West of Santa Barbara, California, lies Santa Ynez Valley, a wine country made famous by the 2004 movie “Sideways”.
We had a chance to stay at the namesake Sideways Inn, here is our review.
Review: Sideways Inn (Buellton, California)
At A Glance: The Sideways Inn
- Official Website: Sideways Inn
- Average Nightly Cost During Stay (When Booked): $251 ($294 w/ Tax and Fees)
- Loyalty Program: N/A
- Loyalty Category: N/A
- Discount Applied: $50 Chase Sapphire Preferred Hotel Credit
- Room Type as Booked: One King Bed
- Room Upgrade: N/A
- Resort Fee: $11.74
- Parking Fee: N/A
Image: sidewaysinn.com
Location & Parking
Sideways Inn is located in the Solvang/Buellton area of California’s Central Coast, about two and a half hours north of Los Angeles, or about 45 minutes away from Santa Barbara.
Parking is free and plentiful.
FHOP Tip: Sideways Inn is located off the same exit as the beloved California roadside attraction, Pea Soup Andersen’s, which is walking distance from the hotel (diagonally across the street).
The Windmill
Sideways Inn’s iconic windmill was undergoing a renovation during our stay. The facelift has since been completed and looks great in the new black and white colors.
Booking/Redemption
Because Sideways Inn was not a member of a hotel loyalty program (and therefore not in “the points game”), we opted to use our Chase Sapphire Preferred’s $50 annual hotel credit toward the cost of the room.
Lobby/Store
The lobby of the hotel appears to have been newly renovated as well and was quite attractive, featuring wine barrels, a gift shop area and coffee station, and the front desk.
Image: sidewaysinn.com
Image: sidewaysinn.com
Front Desk & Check-In
Image: sidewaysinn.com
Welcome Package
The welcome package consisted of a property map, a “your questions answered” flyer, as well as a menu for the complimentary “knock and drop breakfast”.
Room Key
Hallway
Room Entrance
Like the rest of the hotel the room itself was very attractively decorated – with blue suede accented chairs, doily patterned bedcovers, a custom red colored Keurig machine, and a sliding barn door to the bathroom.
Image: sidewaysinn.com
Actual
Walkthrough Tour
Bedroom
Overall, the room was clean and comfortable, no complaints.
Living Area
Image: sidewaysinn.com
Room Amenities
Image: sidewaysinn.com
Closet
Bathroom
The bathroom featured Sideways Inn-branded toiletries which smelled wonderful.
Sliding barn door
No shower door (?)
Room Artwork
The room featured a collection of vintage photos which are very interesting to look at especially the one where patrons walked their horses up to bar once upon a time.
You don’t see this everyday (anymore)
The Property Exterior
The property itself had way more going on than I initially thought it would. A sleepy little roadside stop it was not.
There were free bike rentals, firepits, a central swimming pool and jacuzzi area, a fitness center complete with punching bags, a sausage restaurant run out of an Airstream (Santa Ynez Sausage Company), and a great little bar called Sideways Lounge that featured awesome murals and reasonably priced drinks.
Rental bike
Firepit
Swimming Pool
Image: sidewaysinn.com
Image: sidewaysinn.com
Fitness Center
Santa Ynez Sausage Co.
Sideways Lounge
Image: sidewaysinn.com
FHOP Tip: What’s Nearby: As mentioned before, Buellton lies just across the freeway from the quaint and awesome town of Solvang, California. My favorite stops in Solving include the Copenhagen Sausage Garden and Solvang Brewing Company.
Solvang Brewing Company
The Bottom-Line Review: Sideways Inn (Buellton, California)
We had an absolutely wonderful time at the Sideways Inn.
The location was great, and the newly renovated hotel really hit the mark by creating a young, fun and upscale space for a weekend getaway, without being ever crossing the line to pretentious.
I can highly recommend Sideways Inn for couples looking for weekend getaway, road trippers looking for a fun and easy roadside stop near some great restaurants (and gas station), or even family vacation goers who are looking to do a week-long stay in a place that has a little something for everybody.
Final Rating: 8 out of 10.
