The Upham Hotel

Ratings: Baby/Child Friendliness: Romance: More about the ratings... Contact Information 1404 De la Vina Street Santa Barbara, California 93101 Phone: (805) 962-0058 or (800) 727-0876 Fax: (805) 963-2825 www.uphamhotel.com

The Upham, built in 1871, is a small, intimate hotel with old-world charm.

The Upham Hotel in picturesque Santa Barbara has been operational since 1871 when travelers rode by horseback into Santa Barbara and its surrounding areas. Then, the Upham was a New England-style boarding house. Today, it is completely refurbished and restored into a full-service hotel. It consists of fifty guestrooms and suites, five garden cottages and on-site conference facilities. The Upham is a small hotel, dedicated to maintaining the hospitality of its earlier days; it truly does possess the charm of an intimate, small hotel.

The hotel has won an impressive list of awards, including best small hotel in Southern California by San Francisco Focus Magazine. Also, the adjoining restaurant, Louie's, has been nationally recognized in Travel and Leisure.

Baby/Child Friendliness:

• I stayed in one of the five garden cottages which met all of my family's needs for baby-friendliness and romance. It consisted of a large living room area and a separate bedroom with a King-sized bed, two bathrooms, and a private deck. The large size of this cottage again made accommodating our two youngsters convenient. The separate living room made it possible to shut the door and take care of six month-old Autumn in the middle of the night and the wee hours of the morning, while the rest of my family slept in the bedroom.
• The ample size of the cottage allowed two year-old Mandalin to move and run around comfortably--a necessity for a toddler.
• Cookies and milk are served in the lounge at night. My husband and Mandalin had a little night outing to the lounge in which she enjoyed these treats.
• My cottage, I'm happy to say, did not have a fireplace, typically found in "romantic" cottages and potentially hazardous for youngsters. Thus, we did not need to take the extra time to barricade a fireplace.
• Cribs are available. Our babies slept in two that were ready in our cottage upon arrival, complete with a small pillow and blanket. The staff had created a nice, personalized touch.
• Same-day laundry and dry-cleaning are available.
• The lovely gardens allowed Mandalin an area on which to play and run around.
• Santa Barbara is a wonderful family town to visit--small, with many fun attractions such as a botanical gardens and a charming zoo.

Romance:

• Antiques and period furnishings are displayed throughout the rooms and lobby. The hotel's old-fashioned flavor is enhanced by pictures of the establishment during the nineteenth century.
• The lovely lobby with its fireplace and piano, serves cookies and milk in the evening, along with cheese and wine in the afternoon, for guests.
• The hotel is situated on an acre of well-maintained, enchanting gardens. This allows guests an ample amount of space to stroll with someone special. Even though it is a smaller hotel, it maintains a spacious, open feeling.
• The hotel is situated two blocks from the town of Santa Barbara and its famous State Street. This location allows guests to walk easily to an array of fine shops, stores, and restaurants.
• Built in 1871, the Upham is the oldest operating hotel. Romantics will find this old-world charm appealing.

Note: This hotel, although child-friendly, maintains more of a romantic focus. Its visitors are sophisticated travelers. If your toddler or baby screams and yells, as is often inevitable, she will be conspicuous here as I discovered when Mandalin began acting up in Louie's Restaurant. This hotel would be most suitable for older children (twelve years and up) or very well-behaved babies and toddlers.