Pilgrim Reservations

IHSP Santa Barbara
Santa Barbara, California
111 N. Milpas

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Overall User Rating: 3.8

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Value for Money 3.6

Rooms 3.5

Cleanliness 3.9

Location 4.0

Security & Safety 4.0

Service & Staff 4.3

Food / Dining 3.8

Total 3.8

"Not worth the money"

User Rating: 2.0

Reviewer: Isabel K. of SANTA BARBARA, United States

Reviewed: September 18, 2018 (see hotel reviews from Instantworldbooking.com)

Traveled: August 2018 Type: Youth/Student

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Comments (English):
There should be some gluten free alternative for the breakfast, or at least some eggs. For someone like me who can't eat pancakes due to gluten (nor the oatmeal) it became an empty stomach. Or forcing down pancakes cause I needed something and didn't have money left to buy any other food, and then left with tummy ache.
I didn't like that the receptionist smoked weed on the job, even though they were very service minded and kind and all, it doesn't feel safe to have the receptionist be high. Just in case something would happen, like a fire or so.
The place smelled so strong of Glade, it gave me such a headache. It seemed like you used all those Glade things everywhere to mask out bad smells. Maybe making sure the place is clean and mold free instead would be better.
And the AC in the bottom room was broke and they didn't even try to fix it.
Very unhappy about this stay for that amount of money. But the staff were very kind and did what they could to accommodate me. But the place is really not worth $50 a night.

"Ottimo per conoscere gente"

User Rating: 3.3

Reviewer: Federico F. of Bologna, Italy

Reviewed: September 8, 2018 (see hotel reviews from Instantworldbooking.com)

Traveled: August 2018 Type: Single

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Comments (English):
Sono stato nella struttura IHPS di Santa Barbara per tre notti.
È un ostello piccolo gestito da giovani.
Si trova a 15 minuti a piedi dalla spiaggia.
La dimensione piccola con anche gli spazi comuni piccoli permette di fare conoscenza più facilmente con gli altri ospiti.
Le stanze però sono veramente piccole e la pulizia non è al top.
In generale peró lo consiglio

"Mauvais rapport qualité prix"

User Rating: 1.8

Reviewer: Virginie L. of Paris, France

Reviewed: August 27, 2018 (see hotel reviews from Instantworldbooking.com)

Traveled: August 2018 Type: Other

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Comments (English):
Nous n'avions pas fait attention que les taxes netaient pas incluses lors de notre reservation avec booking, car cest la premiere fois que ça arrive dd tout notre sejour aux us
Au total: 180e la nuit pour une chambre double minuscule!! A peine la place de mettre les bagages par terre. Avec un matelas inconfortable.
Et deux salles de bain seulement pour toute l'auberge, autrement dit c'est la guerre pour prendre sa douche.
De plus, impossible de demander au staff de passer un coup de telephone, ils n'en ont pas.
Seul bon point: les pancakes a cuire soi même au petit dejeuner.
Mais je ne recommanderai malgre tout pas cet endroit vu le prix.

"Not recommended"

User Rating: 2.1

Reviewer: Alexa F. of Culver city, United States

Reviewed: August 18, 2018 (see hotel reviews from Instantworldbooking.com)

Traveled: July 2018 Type: Youth/Student

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Comments (English):
The facts:

They have ants. They clearly know they have ants, since there are signs everywhere forbidding any food or drinks in the bedrooms so as not to attract bugs. Peculiarly, however, there are zero ant traps anywhere in the house, so they do nothing to get rid of them.
The fact that there are lines of ants in certain places around the living room is one thing. However, the fact that at several points during the night I found an ant crawling on my *body* while I was lying in a *top bunk* on the *2nd floor* of the house, is quite ANOTHER.
(No one had any food or drinks in our room.)

The touted free breakfast is very plain pancakes that every guest has to cook on their own from a bowl of batter, & you get to stand in a long line waiting for your turn to even do it.

There are two rooms upstairs: a 4-bed & a 10-bed. They pretend the latter is 2 rooms of 4 & 6, but you must go through the 1st "room" to get to the 2nd one, & the door between them is missing, so - yeah, for all intents and purposes it's one single cramped 10-bed dorm. There is also one bathroom upstairs.

Downstairs there's a 6-bed room, two 3-person rooms & one 2-person room. And one full bathroom & one tiny closet into which a small person can barely stuff themselves, containing a toilet & sink.

If you've lost count: that's 28 people & 2.5 bathrooms. Do the math yourself on just how well that ends up working out for guests...

The dorm rooms are tiny: about a quarter the size of an average hotel room in SB. The cheap, unsteady metal bunk beds creak & shake like in an earthquake with every single movement anyone makes - on either the top or bottom bunk. I was woken up countless times during the night due to the girl on the lower bunk shifting around. Every time I climbed up or down, the bed shook so much it nearly tipped over (I'm a petite woman). The round metal bars of the ladder hurt my feet just putting any weight on them.

(I've slept on bunk beds plenty in college, & they don't have to be this way at all. The bunks in my college dorms were sturdy wood; they didn't shift or shake or hurt your feet climbing on them. I've also been in plenty of European hostels, & in all of them the dorms are larger than IHSP, so that you don't end up within literal arms' reach of all your roommates. )

Some of my lovely experiences during the night while I was trying to sleep: my downstairs bunkmate not only shifted around endlessly but took to obsessively counting & re-counting handfuls of coins in the late evening & very early morning; one of the guys in the perpendicular bunk snored; and the French guys opposite me would spend 10 minutes at a time rustling super loudly through a bunch of plastic bags in their suitcases every time they came in or out - which was many times & also quite late at night & in the early morning.
While your roommates may do different annoying things, there's little to no chance you'll get to room with only quiet & considerate folks; the point is I was treated to all this in surround sound due to the tiny room. Also every one of them kept startling me awake every time they'd even go in & out of the room due to the loud door or due to them turning the light on/off - that's 9 other people in that dorm room. Not to mention the uninvited roommates: the ants...

Overall I only got maybe 2-4 hours of poor-quality sleep, even with earplugs. As a result I was exhausted all next day, which ruined many of my plans.

Prices:

The very cheapest here is a bed in a 6-bed dorm: that costs $45/weekday & $55/weekend night. Notably, this is a pre-tax/fee price: you need to add %15-16 to that for how much you'll really pay. This is approximately 1/3 of the price of a normal hotel room in SB; one that can comfortably fit 2 people & has a private bathroom. (This isn't even counting the possibility of getting a hotel room with 2 proper queen beds to fit 4 people, for the same price.)
So, at IHSP you'll pay ~$100-130 for 2 people, to sleep on creaky, shaky metal bunks, in a room 1/4 the size of a normal hotel room which will be shared with 4 (or 8) noisy, inconsiderate strangers, & have to use shared bathrooms in the hallway (2.5/28 ppl). If you spend just 1/3 more $, you can get a private hotel room for the same 2 people with normal accommodations.

IHSP, by the way, also has one "private" double room with 1 large bed: this room is also much smaller than a regular hotel room, has NO bathroom, & costs $160-$225/night pre-tax. So they charge MORE than an average hotel for a double room of a much inferior quality. Do the math here - it just doesn't make any financial sense to stay with them.

"Great Location but Deceptive Room Descriptions"

User Rating: 3.8

Reviewer: M D. of CA, United States

Reviewed: August 10, 2018 (see hotel reviews from Instantworldbooking.com)

Traveled: July 2018 Type: Other

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Comments (English):
Nice little hostel in a great location but the room advertisements as they are written on here are deceptive. I selected a 6-person dorm room and they did not specify that it was actually a 10-person room since it was combined with a 4-person room. Also, be sure to ask if the room is co-ed or single sex as they did not specify the room was co-ed on the site and that should have been made clear.

"Excellent services and excellent people!"

User Rating: 4.8

Reviewer: Shannon D. of Santa Barbara CA, United States

Reviewed: April 24, 2018 (see hotel reviews from Instantworldbooking.com)

Traveled: April 2018 Type: Single

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Comments (English):
I've only stayed at one prior hostel to staying here while I sorted things out for school and housing. The staff at Downtown DC Hostel were exceptionally customer service oriented, helped out in so many ways, and if I'm honest IHSP Santa Barbara did exactly the same. Their accommodations and how they were able to answer my questions, then turn around and have fun with all of the guests didn't phase me one but. If anything, it added to the experience. I would definitely stay here again, if money allows it right now.

"The worst hostel ever"

User Rating: 1.0

Reviewer: Jenny B. of Santa Barbara, United States

Reviewed: April 13, 2018 (see hotel reviews from Instantworldbooking.com)

Traveled: April 2018 Type: Youth/Student

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Comments (English):
Should I warn you or let you experience the pure hell on your own?

"Does the job quite nicely :)"

User Rating: 3.6

Reviewer: J H. of Metz, France

Reviewed: April 4, 2018 (see hotel reviews from Instantworldbooking.com)

Traveled: February 2018 Type: Family

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Comments (English):
A little tiny, but good place.

Beware, if you come by car, when you park: enough space but in the end of the park, there's some iron stuff from the ground which could damage your tyre (at the time I've been there, February '18).

Tiny but clean kitchen and well equipped.
Was in a "private room", was clean though a little old-looking.

"Review"

User Rating: 3.9

Reviewer: Steph M. of London, Canada

Reviewed: April 3, 2018 (see hotel reviews from Instantworldbooking.com)

Traveled: March 2018 Type: Active/Adventure

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Comments (English):
Staff were very nice and informative. Openness of everyone one was also nice.

"Very good"

User Rating: 4.2

Reviewer: Camille F. of Montpellier, France

Reviewed: March 27, 2018 (see hotel reviews from Instantworldbooking.com)

Traveled: February 2018 Type: Couple

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Comments (English):
Trouve sur le routard et conforme aux attentes. Chambre propre. Sdb et cuisisne tres correct pour du collectif. Auberge conviviale et personnel agreable. Tres bien localisé a santa barbara surtout si vous avez une voiture. Si vpus etes sensible au bruit attention cela peut etre un peu bruyany. Pour une nuit cetait parfait pour nous. Nous avons apprecie les pancakes au petit dej.

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IHSP Santa Barbara Santa Barbara, California111 N. Milpas Read Traveler Reviews and Ratings