Santa Barbara: Food, wine, surf lessons and other free stuff

For those planning a getaway to Santa Barbara any time soon, don’t book anything before checking out freebies available around town. Under the “Compliments of Santa Barbara” promotion, hotels and other venues are swinging their swag to lure you in for a visit.

Deal: Peruse the wide variety of offerings on the Santa Barbara Conference & Visitors Bureau’s website. At the Upham Hotel, midweek stays earn a $50 Louie’s California Bistro gift certificate and two free wine-tasting passes. Hotel Oceana Santa Barbara will throw in, with your booking, two tickets to the Santa Barbara Zoo. Canary Hotel is offering a third night free with stays Sunday through Wednesday.

Stay sometime Sunday through Thursday at the Franciscan Inn and you’ll get two free tickets to tour Santa Barbara by trolley as well as a bottle of either champagne or sparkling cider for your room. At Bath Street Inn Bed & Breakfast, along with the usual B&B inclusions, you’ll get a complementary crème brulee dessert with a meal at Opal Restaurant, plus 10% off or your stay.

The all-inclusive, summer-only UC Santa Barbara Family Vacation Center is throwing in surfing lessons for the whole family when you book a vacation under the “Compliments” promotion. (The typical cost for this activity is $35 per person, whether child or adult.)

And from where all of this came, there’s lots more—more wine and champagne and chocolate, as well as espresso drinks, baseball tickets and flowers and other gifts. Plus, see the website for offers by museums, other arts venues and tour companies.

When: Most of the deals are valid now through Sept. 30.  Check the visitors bureau page to find out each promotion’s specifics, including how you should alert the relevant venue that you are reserving a specific offer.

— Susan Derby, Special to the Los Angeles Times

Photo: Get a third night free at Santa Barbara’s Franciscan Inn. Credit: Catharine Hamm / Los Angeles Times

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This entry was posted on Thursday, August 6, 2009 at 2:13 pm by Susan Derby and is filed under California, Deals, Family & Kids, Gourmet, Hotels, Santa Barbara, Weekend Getaways. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a comment, or trackback from your own site.