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Days Inn Windmill
Rating Details »
114 E Hwy 246
Buellton, CA 93427
(805) 688-8448
Buellton, CA 93427
(805) 688-8448
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20 reviews for Days Inn Windmill
I was on a "SIDEWAYS" kick this last trip to Buellton that I stayed in the Days Inn Windmill, where my favorite film, "Sideways" was shot. Thinking it was going to be a kitschy, fun experience initially, turned regrettable when I arrived to a 2-star motel that makes Motel 6 look like the Ritz Carlton. Run down, ghetto hell was a night at the Days Inn Windmill.
Don't stay here. Book a room at the Best Western or stay in Solvang. You will be happier. Trust me. And you can still get the "Sideways" tour by traveling to all the wineries around Lompoc to Santa Ynez.
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Can't diss this place due to the price. Budget, cheap, yes. especially with a coupon from "Travel Coupon Guide" $59.99+ tax. Location is great. Nostalgic "Sideways" location. Solvang is blocks away. Sure, if you're picky, you can find plenty to bitch about. Don't walk around barefoot. (I wouldn't even in a 5 star place) Bring a can of Lysol and spray anything you might touch. Internet is spotty, but free. Be adventerous and open minded. Don't bring your wife here on your honeymoon. If you wanna save some bucks and aren't a stuck up yuppy you may find this place to be A-OK Don't expect the Ritz. Save your money on overpriced wine tasting elsewhere, I slept like a baby.
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My husband and I have spent our 27 year anniv. in Solvang. The danish country inn lost our reservations that we make every year so we made these instead.
This is the worst hotel we have ever been in.
The pool and jac. are filled with algae and sludge. I saw 2 crazy people jump in and I am sure it can't be healthy for them. We have spent 2 nights here and I have not slept due to the terrible condition of the bed. My body hurts and my 27th is sad. If I could give it minus stars I would.
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Short Version: Not as seen in "Sideways."
Long Version: You know the saying, "You get what you pay for?" It's true here. But look; when you're here, it's because you're spending your time in wine country, not because you're going to rate your accommodations. And for a place to leave your belongings and sleep, it's fine. I will say that there was a strange odor of lemon-scented, potpourri bleach that never left the room while I was there, which was strange if not unsettling. I must admit that the room was kept clean, and again, for the money spent I got plenty. So as long as you're going wine tasting and you're only going to be unconscious while in the room, it's fine. And yes, it is cool to say that you stayed at the Windmill from "Sideways."
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Dirty pool and hot tub that were not usable. Rooms were decently sized but beds were hard. Location is good, across the street from Pea Soup Andersen's. Weekend Rate was $79 through one of the hotel/motel coupon books. Not worth staying at!
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For the money, you can't go wrong. If you don't want to spend a couple hundred bucks to stay in Solvang, then give this place a try. Nothing too fancy about this place. It does have a patio door that opens you to outside grounds which is kind of nice. (First floor only of course) It is walking distance to the Hitching Post and AJ Spurs, so you can do the Sideways drunken walk.
This a low end hotel. A little dirty and very noisey. Even if you are on the back side of the motel, away from the bar, the upstairs noise was awful. We won't be staying here again. The price was OK, but we'd rethink our travel plans and maybe stay somewhere else for 1 night instead of 2.
If you're solo, or with the guys it's OK, but it's not worth it to bring your girlfriend or wife.
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We stayed here because it was cheap and we were making a last minute wine tasting trip to the area and everything in Solvang was booked. This is definitely a motel, only a few steps above the Bates Motel. We had to get our room swtiched because half of the lights didn't work. The staff was very helpful and accomodating with our request.
You really can't beat the price for the location. A short drive from Solvang and several wineries.
In the world of Inns and motels this place is exceptional, but when I return for another trip I will be sure to stay in Solvang.
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I recommend the California Suite. It's on an upper level, in the corner. However, it does not come with a balcony, which many rooms do. Our room was nice. Definitely 300% better than our friends which got the regular, non-suite room.
The convenient location is great. A decent deal with no minimum stay required during peak seasons, like other hotels in the area do. -- stars based on category, not food
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Didn't expect much, didn't get much. Room is okay for a place to stay if you know that you're going to be in a cheap motel. It was a little loud, as some people have complained about - I could hear guests at the pool and in the next room. We had a balcony but it was shared with the guests in the next room. I didn't check out the bar. TV was terrible - couldn't watch some major stations because the sound was so bad and had a lot of static (although picture was okay). Location is pretty good in that it's close to Solvang and the 101.
We had an issue with the price - Kayak quoted 80-something dollars but the hotel charged 130 with tax. Definitely would NOT stay here again for that price.
Guy at the front desk when I registered wasn't friendly at all.
Found a dried booger in one of the wash cloths. I'm sure this happens because 1) guests are stupid and put boogers in towels and linens, 2) although the wash machine probably sterilizes boogers well-enough, it doesn't remove them all, and 3) at a place like this, the cleaning staff probably don't spend as much time making sure everything is "perfect."
If you're really into reliving movie experiences, then I guess you could stay here, but in all honesty, I wouldn't necessarily recommend it, nor would I recommend all of the wineries they visited in that movie. I haven't done the "Sideways tour" but my wife and I have been tasting wine in this area since before the movie and you'll miss out on some great wineries while spending time tasting other wines that are only so-so.
Stayed here Sunday night over Labor Day weekend. I got a pretty decent rate considering it was a holiday weekend. The location is right very convenient (literally right off the 101) and only a few miles from Solvang and within a 15-20 drive from tons of wineries and restaurants.
The rooms are large and spacious. The A/C worked well. The bathrooms were spotless and well stocked with towels, shampoo, lotion, and a hair dryer. Good reception on the tv. The pool is medium sized and relatively clean. The soundproofing is pretty good as the motel was fully booked, but I couldn't hear any noise from my neighbors. The beds were comfy and I loved the pillows. The sheets and bedding seemed new and were very clean. Continental breakfast is included: bagels, muffins, danishes, hot and cold cereal, bananas, apples, nectarines, coffee/tea/milk/juice.
The Clubhouse Bar is a good place to get a drinks. It's also got pool tables ($6/hr), darts, and arcade games. Well drinks were $4, top shelf $6.50. During happy hour, they have $2 beers.
This was also the motel that Jack and Miles stayed at in the movie Sideways and is a two minute drive from Hitching Post II Restaurant.
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To be honest, the only reason I stayed here was because I saw it in the movie "Sideways". It ended up being a decent hotel for only about $60 a night. For that price, what can you really expect? The room was fairly clean and there weren't many amenities, but we were only there one night so it was no big deal. The free breakfast is the standard continental breakfast, so nothing special.
One of the cheaper Inns in the region. Hard to find but very accommodating. The AC and fridge were working properly and the bathroom was clean. Half the TV channels had unbearable static but oh wells this ain't no W. Overall I was impressed with the level of comfort here and you're walking distance from PSA.
Have to laugh at the comments here. We got booked (like others) on a weekend when we were booking at hotel late.
It is in a great location (prefer the Best Western across the street), freeway close, and a basic and clean MOTEL room.
really hate "sideway's" winos.
we should have pushed thru and finished the drive to LA. Days Inn...better than motel 6?
now I know why I don't stay in cheapo motels. the last room. next to the fickin bar. I've only been here 15 mins and have heard journey, def leppard, and now I hear HELLS BELLS BELLS!
I would say fuck it and check out but I've been up since 6 AM. pop an ambien and cross my fingers. Thank god last call is at 2 am.
1 star because of location.
1 star bcause am tired and just don't care.
minus 1 star because of all the sideways winos got all the good rooms.
minus 1 star because they should never make a room next to the bar.
minus 1 star because I'm cranky.
good night?!!!
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Great hotel for the price!
For $60/night we got a HUGE room and a large bathroom (the bed was small, though - it was a double bed, but I was already aware of that when I made the reservation). The coffeemaker in the room can be useful (as well as the hair dryer was for my wife).
It was really clean (the room, not the pool...) and quiet. The location is also very good, close to many restaurants and with easy access to Hwy 101.
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For a Days Inn, this place is great. I stay no where else when I find myself on a wine bender. It's always the cheapest and it's got a pool/spa and probably the best bar around. Some talk about a place called Maverick's but I've never thought it could possibly be worth the $40 roundtrip cab fare. And to top it off it has the requisite windmill. What more do you want??
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For a bed to sleep in, this place is all right. When I'm up here for wine tasting, I prefer to spend my money on wine, not on lodging, so I usually stay in Buellton. I am fairly loyal to the Pea Soup Andersen's Best Western across the street, so I pretty much just stay at the Days Inn when the other place is full. I wasn't too impressed the first time I stayed here, but after my most recent experience, I would have no problem staying here again. It was a busy weekend, so just about every hotel in the area was completely full, and it was a spontaneous trip so we had no reservations. The Days Inn had 4 rooms left, and all of them were either over the bar or next to the bar. But it was pretty cool, the guy at the reception desk told us the situation, implying these rooms would be noisy, and basically encouraged us to haggle the price down. So we did, and got a pretty good deal for one of the rooms above the bar. It was actually a much bigger room than we usually stay in, with a king and a kitchenette. All we really needed was a refrigerator and air conditioning (important on a wine tasting trip, especially during summer, to control the temperature of any wine we've bought), both of which the room provided. It also has a pool, which is a bonus if you care to use it. We got settled in, cranked the AC down to 60, turned on the TV, and created a nice, cold cave. The bed had really hard springs, the bathroom was meh, and the selection of TV channels was pretty limited, but whatever, like I said, it was just a place to sleep and cool down. And we never heard a peep out of the bar, so we were either lucky or oblivious. Anyway, it's not luxurious, but it's totally functional.
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I'm corny and I'm cheap when it comes to hotels so it made sense when, wishing to retrace the steps of the Sideways characters, I decided to stay at the Windmill. Granted, it's not a five diamond hotel, but it's not horrible either. The rooms are clean, the maid service does a good job, and the location is very convenient.
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OK here is the long and short of it.....It was a pretty big room, one of the cleaner cheap hotels I have stayed in, the bathroom was clean, the beds were uncomfortable, they had the thinnest walls of anywhere I have ever been. You can hear EVERYthing, everytime someone passes by your room, jumps into the pool and anyone in the nearby rooms. It smelled like bleach (not the worst thing a hotel room can smell like....but still...) It was very cold in the room, and the Cable TV sucked, about 10 channels. Also not in a good location- surrounded by a highway, gas stations, and a couple restaurants. IF you are coming to party, or wine it up with friends, definitly crash here, its not bad on the budget- BUT if you are on a romantic or family vacation, fork out the extra dough and stay in solvang somewhere! Youll have a much better time among all the winebars, restaurants, shops, and bakeries, youll be safer, and the ambience will be 100% better!
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