Review of Canary Hotel Santa Barbara, by The TI Review Team

With its mix of Spanish and Moorish design elements, its dead-center location amid Santa Barbara's shops and art galleries, and its rooftop pool and bar (with 360-degree views of the Santa Barbara mountains and the Santa Cruz islands), the Canary has rapidly become the hideaway of choice among LA's and San Francisco's young and chic.

The facilities

Start with that rooftop: with multiple levels, a large freshwater pool surrounded by chaises and umbrellas, a huge Spanish-style fireplace, and several seating and dining areas, there are few better places in town to take some California sun - or take in a classic Pacific sunset. The hotel's restaurant, Coast, is a cavernous, casually chic place were the staff artfully pairs dozens of good local wines by the glass with artisanal cheeses from California's top producers. The Canary offers a long and luxurious list of in-room spa treatments (the olive-and-bergamot oil hand and foot massage is the antidote to jet-lag swelling); and guests get free passes to Santa Barbara's swank Spectrum Fitness Club, adjacent to the hotel.

The rooms

Here's where the Canary's charms really shine, thanks to the efforts of LA designer-to-the-stars Michael Smith. Touches like hardwood floors, chic Moroccan-flavoured throws and quilts, sisal matting, colorful cotton dhurries, and turned-wood four-poster beds impart the intimate cosiness of a very chic guesthouse, rather than the full-service, 97-room hotel you're actually staying at. Most rooms have French doors opening onto small balconies (though at rush hour in the morning and evening, you'll want them closed against the noise of traffic). Bathrooms are gaily tiled in bright shades of blue or red mixed with earthen accents. All have shower-baths and plenty of moving-about room. Flat-screen HDTV, WiFi internet access, and tons of closet space are all welcome bonuses.