Fine Tuned: Santa Barbara's Goodland Hotel Opens Lobby Record Shop

by Gabe Saglie, Senior Editor, Travelzoo
story published in the Santa Barbara News-Press on 4/20/16

The Goodland is turning up the volume.

The stylish hotel in Goleta, part of the boutique Kimpton brand, just launched VNYL, the area’s newest record shop.  The off-lobby venue is small – a few dozen square feet.  But the titles are wide ranging, from Led Zeppelin and Miles Davis to The Fugees and N.W.A., and the selections are slated to grow by at least 20 each month.

“We definitely stock vintage titles,” says Lea Sindija, The Goodland’s Director of Programming, who’s also taken on the whimsical title of Record Concierge.  “But we also want this to be a spot for discovery and to feature indie, emerging artists that you’re not going to find at other shops.” 

To that end, VNYL looks to feature any Santa Barbara band that has a vinyl album.  “We’re another platform for them to promote themselves,” says Ms. Sindija.  One of her favorite in-stock titles is the album Desert Boheme by the San Francisco rock band Zodiac Death Valley, which has previously performed at The Goodland.  “We’re the only record shop to carry it,” she adds.

Gramophone records have been part of the Goodland experience ever since the hotel, known for its Bohemian and surfer-chic vibe, opened its doors in 2014: every room features a record player and at least three vinyl records for guests to play.  The idea has always appealed to more mature guests who find the players nostalgic.  “So many of them reminisce and will tell me stories about specific songs they’d play on records,” says Ms. Sindija.  But the turntables are intriguing to younger guests too, who’ve grown up accessing tunes digitally and who actually see record players as a new way to listen to music.

Maybe too new.  “We did have to place title cards on top of the players because some people didn’t know how to operate them,” admits Ms. Sindija.  “Some were even pulling the needles out because they thought they’d scratch the records.”

The Goodland’s new record shop, which is located next to the hotel’s popular Outpost Restaurant, is open to the public and sells titles 24 hours a day, payable at the front desk and priced between $26 and $34.  It also lets guests borrow titles for enjoyment in their rooms.  And it features Sonos listening stations, complete with headphones, for sampling.

VNYL is in the lobby of The Goodland, right next to the hotel's popular Outpost Restauramt

VNYL's selection spans across multiple decades and genres. It's also focused on Santa Barbara-based bands

You can sample records before you buy at VNYL's listening stations

The shop is a satellite store for VNYL, a subscription-based music discovery service based in Los Angeles.  It represents not only VNYL’s first record store inside a hotel but also the first initiative of its kind for the Kimpton brand, which also manages Santa Barbara’s Canary Hotel and runs dozens of hotels in more than 30 U.S. cities.  The Goodland just launched an overnight stay package dubbed Positive Spin, starting at $199, which features welcome cocktails and the guests’ choice of record.

A grand opening party for VNYL is set for May 19^th.  The event will feature DJs and several live bands, all of which will be stocked at the record shop, as well as artists in pop-up studios.  Tickets are free but limited and require RSVP.

For more information on The Goodland, click here.

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