Last week, a spur of the moment decision took my husband and I to Santa Barbara in sunny Southern California. This is not the way to find a budget hotel, but few exist there anyway. We stayed in two different hotels and the irony was, the second hotel—The Hampton Inn at Goleta—cost more than our boutique hotel in Santa Barbara! The Hampton was nothing special, so I’ll talk about the first night we spent at the Mar Monte Hotel on E. Cabrillo Blvd, Santa Barbara. The Mar Monte (part of the “Unbound Collection” by Hyatt) first opened in 1931. Its Spanish Colonial architecture has been a landmark of Santa Barbara ever since. The Hyatt bought the hotel in 2011. In 2019, they revitalized the interior rooms, bringing them more up to date and adding air-conditioning. Our room was small but comfortable. (They offer larger rooms and suites as well.) We …