Hotel Ynez — Hotel in Lompoc

First of all, I want to preface the fact that I have stayed at this particular hotel a few times and have stayed in many hotels in the Santa Ynez Valley (and surrounding communities), including their “sister” property, Skyview in Los Alamos. Although they may have slick marketing and interior design, their customer service is horrific, there are many issues that lie behind the façade.

We generally overlook the small issues such as their undrinkable coffee (worst than a Midwest truck stop), their “no outside drink” policy when sitting around the firepits (Really? You know you’re a vacation hotel in wine country, right?), and showers that leak everywhere… all of that is tolerable, although it deserves a few demerits at that price point. That's not where the real problems lies...

Sadly, during our most recent visit on October 22nd-24th, we encountered an issue that was very troubling. When reviewing my credit card statements on November 5th (roughly ~2 weeks later) we noticed that we were DOUBLE-BILLED for our stay. The grand total should have been $922.16 total for 2 nights, but I ended up getting charged a total of $1,844.62 over 3 different charges. Definitely not a “minor” billing error, but certainly something that can be corrected rather quickly.

I immediately contacted the hotel regarding the error, and received a response from the manager (Jason Brown) blaming it on a “PMS issue” (Property Management System), and that the “issue is now resolved”, and I should be seeing my refund the following week. Remember, this is after the close of the books for the month of October, and about 2 WEEKS past our checkout.

I then responded to him as to why they didn’t notify their guests of this KNOWN double-billing situation – even just a simple email would suffice – and he didn’t have an answer... he essentially kept blaming it on their booking provider (Amadeus).

Hmm… so they knew they were double-billing customers, but neglected to resolve the issue until customers came forward to complain?!? Now, if you ask me, that’s extremely shady. In any case, I let the issue go, assuming I would be refunded in the next week.

Fast forward to over a month past our checkout (yesterday, November 29th). I was reviewing my credit card statements and noticed that I had never been refunded the $922.16. I also realized I’d never even had follow-up from the manager confirming if I indeed had been refunded. Again, very shady, and absolutely terrible customer service.

I sent another email that night demanding my refund, and of course, no reaction. I sent another email today (November 30th) threatening to take this issue to the next level, at which time I finally I received a response from the manager (Jason Brown) saying that "everyone had been refunded". Huh? Well, apparently everyone except for me, kind of like when they didn’t notify me of the issue in the first place? Hmm, right, okay - got it!

As of today, I am still not refunded the nearly thousand dollars I am owed. I finally lost my patience with their dishonestly and filed a chargeback. I strongly recommend staying somewhere else (there are many good, local hotels) when you won’t need to scour your room changes, and you won’t get in trouble for relaxing with some local wine around...

Charming Aesthetic, Disappointing Experience

Hotel Ynez has a charming exterior—the landscaping and large tree at the front give it an inviting, boutique feel. Unfortunately, the experience from there was underwhelming and at times uncomfortable.

Upon check-in, the two staff members we interacted with were noticeably unfriendly. Rather than offering a warm welcome, they made us feel as if we were already in trouble for something. When I asked the concierge a simple question about slippers, he glazed over and instead launched into a warning about guests sneaking in dogs—asking if I’d signed the dog waiver. I found it both irrelevant and rude to be treated with suspicion based on the actions of previous guests.

Cleanliness was also a major issue. Our shower was filthy—there was an eyelash, a used product wrapper, hair, mildew buildup, and some mysterious residue on the shower wall that wiped off with a tissue. It gave the impression that the bathroom hadn’t been cleaned in days, which raised serious concerns about whether the bedsheets had been changed either. It made relaxing in the room feel nearly impossible.

While the front desk attendant did come to clean the shower, I expressed concern about the bed and was casually told that the couch pulls out into a bed—as if that was an acceptable solution. It’s not. We didn’t pay to sleep on a pullout—we paid for a clean, comfortable room.

It’s such a shame because the property has potential. The common outdoor area is beautifully designed with plenty of seating, trees, and fire pits—but oddly, guests aren’t allowed to bring outside food or drinks into that space, which limits how much you can enjoy it.

Overall, while Hotel Ynez is aesthetically pleasing, the lack of hospitality and cleanliness made for a disappointing stay. I hope management addresses these issues, as this hotel could be a gem with better service and attention to detail.

I will also attach the rebuttal from the hotel management. I apologize for spelling the hotel name incorrectly. I’ve changed it in my updated review. Also the reservation is booked under my husband’s name. This just proves my point that the management is terrible here. Where else would I have gotten the photos of the room from if I’m not staying...

Disorganized and Dishonest Handling of Fire Evacuation Cancellation

I am incredibly disappointed with the way Hotel Ynez handled my reservation during the Kenneth Fire evacuation. We evacuated from our home Thursday but since Hotel Ynez was fully booked, we stayed somewhere else for the night. We planned to stay at Hotel Ynez starting Friday 1/10. At the time of booking, we were told if we needed to cancel our reservation, we would receive a full credit for future use.

On Friday morning, we were relieved to learn the evacuation order was lifted and power restored. I immediately called the hotel, spoke with Beth, and she told us we would be refunded. Based on this assurance, we canceled and returned home.

Days later, I found that only a partial refund had been issued. When we called the hotel, Ricky said they did not refund the first night since they were not going to be able to sell the room that day. To which I said, we were not informed of this when we canceled. Then Ricky said it wasn’t a full night’s rate but rather a non-refundable deposit. To which I said, again, we were not informed of this at the time when we canceled. They insisted Beth had disclosed these policies as it was in their notes, but if that were true, why would I be questioning the charges?

Ricky also told us they would not typically refund anything, and they were doing so in consideration of our evacuation situation. However, their company policy is to refund all but the first night. Therefore, no change in policy was made and she is again speaking in error.

We tried to resolve this with Beth and Ricky and expressed our frustration with them saying we were lying about what we were told. But they said to take it up with our credit card and hung up on us.

This behavior is a bait-and-switch. My suspicion is that they changed their mind about how they were going to handle evacuee’s cancellations, which is why they couldn’t provide 1 concise explanation for the charges. Instead of honoring their word and treating evacuees with empathy, they are changing their story to fit their gains. This is not only disingenuous, it is a hurtful and insulting way of treating people.

I cannot recommend Hotel Ynez to anyone who values honesty, transparency, and...