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Golf and Gorge at Ojai Valley Inn and Spa's Celebrity Chef Classic
What goes together better than chefs and golf? Well…probably lots of things, but it still sounds like a pretty fun combo to us. That’s why we headed up to Ojai last week to get a preview of the menu for the upcoming Celebrity Chef Classic at the Ojai Valley Inn & Spa.
Taking place Friday, November 13-Sunday, November 15, the Celebrity Chef Classic will bring together five chefs from around the country to cook up a gourmet weekend for Ojai’s guests, even while pitting them against each other on the golf course. The five participating maestros will be: Jamie West of the Ojai Valley Inn & Spa, Todd Gray of Equinox in D.C., Ming Tsai from Blue Ginger in Massachusetts, Alan Wong from the Pineapple Room in Honolulu, and Budi Kazali from the Ballard Inn and Restaurant in Santa Ynez, making it a truly national event.
Tags: Fall Hotel Deals / Hotel Deals / Santa Barbara Hotels / → All Tags
Forget Oktoberfest, Try OctoberBest at The Bacara Resort
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.
Tags: Celebrity Scoop / Randy Quaid / Hotel Blacklists / Hotel Crime / Santa Barbara Hotels / → All Tags
Randy Quaid and Wife May or May Not Have Stiffed The San Ysidro Ranch
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.
Tags: Summer Cocktails / Hotel Cocktails / Santa Barbara Hotels / → All Tags
The Bacara Resort's Acai Berry Drink
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.
Tags: Hotel Pools / Four Seasons Hotels / Members Only / Santa Barbara Hotels / → All Tags
The Coral Casino Beach and Cabana Club Pool By the Numbers
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.Tags: Hotel Deals / Santa Barbara Hotels / → All Tags
Bacara Resort & Spa Wants to Be the One That You Want
Whether or not your summer vacation plans involve a romantic fling with “The One” or not, Bacara Resort & Spa wants to be “The One” you choose for lodgings. As incentive, Santa Barbara’s poshest resort is unveiling a 72-hour sale that starts tomorrow, July 15, at 8 a.m. PCT and ends Saturday, July 18, at 8 a.m. PCT (on the dot!).
Sale rates start at $399 for a guestroom and 50-minute massage, or $599 for an 80-minute massage and suite (tax and gratuity included). Guests can choose from the traditional favorite massages: Swedish, Sport and Deep Tissue. But what’s even cooler is that it’s called “The One” for a reason — er, several reasons, one of which being that you get a whole day at the resort regardless of check-in time. As in, if you check in at 8 p.m., you can stay until 8 p.m. the next day. We like!
Of course, a few stipulations do qualify. “The One” is valid for travel Sunday to Thursday through Sept. 15, not including July 16, July 26–Aug. 6, or Sept. 6.
Tags: Hotel Rates / Michael Jackson / Santa Barbara Hotels / Holiday Inn Hotels / → All Tags
Cheap Hotels Are Hard to Find for Michael Jackson's Neverland Memorial
Here at HotelChatter we have a very informal indicator of how popular an event is going to be: the price of the nearest Holiday Inn.
If the room rate for the Holiday Inns in the city where said event is taking place remain low, we're sorry to tell you, event promoters, but this gig is probably a bust. If the Holiday Inn's rates in the city where said event is taking place have skyrocketed to unreasonable prices that no one would ever fork over for a budget hotel, then you're in luck: your event is going to be a success! Too bad Michael Jackson isn't here to see just how massive his funeral is going to be.
The memorial is taking place at Neverland Ranch in Los Olivos, California, and the Santa Barbara area is prepping for a flood of one-glove wearing, Thriller album-holding, fedora-sporting fans. And all these "Billie Jean" lovers are going to need a place to stay.
We headed over to Expedia and checked the Holiday Inn Express Santa Barbara hotel for rates from Thursday through Sunday, and the 2.5-star property has rooms open for $222 a night. The Holiday Inn Santa Barbara-Goleta, a 3-star property near the UCSB campus, is down to $182 a night.
Tags: Hotel Hype / Santa Barbara Hotels / Rick Caruso / → All Tags
The Miramar Hotel in Santa Barbara is Back on Track
Miramar Beach in Santa Barbara
When we last checked-in on the forlorn Miramar Hotel property in Santa Barbara we saw the glass as half-empty. Actually, the glass looked entirely empty to us. But there have been some new developments that have put this historic hotel-turned-hot-potato back into action.
Developer and mega-lifestyle mall creator, Rick Caruso, has finally reached an agreement with the property's neighboring community about drainage problems and their environmental impact. While the plans to build a luxury hotel were approved by the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors, the residents were putting up a bit of fight.
Now that the problem with the community has been tentatively resolved, Caruso can go ahead building the 192-room hotel which sits on 16-acres near the Pacific ocean and which will have a tennis court, a ballroom, three restaurants, two swimming pools and a beach club. Of course, today's climate is not an ideal time to finance, build or open a luxury hotel but we're wishing them the best of luck.
[Photo: Andre.Theus]
Tags: Tax Relief Deals / Hotel Deals / Santa Barbara Hotels / → All Tags
Bacara Now Offering The 'Great Resort Rebate'
Whether you’re doing anything from subscribing to a magazine to buying a car, everyone is offering rebates in a desperate attempt to get even a little of your money, and luxury hotels like Santa Barbara’s Bacara Resort and Spa seem to be spearheading the trend these days.
From now through May 21, 2009, the tony Bacara Resort, a favorite of tabloid fodder celebrities like “Speidi” and Nick Lachey, is offering its “Great Resort Rebate.” That means you get $100 resort credit when you book a room starting at $395 a night, or $200 when you book a $695/night suite. The room deal sounds better to us on a strictly numbers basis.
Tags: Movie Set Hotel / Santa Barbara Hotels / Wine Tasting Hotels / → All Tags
Now You Can Pretend You’re The Dudes From Sideways
So, you want to go tasting in Santa Barbara’s wine country like Miles and Jack from Sideways, but have no idea where to stay? Try the little Hadsten House Hotel in Solvang, about 30 miles north of Santa Barbara. Sure, it’s not the fictional Windmill Inn, but then again, you won’t have a nervous breakdown there.
Tags: Santa Barbara Hotels / Hotel Renovations / Celebrity Scoop / → All Tags
Hotel Oceana Santa Barbara :: Pretty New Rooms and Free of Reality Stars
The 122-room Hotel Oceana Santa Barbara, sister property to the Hotel Oceana Santa Monica, is undergoing a major renovation this year. Guests may expect to see changes pretty soon, as a few upgrades are scheduled to be completed by this month, including:
simple, clean walls, inspired by the traditional white adobe style of Santa Barbara, new hardwood floors evoking the region's old world charm throughout the guest rooms, the addition of high-definition flat screen LCD TVs, and all new furnishings and accessories.
When the renovation project is 100% finished, the hotel feature 14 new junior suites and an "updated boardroom."
Need more incentive than a newly renovated beachfront property? The ultra-posh Bacara Resort and Spa, a quick 20 minute drive, is a hotspot for vacationing celebrities like Nick Lachey, Victoria Beckham, and, uh, Heidi and Spencer.
So, you can either head over there and stargaze or...chill at the Oceana and be thankful that your hotel is Speidi-free. Rooms at the Oceana run about $250 during the week and around $400 on weekends.
Tags: Hotel Openings / Santa Barbara Hotels / ETC Hotels / → All Tags
Canary Hotel in Santa Barbara Gets Harsh LAT Review
Santa Barbara's got a new hotel but judging from this review of the Canary Hotel by the LA Times' Valli Herman, the place still has a long ways to go before it's on the same level as some of its famous neighbors. And we don't mean Oprah. We mean Ojai, Bacara.
The Canary Hotel is actually the new incarnation of the Hotel Andalucia, a five-story boutique hotel that opened in 2004 just a block off State Street. The place got a gigantic facelift courtesy of the group behind two of our fave Santa Monica hotels--Casa del Mar and Shutters on the Beach--the Edward Thomas Collection (ETC Hotels).
As for the name, it really has nothing to do with the bird but rather the Canary Islands off Morocco's coast. Thus the decor is mix of Spanish and Morrocan but the bird makes an appearance in the logo and the hotel offers binoculars in each room and named the rooftop poolside bar, the Perch.
Despite all this cuteness and a great downtown location. Herman was severely displeased with the service.
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