As fourth-year UCSB parents we're sadly late in making this discovery, but here is the gem we never found in our search through the many chain and independent hotels between Goleta and Santa Barbara. The place is trivial to find - a block east of the 217 freeway on Hollister, thus almost at one of the main entrances to campus and very near the local airport. It's set back from the street on spacious grounds with lots of greenery and trees, and the room was serenely quiet at night.

The staff were friendly, professional and competent. The room itself could be described with the same words, plus 'spacious, well-kept, well-appointed.' (A listing indicated that a VCR was included, causing us to worry about how up-to-date the facility was - only the listing is so cursed, the room had two reasonably-sized flat-screens and a DVD player.)

Breakfast was an unexpected pleasure - it features a kitchen and a live human who'll cook American breakfast - eggs, breakfast meats, waffles, etc - to order. And as an example of 'friendly', I asked if our student could join us for breakfast (considered to be worth $10, that of itself being cheap-at-twice-the-price compared to any chain I know of) and found myself being comp'ed the extra meal.

We stayed at the Pacifica Suites because it was the host hotel for a Junior golf tournament. It was perfect! Nestled among trees , with beautiful grounds, it is tucked away off of Hollister Ave. The rooms are fine, with a refrigerator, separate bedroom, each room has a small balcony, two TVs and a desk area. Breakfast is great; good pastries, juice, coffee, tea, milk yogurt, fruit and a hot breakfast (eggs, pancakes, hash browns, oatmeal, bacon, sausage , etc. ) made to order quickly. There is ample seating area for everyone to eat breakfast w/ an outdoor seating area as well. There is also a wine reception on weekdays.
While in Santa Barbara I walked the boardwalk by the beach and checked out some of the hotels near the ocean. I have to say, I was happy to get back to the Pacifica Suites. Santa Barbara has a large homeless population in that area, and it just didn't look as safe. I felt very comfortable and safe at Pacifica Suites, and it is close to UCSB, local golf courses, Santa Barbara city and not far from Solvang. .
The pool and hot tub area is pretty. The pictures on the website are an accurate depiction of the hotel. The staff was very helpful and accommodating.

I have been meaning to write this for a while...we stayed in October 2011. Had a great stay, what a nice place. From the moment we checked in, we felt really comfortable. The front desk staff is amazing and helpful. All rooms are a "suite", separate bedroom with door and nice living room with flat screen and an attached balcony. The only thing I would say could use an update would be a bathroom remodel. We did like that the sink/vanity area was separate of the tub/toilet. We went to celebrate our 12th anniversary and arrived to a spotless room and a bottle of champagne. Not champagne drinkers, so returned the bottle for another guest and they asked if a bottle of wine would be better. They took us into their lounge area and got to pick from their wine selection. There was an evening wine reception which we weren't able to attend, an awesome breakfast each morning that kept us full until lunch. Breakfast to order included eggs cooked to your liking, bacon/sausage and hashbrowns. Location is very close to the airport, a bit of a drive to SBarbara. We enjoyed being in a quiet area away from it all. We drove all the way up to Big Sur one day and then down to Malibu the next, such a great location. We did go to the restaurant they suggested that was on the beach, can't remember the name but it was excellent and we'd wished we'd gone there every night. Can't wait to go back with the kids.

This is a great little hotel. Very comfortable and convenient. The breakfast is simple, but good; much better than most. With a little research, you can find some very beautiful beaches nearby that are fairly uncrowded and easy to get to. Close to the freeway, it is easy in and easy out if you want to see the more popular sights.