bit late. They said they would charge me. I told them not to charge me. That's the least they could do after our night in the sauna. In any event, we left on time and they charged us another extra $100 anyway. I am requesting a refund of the $100 and a partial refund of the $500+ I paid for the night. They have initially refused. I am asking them to reconsider. I await their final response.

I liked that is centrally located walking distance to restaurants and beach also there was plenty of parking. However,the room had bed bugs, i got seriously bitten. It's a nightmare, a week after and i am still dealing with skin irritation.

This property is old it can use a major upgrade. Door was broken to the balcony. Toilet door was to close to the toilet and it would not close all the way. It smelled like an old room. The only good thing about this property is that it is right next to the ocean.

However, the in-room amenities are lacking: sliver thin soap, no counter space in bathroom, no in-room coffee, no microwave, no bathroom door lock, bathroom window doesn't lock, dim lighting overall, insufficient sound proofing, pet charge too high.

Superb

Things that need care: room upgrades (siding of tub broken), needs paint refresh, window lock broken preventing window from opening, toilet paper roll holder broken. Some of these are $5.00 fixes.’

Very good

We like the cleanes and how it’s well maintained! So peaceful and beautiful hotel ❤️

The room where we stayed had a nice view of Stearns What but our tub after two days had a few bugs sticking on the tub so I did not use the tub.It was dirty and had hole on the blinds, there was no towel rack to hang towel so I had to pull the coffee table by the shower to place the towels and shampoo and toiletries. No closet to hang clothes. Bathroom was small and didn’t have a vent to let out the smell. The housekeeping knocked in our room to check if she can clean but told her to come back later bc hubby was showering but she never came back. We even left a tip for housekeeping but no show

Will not come back.

Cons: Unfortunately, the property itself is not well maintained and does not live up to the aesthetic presented online. More importantly, the customer service after my stay has been extremely disappointing. I have made multiple attempts to contact the property by phone and email regarding an erroneous charge on my credit card. I left messages and sent emails, yet I have still not received a single response or return call. Attempts were made to contact the property on my behalf and was unsuccessful, which speaks volume about the lack of communication and customer service at this property. Based on other reviews, I am apparently not the only guest who has experienced issues with questionable or incorrect charges and difficulty getting a response. I find it hard to understand how a business in the hospitality industry can operate with this level of customer service or continue receiving such high ratings. I have never experienced this level of disregard from a hotel. Regardless of how nice the property may appear, the lack of accountability and communication completely overshadowed any positives. Based on my experience, I would not stay here again or recommend giving this property your business.