Santa Barbara Travel Guide

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Hotel Indigo Will Open on State Street in Santa Barbara on March 1

Go To The Hotel's Web Site Where: 121 State Street [map], Santa Barbara, CA, United States, 93101
February 2, 2012 at 2:34 PM | by | Comments (0)

Well, this is surprising. When we were compiling our Master List of 2012 Openings, we totally did not see that Hotel Indigo would be opening in Santa Barbara. But lo and behold, an is announcement out today says that our favorite boutique brand is opening in March in the former Hotel State Street.

Opening after a multi-million dollar renovation, Hotel Indigo Santa Barbara combines the historic Santa Barbara splendor with the architectural sophistication of modern design.The forty-one room boutique hotel has thirteen guest rooms featuring private outdoor gardens and fourteen guest rooms with views of the Riviera and mountains or urban scenes dotted by palm trees.

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Hyatt Opens Its First Hotel in Santa Barbara

Go To The Hotel's Web Site Where: 1111 E. Cabrillo Blvd. [map], Santa Barbara, CA, United States, 93103
July 27, 2011 at 9:20 AM | by | Comments (0)

Santa Barbara is getting Hyattized, though too bad not in time to capitalize on the royal couple fever that hit the local hotel scene earlier this month. The 80-year-old Hotel Mar Monte has been transformed into the city's first Hyatt, the Hyatt Santa Barbara.

As part of its new persona, the oceanfront hotel has been getting renovations since February. The hotel has redone 92 of its 171 rooms, lobby, and pool and deck areas.

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This Might Be The Most Exciting Thing to Happen to Santa Barbara Hotels Ever

July 6, 2011 at 11:42 AM | by | Comments (0)

We thought the Royal Couple craziness would die down once the newlyweds became an old married twosome, but nope, we wrong. Now, hotels in California are looking to cash in on Prince William and Kate's impending trip to the Golden State. In particular, Santa Barbara hotels are downright giddy over the couple's planned visit for a charity polo match and meal. So much so they are celebrating the best way they know how--with a package.

The Santa Barbara Hotel Group is honoring Kate and Wills with their Royal Romance Escape package. (Groan.) You and your king (Double Groan) will get accommodations as well as an upgrade, a bottle of champagne, high tea for two at Andersen's of Santa Barbara and a list of the top 25 places to kiss in SB. (Actually, that one's kinda cute.)

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Get Dinner and a Room at Santa Barbara's Canary Hotel for $299

Go To The Hotel's Web Site Where: 31 W. Carrillo St. [map], Santa Barbara, CA, United States, 93101
April 1, 2011 at 9:31 AM | by | Comments (0)

We'll find any excuse to visit beautiful Santa Barbara. The beaches, mountain backdrop and Spanish adobe buildings with red-tile roofs make it a charming vacay spot. Luckily, Travelzoo is giving us a good reason to visit the beachy town, that and we might get to bump into Parks & Recreation's Rob Lowe, who—literally—hangs in SB since he lives nearby in Montecito.

The package is good for West Coasters who want a quickie getaway. As part of the deal, you'll spend a night at the Canary Hotel and get dinner for two for $299, a $350 savings.

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Celebrate St. Patrick's Day with Basketball at the Canary Hotel

Go To The Hotel's Web Site Where: 31 W. Carrillo St. [map], Santa Barbara, CA, United States, 93101
March 9, 2011 at 11:31 AM | by | Comments (0)

In honor of the upcoming holiday, we'll highlight a few wacky St. Patrick's Day packages that must have been thought up by a leprechaun.

St. Patrick's Day makes you crave pints of Guinness, Irish soda bread, corned beef and cabbage, and, um, basketball. At least that's what the Canary Hotel in Santa Barbara is hoping.

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Can You Really Get Hotel Rooms in Santa Barbara for Under $100?

January 21, 2011 at 2:11 PM | by | Comments (0)

A beachside town that's home to famous folks like Rob Lowe won't be cheap, especially for sun-seeking, celeb-spotting tourists. Accordingly, there are lots of luxury hotels all up in SB, like Bacara Resort and the Four Seasons Biltmore. But the Los Angeles Times says it found five hotels where you could get a room for less than $100. We did some sleuthing to see if the too-good-to-be-true deals were legit.

To be clear the under-$100 deals are for weekdays only, though the weekend rates were still pretty low. The paper said that Blue Sands Motel's $79 weekday and $129 weekend starting rates, which check out.

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Inside the Hotel Oceana Santa Barbara

Go To The Hotel's Web Site Where: 202 W. Cabrillo Blvd. [map], Santa Barbara, CA, United States, 93101
August 23, 2010 at 12:56 PM | by | Comment (1)

UPDATE: See the comments below for an update on our review.

We stole a few days to head to Santa Barbara for a beachy retreat. Since we enjoy chillaxing at Hotel Oceana Santa Monica, we decided to bunk at its sister property, the on-the-oceanfront Hotel Oceana Santa Barbara.

How did the SB hotel stack up? We'll give you the lowdown on the rooms and more below.

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Four Seasons Hotels Are Watching Your Tweets and That's a Good Thing

Go To The Hotel's Web Site Where: 1260 Channel Drive [map], Santa Barbara, CA, United States, 93108
November 25, 2009 at 9:24 AM | by | Comments (5)

Year after year, Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts win all sorts of awards and garner spots on all different sorts of hotel lists for their attentive services to guests. But recently, we were impressed by their speedy response to a comment we had made last month on our Twitter page. (@Global_Gourmet).

Here’s what happened: We were staying at Four Seasons Resort The Biltmore in Santa Barbara to attend Alaska Media Road Show--a get-to-know our 50th state kinda speed dating for writers and Alaska marketers. We've actually stayed at this Four Seasons before and this time, Katy Perry and Russell Brand had checked in together right before us. (We Tweeted that too, and received a "Juicy! xoxo" response from none other than Perez Hilton.)

But back to our hotel service story.

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Forget Oktoberfest, Try OctoberBest at The Bacara Resort

Go To The Hotel's Web Site Where: 8301 Hollister Ave. [map], Santa Barbara, CA, United States, 93117
October 2, 2009 at 9:28 AM | by | Comments (0)

While temperatures dip this time of year, Santa Barbara basks in 70-degree weather during the fall. If you want to squeeze in a little more sun time before winter hits, Bacara Resort & Spa is offering OctoberBest, a month-long deal that'll get you a room at a discount of more than $120.

Aside from the savings to your wallet, we think the "Best" part of the package is that it allows you to sleep in, since each night you pay for entitles you to 24 hours in your room. Meaning, you won't have to wake up at 8 a.m. and scramble to pack to make the noon checkout time. If you check in at 8 p.m., you don't have to check out until 8 p.m. the following day.

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Randy Quaid and Wife May or May Not Have Stiffed The San Ysidro Ranch

Go To The Hotel's Web Site Where: 900 San Ysidro Lane [map], Santa Barbara, CA, United States, 93108
September 25, 2009 at 8:43 AM | by | Comments (0)

Two things are for certain concerning the reports that former? actor Randy Quaid and his wife, Evi were arrested for allegedly stiffing the San Ysidro Ranch in Calif, out of a nearly $6,000 hotel bill. One, Randy and Evi are most likely crazy. They posed for their mugshots like it was a Facebook profile photo shoot and then scribbled off some letter to TMZ about how they in fact did pay the bill. Two, TMZ got way too excited about their mugshots.

But we still aren't sure if they actually did skip out on their hotel bill on August 20th. TMZ says the couple have done this sort of thing before at the Hotel Bel-Air but Evi sent a copy of a cashier's check they sent to the hotel with the amount requested. She also said:

I promise the state of California, Texas does not bother people over hamburgers ordered by room service, supposedly burglarized."

Um...ok. Either way, the duo have posted bail and are free to check into new hotels now. But we're not so sure hotels will be eager to accept them now. Remember, hotels do have a blacklist.

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The Bacara Resort's Acai Berry Drink

Go To The Hotel's Web Site Where: 8301 Hollister Avenue [map], Santa Barbara, CA, United States, 93117
September 9, 2009 at 1:04 PM | by | Comments (0)

We've kicked off our Summer Cocktails series where we profile fun new summer drinks that hotels are making. Got one we should know about? Send us the recipe with a photo of the drink. Otherwise, enjoy and @reply us when you're wasted!

Acai berries seem to rate a lot of mentions in the junk mail that passes our desk – you know, the Brazilian superfood from the rainforest which is supposed to be healthier than, like, a whole field of spinach – but we've learned today that not all acai berries are annoying.

In the Bacara Bar at the Bacara Resort and Spa in Santa Barbara, they're serving up a Bacara Acai cocktail and rather than sounding much too healthy, it actually sounds rather delicious. It features Veev Acai Spirit and Chambord Raspberry Liqueur, and very importantly, eleven blueberries – not ten and not twelve, so get it right if you try to mix it at home! Check the recipe after the jump.

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The Coral Casino Beach and Cabana Club Pool By the Numbers

Go To The Hotel's Web Site Where: 1281 Channel Drive [map], Santa Barbara, CA, United States, 93108
July 17, 2009 at 4:03 PM | by | Comments (0)

Guests of the Four Seasons Biltmore Resort in Santa Barbara have a choice when it comes to pools: the "intimate" Resort Jungle Pool or the "legendary" Olympic-sized pool across the street at the private-membership Coral Casino Beach and Cabana Club.

The spa, and fitness facilities here are open to club members and Four Seasons guests only. And with that kind of exclusivity, numbers matter.

Below, we've rounded up some interesting numbers regarding this exclusive pool area.

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