Santa Barbara & Montecito, four hotels
Santa Barbara calls itself the American Riviera, and Montecito is where the claim is easiest to believe.
Luxury hotels in Santa Barbara & Montecito
4 hotels
Santa Barbara calls itself the American Riviera, and Montecito is where the claim is easiest to believe. The claim rests on a beach house whose terrace suites open onto the sand, an 1893 guest ranch up a creek in the foothills, and forty-five minutes inland, a 1923 valley estate at the edge of the Los Padres National Forest. The city itself adds a fourth: a 2017 hotel at the foot of State Street, a block from the beach and Stearns Wharf. We list exactly one five-star hotel in the destination; the three addresses beside it hold four-star standing and earn their place on history, setting and the way they are run – and we list them at exactly the tier they hold. We looked at every candidate from the Gaviota coast to Ojai and kept only those whose service holds up to the address. Four made the cut.
“Because the hotel, its dining room Caruso's and its spa all hold five-star standing – a triple that only sixteen properties in the world can claim – and it sits directly on Miramar Beach.”
From our editors · Rosewood Miramar Beach
The neighborhoods
Rosewood Miramar Beach · Montecito — © Rosewood Hotel GroupMontecito
The village east of Santa Barbara, with two of the four hotels – one on the sand and one up San Ysidro Creek. It takes in Coast Village Road's shops, Butterfly and Miramar beaches below and lanes of estates climbing into the foothills.
Ojai Valley Inn · Ojai Valley — © Ojai Valley InnOjai Valley
A citrus valley in Ventura County, forty-five minutes from Montecito and a world apart. It lies thirty-five miles inland, ringed by the Los Padres National Forest, and is known for the pink light on its mountains at sunset.
Downtown Santa Barbara & the Waterfront
Santa Barbara proper, where State Street runs down to the sea – with one hotel, a block from the water. Stearns Wharf and the beach lie at its foot, the Funk Zone's tasting rooms and galleries a few steps back from the sand, downtown's shops and cafés up the street and the Old Mission above.
Good to know
Which are the five-star hotels in Santa Barbara & Montecito?
One. The five-star hotel we list in Santa Barbara & Montecito is Rosewood Miramar Beach. Alongside it we keep three four-star addresses, each listed at exactly the tier it holds: San Ysidro Ranch, Ojai Valley Inn and Hotel Californian. Each has its own page, reached from the list above, with a concierge behind every stay.
Should I stay in Montecito or in Ojai?
Montecito holds two of the four – Rosewood Miramar Beach directly on the sand, five minutes from Coast Village Road, and San Ysidro Ranch ten minutes up the hill on San Ysidro Creek – with downtown Santa Barbara, the Mission and Stearns Wharf a short drive west; Hotel Californian is the city address, at the foot of State Street a block from the wharf. Ojai Valley Inn is a different trip: thirty-five miles inland in Ventura County, forty-five minutes by car, on 220 acres at the edge of the Los Padres National Forest. Choose Montecito for the sea and the village, the city for State Street and the waterfront on foot, Ojai when the point is to disappear into a valley for a few days – or pair them, a few nights on the coast and a few inland.
When is the best season for Santa Barbara?
September and October – the warmest water of the year, the clearest skies and the summer visitors gone. Late spring often begins under a gray marine layer that burns off by early afternoon; July and August are bright and busy, so book early. Winter is mild, green after the rains and quiet. Ojai runs hotter than the coast in summer and cooler in winter, and its pink moment, when the setting sun lights the mountains at the head of the valley, needs only a clear evening.
Are the hotels on the beach?
One of them is. Rosewood Miramar Beach stands directly on Miramar Beach in Montecito, and its Beach House Terrace Suites open onto the sand. Hotel Californian is a block back from it – at the foot of State Street, with Cabrillo Boulevard between the hotel and the sand, and Stearns Wharf as close. San Ysidro Ranch sits in the foothills above the village, about ten minutes from the same beach, with the mountains rather than the ocean at the door. Ojai Valley Inn is inland altogether – a valley estate forty-five minutes from the coast, chosen for exactly that.
How do I reserve a stay?
Search your dates on the hotel's page to see reference rates, then send the concierge a request. The concierge confirms exact rates and availability with you before anything is booked, and any payment and its timing are set out before you confirm.
