When booking a hotel for your vacation in wine country there are 3 main factors you must consider: location, location, and location. Of course comfort is crucial and it's nice to have a pool along with beautiful Instagram worthy greenery to enjoy - but you came to taste wine first and foremost! Selecting a hotel in close proximity to an area's best wineries is the number one most important decision you will make, and the wrong choice can severely hinder your ability to imbibe and enjoy during your stay.
While planning our recent trip to Santa Barbara we were stuck on where exactly to stay. We know the area quite well and to be honest the whole county of Santa Barbara is absolutely gorgeous, so we were conflicted as to which zone we should focus on. After doing plenty of research and considering cost and availability we determined that we wanted to stay as close as possible to the crown jewel of Santa Barbara - the Santa Rita Hills appellation. Located between the towns of Lompoc and Buellton, Santa Rita Hills is a picturesque stretch of bucolic hillsides with only two main roads stretching its length. Here in this roughly 20 mile tract of earth Pinot Noir and Chardonnay reach some of their most complete and terroir driven expressions. A trip to Santa Barbara's wine country simply would not be satisfactory without significant time spent exploring this scenic piece of countryside.
Domaine De La Cote Vineyard, located three miles from the town of Lompoc.
Now that we had partially narrowed down our search it was time to make our decision. Lompoc and Buellton are both great little towns but it is no secret that Lompoc possesses considerably more wineries. Many of the most prestigious vineyards in the appellation sit right on the outskirts of town in Lompoc, and a significant portion of the grapes grown in Santa Rita Hills make their way to Lompoc for processing. Lompoc even possesses a unique collection of urban wineries, affectionately dubbed the "Wine Ghetto", where one can taste at almost 20 different tasting rooms without ever having to get in a car and drive. This was perfect, we had found our target!
Like any semi-tech savvy traveler we went online to look at hotel reviews near our target location. One place in particular stood out to us - O'Cairns Inn & Suites. This family owned hotel had impressively positive reviews on every platform we checked. Mentions of complimentary breakfast and free drink tokens at the hotel bar piqued our interest, so we dug in to find out more. After seeing pictures of the rooms and learning that O'Cairns is pet friendly we were sold! We booked our room and anxiously awaited our trip.
Fast forward to the weekend of our trip. We loaded up our car - dogs and all - and left Los Angeles en route to Santa Barbara. After a few hours of driving we pulled up to O'Cairns and took things in. Immediately we noticed the hotel grounds are quite spacious with a sizeable front office & lounge, and large pool & BBQ area, and even a hotel bar. We checked in, got our drink tokens and breakfast instructions, and went right to our room. The room itself was big with a king sized bed, a lazy boy recliner, a TV, and even a full sized refrigerator. Cozy and comfortable we settled right in with our pups. Our dogs loved all of the space in the room and we were impressed with the cleanliness. After taking a minute to chill we decided to head to the bar to take advantage of our free drink tokens.
Like the rest of the hotel the bar at O'Cairns is tremendously spacious. There was no shortage of seats and we grabbed some stools at the bar. We were impressed to see them pouring some great local wine from Sweetzer Cellars along with a selection of both draught and bottled beer and a full liquor cabinet. The bartender Chip was very nice and minutes quickly turned to hours as we chatted, sipped, and enjoyed. Soon it was time for bed and we headed back to our room.
After a great night’s sleep we were up and ready for our day. We walked over to grab our complimentary breakfast and again were very impressed with the quality of the offering. Omelets, bacon, and hash browns filled our fuel tanks and we were ready to get out and taste some wine. As we left O'Cairns it immediately became apparent just how clutch this location was. We mapped out our first winery stop and realized we were a mere 0.7 miles away!
Staying near wineries helps not only to maximize your precious vacation time, but it also could save your life. We don't need to preach about the dangers of drinking and driving here as you should all already know them, but please DO NOT ever drive while intoxicated ever. There is no situation more dangerous in wine country than being tipsy at a winery with crappy cell service that is an hour away from your hotel. Please pace yourself, plan your stops wisely, and always make sure your last stop is the closest. O'Cairns is the perfect spot in this regard as you can spend a whole day tasting at the Wine Ghetto and then take a $5 Uber ride back to your room afterword without a care in the world.
After a full day of tasting at some of the area's best producers we made our way back to O'Cairns to relax and enjoy our evening. We were relieved to have such a convenient and comfortable space to call home for the weekend and we could not recommend this place any more highly. The rooms are great, the staff is genuinely friendly, and management legitimately cares about impressing each and every guest. Best of all we were able to bring our two big goofy pups along with us to join in the fun. Wine country is great for dogs - our pups love playing and running up and down rows of vines at every vineyard we stop at - and it is a major relief finding a hotel that is just perfect for them too.
Well, that sums up our experience. Next time you're traveling to Santa Barbara to taste some of the greatest wines in California (and by extension, the world) follow our lead to O'Cairns Inn & Suites. It is not only perfectly located and exceptionally comfortable, but the rates are extremely fair. We know we'll definitely be back soon!
