Canary Hotel

Our reception at the Canary was amazing!!! The setting is gorgeous, the food was wonderful and the service great! Joanie was awesome in planning our special day in the months preceding - very helpful and responsive - and she also took charge in setting up all the extras (framed photos, table cards, candy buffet) the day of, which was such a relief! It looked amazing!! Our only complaint is that the price of rooms is really high, which is cost prohibitive for most guests. But the rooftop reception is simply perfect and we had a wonderful experience!!!

My husband and I booked the Canary rooftop for our June wedding reception but unfortunately, it rained on us and we were moved into ballroom instead. Our guests didn't notice the difference, the ballroom ambiance was perfect! Although our premium bar set up was done nicely, they ran out of our premium alcohol that we paid for. There were fish bones in our fishes and some undercooked chicken in our buffet. The best part of our experience was working with the Catering Manager, Joannie Velasquez. She was most delightful to work with. I would recommend her assistance any day. Sadly, she had to leave near the end of the night and a banquet manager took over. We spoke with someone about storing our props and flowers overnight and were assisting our guests out when the banquet manager began shouting at us about our belongings. He was quite angry and this all took place in front of our friends and family. It was incredibly unprofessional and rude. Sure, it was the end of the night, everyone was tired but we paid to be at one of the luxurious hotels in Santa Barbara. Unacceptable.

My husband and I had our wedding reception last May at the Canary Hotel, and we could not have been more pleased! I'll start with the hotel personnel:
Alison Manna, the Event Coordinator, was unbelievably helpful with all of our requests...and we had plenty! She was always promptly responding to our phone calls and emails, and was always available if we needed to speak to her in person. Barbara, who was in charge of blocking rooms, was so flexible and accommodating to our MANY requests. The head chef provided a food tasting that was out of this world. Overall, we could not be more pleased with every staff member at this beautiful hotel. This brings me to our actual reception:
The Canary Hotel offers the unique experience of providing two locations in which to enjoy a reception. First, having a Santa Barbara rooftop experience for dinner and dancing overlooking the spectacular views and enjoying the fantastic weather is worth every penny. On top of that, as the night progressed, and our guests wanted to get a little more festive, we all moved down into the Riviera Ballroom downstairs, and enjoyed a nightclub-like experience for the rest of the night.
Out guests had a blast, we have memories that will last a lifetime, and The Canary Hotel, along with its staff, facilitated this perfect reception. Anyone who wishes to have the wedding of a lifetime, you must consider The Canary Hotel.

The positives- The venue itself is great! The view from the roof is beautiful and the hotel is nicely decorated. The rooms are really comfy and it is located in the middle of downtown- walking distance to a lot of great places.
The food is fantastic,not your typical wedding food at all.
The not-so-positives- I am disappointed with the entire process of planning our wedding there with the catering and hotel management staff. We were treated like we were "lucky" to be having our wedding there and as if we were an annoyance. The communication was poor- hard to get a call back, and everything was always so inconsistent. I am very lucky to have hired a wonderful Day-of-Coordinator who smoothed out a lot of things that happened that day- including a tray of raw hamburgers being passed out to guests. Overall, very disappointed with this vendor.

I had a perfect wedding experience at the Canary. Alison was my contact, and she totally took care of me. The food was great, the staff was friendly and attentive and the day went off without a hitch. A wonderful choice if you are looking for a beach wedding in a stunning location, without having to deal with sand and the public eye. The rooftop deck is breathtaking (you can see the ocean, the mountains, downtown Santa Barbara), and the hotel interior is decorated with a upscale/Meditteranean vibe). I even prefer Canary to their sister property, Shutters on the Beach in Santa Monica. I would strongly encourage anyone to seek out getting married at the Canary. Grade: A

I booked this venue for the ceremony site: the gorgeous rooftop terrace with an even more incredible view. What I didn't expect was the wonderful help I received from the Catering Manager, Shelly Berry. She not only helped us with shaping a menu but gave us invaluable advise on the order of the reception. I got a wedding coordinator without the extra price tag. The food was delicious and the waitstaff was very prompt, attentive and courteous. I forgot to ask what kind of house champagne they served at the toast but it was the best I'd ever had. All my guest couldn't stop talking about how perfectly everything had turned out.

This is such a fun place to have a wedding. Their rooftop has a 360 degree view of downtown Santa Barbara and at sunset it is a spectacular spot for a ceremony or reception dinner. They also boast a ballroom at the bottom of a gold-railed staircase, a photographer's heaven.

Just when you thought Santa Barbara weddings were all about vineyards and beaches, you find the Canary Hotel, and a sophisticated city rooftop wedding emerges!

From the minute you walk in, the style of the hotel grabs you...it's stucco and Spanish tile, it's wrought iron and polished wood - it's eye candy architecture and old world charm. You may find yourself wondering if the hotel's channeling Casa Del Mar - it is (Santa Monica's Casa del Mar and Shutters are sister properties)...and then you go to the Rooftop.

Forgetting the details for a moment -- gazing out over the city toward the mountains, you imagination conjures images of swanky guests sipping mojitos, the maid of honor flirting with the best man near the fireplace, a slow dance in the moonlit breeze, and the bride and groom stealing a kiss on the staircase.

Then the question arises - can they make it happen? This is where the sales and catering staff comes in, of course, and having spent a lovely lunch with Alison Manna (associate director of catering), I'd say the Canary Hotel is up to the task! Alison was not only knowledgeable about the hotel and its history, but also about the Santa Barbara wedding industry, the restaurant's lunch menu (take her advice, the tortilla soup is superb), and the details that need a little TLC to ensure a fantastic event.

With new ownership, they've revamped the look of the hotel (in particular the restaurant) and the quality of the food, trained the service staff and road-tested the changes. And (importantly from my perspective), the catering manager is experienced, youthful, open to creative ideas, and excited about making your imagined event a reality.

I have fallen in love with the Canary Hotel, and you just might too. Don't miss this gem during your wedding venue search!