Hilton Santa Barbara Beachfront Resort

It was such a pleasure working with Amanda from the outset of my initial outreach to the final details of my client's wedding day at the Hilton Santa Barbara. She was kind and patient when hosting us for a venue tour, answered all of the questions that arise when assessing a potential venue, and was prompt and professional in all of her communications. I look forward to working with Amanda again in the future!

The view & location are amazing! We are very grateful for how gorgeous our wedding ended up being. Unfortunately, the planning process with the venue was horrible, as we often went in circles, answering the same questions over & over, having to go back & find answers to questions I previously put a lot of thought into answering. We were offered different things, like shuttle services & a room for getting ready, accepted the offers, then weeks later the offers were rescinded. Lots of going back to the drawing board & unnecessary, added stress to an already stressful process. And, clearly the team doesn't communicate & we were often faced with team members who didn't know what was going on. So if you choose this venue, just prepare to utilize extra mental energy & take very good notes, tracking your planning process, and get an amazing planner like we did! Cat Crenshaw! Additionally, once it came time for the actual wedding, the 'room block' was a nightmare / nonexistent. Honestly, booking the rooms & the 'room block' was by far the worst part of the experience. Link not working & taking days to book a room, staff messing up bookings & needing us to find their errors, hours waiting in the lobby for rooms nowhere near each other, lots of guests being charged wrongfully (late arrival despite not being late, $700 charge for being locked out of room)... we had to handle a lot of room charge issues weeks after our wedding. Again, so much mental energy I would've rather conserved! We had 33 guests, this shouldn't have been hard. I thought the food was okay, people liked the gnocchi, didn't like the salmon, thought the steak was just alright. The hotel restaurants were typical hotel restaurants with meh food, the wine & water vouchers were fantastic! My mom thought we were supposed to get breakfast vouchers for the party, but I'm not sure / this never happened if we were, which would've been really nice. The wine tasting people were the most professional & you could tell their heart was in the process! Moreso than the general events team who were nice enough, but weren't really in it to win it I guess I'll say. Bad service outside caused issues with our music during the ceremony, not ideal but personally didn't mind too much. My room, the bridal suite, wasn't freshened up like I was told & we got a lot of attitude to requesting this after the reception, this I found the most frustrating (before our guests called with random charges from the Hilton on their cards throughout the week after that we had to help them get fixed). The bride is in her suite all day. It's a mess. I was so looking forward to it being freshened, and didn't understand why I had to explain the logistics & spell out the situation so much when it didn't happen & I asked if someone could please come do a basic freshen up once I left for the after party. I'm not sure this venue has empathy for the bride's situation & overall just don't make the process easy on the couple, the family or the planner, as the planner ends up having to answer for a lot of Hilton's issues. & be aware that the shuttle is not there for guests! It's for flight crews! Do not rely on this for airport transportation. We rented vans & hired transport instead, despite being told they'd provide shuttles for airport & offsite activities (why offer if you can't do it) I hope this helps another bride make an informed decision! Again, we were happy with our wedding, the only con was working with this venue :)

Though we ended up going with a different venue for our wedding, Amanda was super helpful in walking us through how we could envision our South Asian wedding at the Beachfront Resort. We definitely appreciated her patience and willingness to work with us!

Our wedding night exceeded all expectations, thanks to the incredible hospitality, communication, and kindness extended to us by Lori and the entire team. From the outset, Lori ensured that every detail was meticulously arranged, creating a seamless and unforgettable event. Lori's constant check-ins throughout the night exemplified a level of service that went above and beyond. It was evident that our comfort and enjoyment were top priorities. The culinary experience, particularly the salmon, has become the talk of the town weeks after the celebration. Many of our guests, seasoned wedding attendees, declared it the best reception food they've ever had - a sentiment we wholeheartedly share. Our heartfelt gratitude extends to the team for accommodating our photographer's needs, providing dedicated time to capture the perfect shots. The use of the picturesque upstairs area overlooking the ocean for our private vows and first look was a dream come true. The sneak peeks we've received already showcase the stunning property. Lori and team, thank you for making the wedding planning process not only seamless but also cost-effective. Your dedication created an incredible experience not just for us but for our friends and family as well. Our wedding day was nothing short of magical, and your contributions made it a night of unforgettable moments. We couldn't be more grateful.