Harbor House Inn - Santa Barbara California Hotels

Located one short block from West Beach, the Harbor House is quiet, boutique-style inn featuring 17 one-of-a-kind guest studios furnished and decorated with many lovely antiques and collectibles. The rooms at this 3-star, 3-diamond property is a short walk to great local restaurants. It is tucked between Santa Barbara Harbor and Stearns Wharf. State Street shopping is just two blocks away.

These homey accommodations offer a welcome breakfast basket upon arrival, complete small kitchens, free wireless internet access, free local phone calls, cable television with HBO, private bathrooms and one queen-sized bed in each unit. Most accommodations have sitting areas or a separate living room with sofa bed.

All rooms are non-smoking. Guests have complimentary use of the inn's bicycles, beach chairs, umbrellas, and beach towels. A free DVD library is also available in the lobby.

Harbor House Inn Property Information:

Rooms: 17
Floors: 1

Harbor House Inn Service

Free high speed internet
Free local calls
Car rental desk
Family rooms
Kitchenette
Conventions
Business center
Meeting room
Free parking
Free breakfast

Harbor House Inn Reservation Policies:

Check-In: 1500
Check-Out: 1200

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Santa Barbara Events & Entertainment

Most major hotels present entertainment nightly during the summer season and on weekends all year. State Street has a good jazz scene. Santa Barbara supports a professional symphony and a chamber orchestra. The proximity to the University of California at Santa Barbara assures an endless stream of visiting artists and performers. To see what's scheduled around town pick up a copy of the free weekly Santa Barbara Independent newspaper.

Harbor Parade of Lights
A lovely sight as boats decorated with holiday lights cruise around Stearn's Wharf and the Harbor.

First Night Santa Barbara
December 31
(805) 892-2250
First Night Santa Barbara will take place on December 31st from 12 noon to 12 midnight. In the afternoon, children will be treated to child friendly activities that embrace arts and crafts, music and theater. In addition to the children's program, local cultural centers will offer special admission to First Night revelers throughout the day.
At dusk, Santa Barbara will transform into a spectacle of light and color, revealing outdoor concerts, viewings of specially commissioned art installations, gallery tours, musical programs, street corner musicians, staged theater productions, multimedia displays, dances, street performers and a spectacular midnight fireworks display. Admission to all events is granted to visitors displaying a commemorative First Night Santa Barbara button. First Night event held in cities across the country and world. The theme is "The Santa Barbara Family" and the city-wide events emphasize the arts, culture, and entertainment; beginning at 1pm and ending at midnight with a fireworks show.

Hanggliding and Paragliding Festival
Jan 1
(805) 965-3733
Fly-in at Elings Park in Santa Barbara from 11am to dusk. Festival will include traditional favorites of hang gliders flying from the mountains, paragliding and hang gliding spot landings, and other contests. Also may be featuring kites, hot air balloons, and gliders, plus music and lots of fun.

Orchid Fair
Late March
Held at the Santa Barbara Orchid Estate (off Patterson in Goleta). More than 50 growers from around the world participate. Highlights include demonstrations of orchid care and culture and a large area of beautiful flower arrangements. Items for sale include corsages, plants, supplies, pins and posters.

Whale Festival
March
This March festival in honor of the whale includes a Street Faire, storytelling, whale watching and diving excursions, and arts and crafts. Get the facts from "official whale information stations".

International Film Festival
March
Drawing celebrities, press, film buffs, and regular folks to town every March, the SBIFF showcases American and international independent films. At their site you can find a schedule of films and competitions, seminars and symposiums, lists of winners from years past, and other events sponsored by SBIFF.

Botanical Garden's Easter Egg Hunt
April
Similar to the Easter egg hunt at the White House, children bring baskets and hunt for eggs. Refreshments are served.

Jewish Festival
April
At Oak Park in April, there's entertainment throughout the day celebrating Jewish culture and traditions. Israeli dancing, klezmer bands, storytelling, arts, crafts, and food.

Bike Week
May
The Santa Barbara Bicycle Coalition coordinates events. There is a bike Expo, Bike to Work Day, races, tours, and school activities.

Botanical Garden Spring Plant Sale
Native plants--"a great selection of Santa Barbara native cultivars, including verbena, iris, and heuchera"--are for sale, along with an assortment of used books from the Botanical Garden's Library.

Earth Day
Earth Day was born in Santa Barbara--first celebrated there in 1970--in response to the massive oil spill of 1969. Thirty plus years later, it's a major event

I Madonnari
Late May
Come celebrate the arts and help the Children's Creative Project paint the streets Italian Style. The old Mission Santa Barbara will be transformed into the color-splashed site of Santa Barbara's 14th I Madonnari Italian Street Painting Festival. Engage your senses with live music and an authentic Italian market. Enjoy a fabulous array of Italian cuisine and specialty items.

Big Dog Parade & Block Party
June
State Street goes to the dogs!

Lompoc Flower Festival
June
49th Annual Lompoc Valley Flower Festival
"A New Beginning" Featuring a parade at 10am Saturday with bands, equestrian units, drill teams, clowns, and floats made of flowers and other organic materials grown in the valley. Additional highlights include a carnival, commercial center, self guided tours of the flower fields, and over 30 food booths run by local non-profit agencies. Admission to the event and stage performances are free. For further information call the Festival Office at (805) 735-8511.

National Horse Show
July 2001
One of the nation's top equestrian events. Takes place at the Earl Warren Showgrounds.

County Fair
July
Held in Santa Maria, the July Fair focuses on local agriculture, youth programs, and local community efforts.

French Festival
Mid-July.
Bastille Day weekend, a celebration of French culture at Oak Park. Food, music, entertainment--c'est magnifique!

Clown Theatre Institute
end of July-end of August
At the Lobero Theatre from the end of July through the end of August, a four-week intensive course in creating and performing theatre, including dance, mime, and movement.

Mariachi Festival
August
Takes place at the County Bowl and benefits K-12 educational programs throughout Santa Barbara.

Renaissance Faire and Midsummer Market
August
For two weekends in mid-August, 16th century life is re-created in Oak Park.

International Jazz Festival & World Music Beach Party
September 2001
In September, three days of jazz performed at East Beach by world-renowned musicians. For further information call (805) 966-3000.

Celtic Arts and Music Festival
October 2001
Celebrate Celtic music, arts and crafts at the Earl Warren Showground at the end of October.

Celebration of Harvest
October
Sponsored by the Santa Barbara County Vintners Association in October. Silent auction, live music, food, and wine.

Harvest Moon Festival
Mid-November, 2001
Sponsored by the Santa Barbara County Dance Society. Call (805) 893-3535.

Artwalk
The annual fundraiser to benefit the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History's Annual Artwalk is an exciting weekend of art and music, with both indoor and outdoor shows. Saturday 9am-5pm and Sunday 9am-4pm. For additional information call (805) 682-4711 x344.

National Amateur Horse Show
November
Where else but at the Earl Warren Showgrounds. An important November training show for future Olympian equestrians.

Santa Barbara Destination Overview

Santa Barbara, California is alive with youthful energy within an atmosphere of casual sophistication and charm. Students from five colleges in the area bring vitality and enthusiasm, collaborating with local residents on many worthwhile projects. The city rests on a narrow shelf between the Santa Ynez Mountains and the Pacific coast, and is one of southern California's foremost vacation areas. A day in the city could be spent biking, beach-going, fishing, or hiking in a setting rich with distinctive architecture, public art, beautiful parks and playgrounds. The same day could also include spending time at Santa Barbara's enchanting zoo or visiting a selection of museums with special children's exhibits.

The Santa Ynez Valley stretches west through central Santa Barbara County, reaching toward the city and the Pacific Ocean beyond. It's a land of relaxed beauty, where narrow roads curl through the knobby, windswept Santa Rita Hills, through rows of walnut trees and strawberry fields, past acres of cabbage and broccoli and, here and there, a few vineyards. Santa Barbara has the perfect climate for growing the varieties of grapes that produce the finest wines. Visitors benefit from the fact that this secret is just being discovered, and they can still take a tour of Santa Barbara's wine country at a leisurely pace without the press of crowds. It is exhilarating to venture into the back country and enjoy the rugged beauty of National Forest lands, home to everything from modern lakeside campgrounds to trackless wilderness, providing almost unlimited recreational choices for families.

Returning to Santa Barbara from a day of hiking, there is the opportunity to ease back gradually into city life through a visit to the alpine village of Solvang. This is the county's "Little Denmark," with windmills, Tudor architecture, and a wealth of Scandinavian food and souvenirs. Santa Barbara County offers an outstanding variety of cultural attractions, such as, theater, dance, art galleries and musical performances. You don't need a car to enjoy downtown Santa Barbara because most everything, from shopping and dining to performances and historic attractions, is within walking distance. Walking through Santa Barbara on foot gives a close-up look at its distinctive architectural style.

This style is largely the work of engineer Bernhard Hoffman, who founded the City Planning Commission and worked with other community organizations to enforce building codes and architectural standards early in the 20th century. Following a major earthquake, legislation was enacted to insure that all new construction would conform to modern safety guidelines. The new style that emerged was influenced by the architecture of Spain, but is a blend of genres, including Spanish, Mediterranean, and Moorish/Islamic. Its key features are the gleaming white stucco surfaces, the famous red tile roofs, courtyards, and the decorative wrought iron windows, light fixtures, and staircases. A free electric shuttle runs every 10-15 minutes to all points of interest.

Shopping is a major pastime on State street, which is lined with boutiques, cafés, bookstores, as well as toy and book stores of interest to children. On Brinkerhoff Avenue there are a large number of antique shops. The beach is beautiful, the weather almost always perfect, and the people friendly. Many vacationers rent bikes and blades and travel up and down the beachfront path along Cabrillo Boulevard. The county draws surfers, hikers, naturalists, in-line skaters, mountain bikers, rock climbers, scuba divers and hang gliders, to mention a few.