We have learned that the Santa Maria Inn went through a conversion of billing systems during the past year and in some cases, attendees were billed/charged by the old system for a one day no-show. The new system billed/charged correctly as you checked in but the entry in the old system did not get erased. Franz at the hotel tells us that he believes all corrections have now been made. Please check your credit card. If you see a one day charge of about $111 and do not see a corresponding refund, call Franz Davis (Revenue Manager) directly at 805-346-7905 between 8:00 am and 4:00 pm PDT. You can also ask for Heidi at the main hotel number 805-928-7777. She has been addressing many of the calls related to this. Our apologies on behalf of the hotel for this mixup.

The Santa Maria 2026 Convention will be held at The Historic Santa Maria Inn at 801 South Broadway, Santa Maria, CA 93454.

Parking is free. And hey, the hotel is pet friendly so bring along your dog or cat if you like! But not to dinner! And not to the sessions please.



We have also secured a block of rooms at the Best Western Plus Big America Hotel at 1725 N. Broadway, Santa Maria, CA 93454. Room rate is also $99.00 USD/night plus taxes and also with free parking. To make a reservation there,
call 805-922-5200 and ask for the "Santa Maria 2026 SC Contest Club" rate.



Want to do some non-ham things while in Santa Maria? Check out the Tourist Checklist! Your visit doesn't have to be all about ham radio!

For example, the famed Hearst Castle is just an hour and half (60 miles) north of Santa Maria! (I, can vouch for this as being a fantastic place to visit. I've been there and taken two of the four tours! --NE6I)

Note that the "Danish Capital of America," the small town of Solvang, is about 35 miles/56 km to the south of Santa Maria. It's a fun little tourist spot.

Also, the Santa Inez Valley is home to about 35 wineries! If wine tasting is something you enjoy, you will want to carve out some time to visit many of them!