The Ritz-Carlton Bacara, Santa Barbara

We are local to SB and love to enjoy the outlets. We haven’t been in awhile while the hotel has been doing renovations. We came to O’Bar this weekend and was happy to run into a familiar face Wendy who we have met multiple times. She remembered we are getting married soon and asked our server to send out a dessert. She is so sweet and thoughtful!

the only think i liked was the property that is Beautifull

was there to celebrate my anniversary and had a bad experience the bedroom didnt have a mini bar and the room charge was very expensive, they had no restaurants with good food and this is a luxury hotel . hotel stuff , horrible.

Beautiful hotel with beautiful grounds. Sits right up against a nice private beach area. Short walking nature path to tennis courts and a parking area where food trucks come. The amenities include a beautiful gym and pool area. Staff is extremely friendly and professional. Definitely recommend For your trip to Santa Barbara.

So I read some recent negative reviews and was nervous to come here in late May - lots of change going on . Oak and Ash from Chicago have bought out the stake restaurant formerly called Angel Oak. I think it opens in June - their reputation is amazing. The Bistro by the pool has had a major upgrade (probably to compete) and will soon be Lumino or something - it is open now and AMAZING! Food for dinner was stunning - Ritz pricing - fine - but surprisingly good on all fronts . We bounce between Miramar, El Encanto, Bacara and hopefully soon The Biltmore in Santa Barbara and honestly the competition is awesome - Bacara has massively raised their game and it looks like even better to come. Congrats when teams get it right !

We enjoyed a wonderful 2 night stay at the Ritz-Carlton Bacara hotel. We were celebrating my husband’s birthday, and the staff went out of their way to ensure a delightful experience, complete with surprise balloons, chocolates and a birthday card in our beautiful room. Alana Ochoa at the front desk was especially professional, kind and helpful, even calling us after we had settled in to ensure that we were comfortable and happy with our room. She went out of her way to let us know that she truly cared about our satisfaction and experience at the Bacara. She made us feel special and welcome, not only at check in, but also during the few times we stopped by the front desk for questions and advice. The room was beautiful, recently renovated, impeccably clean and all in working order. I especially appreciated the lighting (I love a well lit room) and the layout of the room. We had dinner at the O-Bar in the hotel lobby, and were treated to free cocktails, bar snacks and a yummy dessert in honor of my husband’s birthday. The service was excellent and the food was good. Our waiter Christian was delightful in every way and we left feeling truly taken care of. The pools are lovely and beautiful and the pool side service was impeccable. We enjoyed two poolside lunches which were delicious each time. One of the highlights of our visit was the complementary aqua aerobic class led by Laura Robertson. I have been to plenty of aqua aerobic classes over the years, and this was by far one of the best classes I have ever taken. It was a wonderful workout led by a very competent and engaging instructor. My husband enjoyed the fitness center and also a 2 mile beach walk along the easily accessible beach below the resort. We will definitely stay at the Ritz-Carlton Bacara resort again.

If you or a family member have serious food allergies, stay somewhere else. We did everything right to protect our daughter, who has known food allergies. We called ahead before check-in to speak with the hotel staff about her allergens. We discussed them again at check-in. We brought them up with the hostess at the Bacara Bistro, and we informed our server before ordering. We even double-checked with the person serving the breadsticks and were told clearly that they were safe for our daughter. And then — after she had already eaten several — our server came back and said, “Whoops, those do have ingredients she’s allergic to.” This kind of mistake is completely inexcusable. For a resort that charges over $500 per night, I expect competent communication between staff about something as serious as food allergies. We get more reliable allergy awareness at Denny’s than we did at this so-called high-end hotel restaurant. We had to give our daughter medication immediately to control her allergic reaction — hives, itching, congestion — and our evening and entire stay were ruined. We didn’t even finish our trip. I was so angry that we packed up and drove the three hours home. I could not in good conscience stay another night. Thankfully, we avoided a trip to the hospital this time. But any family living with serious food allergies knows how terrifying it is to be put in this situation — especially after doing everything possible to avoid it. If this hotel cannot take something as basic and vital as food allergies seriously, then it does not deserve your business — and certainly not at luxury prices.

we were disappointed. the property was partly under construction. grounds are nice but not spectacular. service ordinary. restaurant not great. only wonderful part was the cocktail. not worth the money (esp the extra charges).

My husband surprised me with a anniversary trip to Santa Barbara. He brought me to this beautiful resort. All the staff, from housekeeping to valet service, has been amazing. It is well maintained and has all the amenities we desired. Only one criticism, the lawn blower’s disturbed us every morning while we were trying to enjoy our coffee on our balcony. We highly recommend this resort.

We were blessed with two days of beautiful weather after arriving in a cold damp marine layer. We were also fortunate enough to have a ground floor ocean front suite which afforded views of the rolling waves at the nearby beach and the Channel Islands off in the distance. The room itself had recently been re-furnished and I’m sure painted, which was nice, but still showed some areas that could have been repaired/fix to enhance the room (missing chain to raise blind, patio door not locking, cables hanging from under the TV), but nothing really major or worth complaining about. I have to say the AI review at the head of all reviews is pretty accurate. Yes, as seniors the paths down to the pools and The Bistro can be quite steep, especially on the return to our room that was in building 2. And yes, you can call for a golf cart to pick you up, but I don’t think we are at that stage yet! Every employee we had interaction with was great, and a credit to the resort/Ritz-Carlton. A special call-out to Mia on the front desk and Philip in the pool bar, who both excelled in customer service. Overall we felt very comfortable and relaxed during our time at the resort, far exceeding expectations we had coming in. In fact we cancelled a dinner reservation in downtown Santa Barbara to eat at the lobby bar on our second night. We didn’t want to break the relaxed feeling by leaving the resort for the hassle of eating off-site. We would love to return one day, which is all you can ask. Yes it is expensive, and they get you with all the add-on, which to be fair all resorts do. $70 parking is particularly galling, but we knew this going in, so can’t complain too much!