Patty Michael and I spent Aug 19-26 at Belmar, we treated ourselves to the Penthouse as the house we had built in Santa Barbara was being finished.

Impressions: they have a security guard named Butch who is very nice and helps with the bags (he works overnights), and will give you a wake up call the morning you leave too! Ours came at 4:41 am UGH! on the 26th. He checks out all visitors and arriving vehicles.

I originally chose the top floor for a couple of reasons: better breeze, view and distance from the pool in case of noise etc. Well, in fact the breeze was coming from the back so there was no breeze unless we kept the door open to the apartment. So that was a negative. The temperature in the room 5 of the days was almost 100 degrees - yikes - so we were all miserable, even with the ceiling fans on, and even at night. The only comfort was the bedrooms; in the master bedroom, the a/c would stay on with the door closed, even with no one in the room. This was good, because there was always a place we could bring Michael (10 month old) to cool off (or for us to cool off). Michael got a mild heat rash. The other bedroom, the door had to be closed and people in it for the a/c to work.

So we were comfortable at night but not during the day, too hot and no breeze. Other problems were the ice maker did not work (reported to front desk the first day, never fixed); one toilet kept running (not a big issue); and the water pressure was terrible in the showers. Now I did not complain about this, but I do not know the cause either. It could be that everyone was trying to take showers at the same time, hence the drop in pressure (it was worst around 5-7pm), or because we were the top floor, but at times it would not come out of the shower head at all. Frustrating.

Other than that, I liked the resort. The pool was comfortable (I have to say that they should have a skimmer nearby, I saw a huge clump of hair floating in the pool and had no means of removing it); the pier was great, nice staff in the front office, and the other guests very friendly. We had a nice family in the other penthouse across the hall and Vicki Peterson and Pete were great.

I think the ideal guest at Belmar is a couple or even two couples; it is not really for kids as it is so quiet and peaceful we felt really guilty if Michael yelled or cried. For people trying to get away and relax in peace and quiet this is a great resort for you.

Carl, were you in 21 or 22? I've stayed in unit #22 twice, once in October and once in March, and LOVED it both times. Had no issues at all. We did get a better breeze if we kept the front door open, so often we would open the front door while we were there during the day to get the breeze. Poor little Michael getting a heat rash

Ours was 'Jan and Wilma', don't recall seeing any numbers by the door. It had a 'hot tub' :-) which we didn't want or need...

Wow you were there in October, you are brave. In our 9 trips Sept/Oct were the two months we stayed away from for lack of breeze.

I would recommend Belmar, the water pressure was by far the only frustrating element of the trip and the lack of breeze (in no way their fault).

:-) C

Carl, was it on the left or right at the top of the stairs? The one we've stayed in is on the left...with the jacuzzi. Didn't use it in Oct, but when we went a year ago March, we were in that thing every day (once we figured out how to turn it on...no one seemed to know how it worked, including the staff...lol...but we eventually did and had a great time)

It wasn't too bad in October. Open the door and you get a breeze. I absolutely LOVE that place, and the kids did as well.

Our next trip we are staying somewhere else...a perfect little hidden jewel that both Michael and I fell in love with on our last trip when we met the managers/owner...(location determined but dates are yet to be determined).

Carl, This is not good news!!! I choose the penthouse because I thought there WOULD be a breeze. We will be there 30 Sept. Oh well. SRT

We've stayed at the Belmar on our last 2 trips - one in September and one in June. We are booked again in 2 weeks. The Belmar was nowhere near as hot as the place I stayed right before we started staying at the Belmar. I wouldn't worry about it Rosie. My wife and I won't stay anywhere but the Belmar now regardless of what month we are there.

Hello folks,
I will be arriving September 23rd for two weeks with Tom, my brother in-law, Gene and Helen. This will be our first stay at Belmar. We have stayed at Sand$ in the past and are looking forward to a new place to stay and new people to meet.

Rosie,

I am sure you will love it there. Don't worry about it - if your only problem is that you are breezeless than there are solutions, like keeping the front door open - not a crazy idea, since we had a great family across the hall who did the same thing - you are totally safe. And at night just stay in your room.

The wind coming from the back howls down the hallway and feels good.

C

I agree with everyone, Open the front door and let the breeze blow thru. We usually stay on the ground floor and leave the front door open when we are in the apt day or nite (before bedtime). It is nearly always nice. The bedrooms have AC.