For our fifth and final 50,000 point Marriott Bonvoy reward certificate (that we received courtesy of a Chase Marriott Bonvoy Boundless credit card welcome offer), we opted to stay at the Ritz-Carlton Bacara, Santa Barbara (in California).
We’ve stayed at some truly incredible Ritz-Carlton properties in California including the Ritz-Carlton Half Moon Bay, Ritz-Carlton Laguna Beach, and Ritz-Carlton Rancho Mirage.
How would Ritz-Carlton Bacara, Santa Barbara, measure up?
Click here for the full review on Ritz-Carlton Half Moon Bay
Click here for the full review on Ritz-Carlton Laguna Niguel
Click here for the full review on Ritz-Carlton Rancho Mirage
Review: Ritz-Carlton Bacara, Santa Barbara (CA)
Image: ritz-carlton.com
At A Glance: Ritz-Carlton Bacara, Santa Barbara
- Official Website: Ritz-Carlton Bacara, Santa Barbara
- Average Nightly Cost During Our Stay: $787 USD
- Loyalty Program: Marriott Bonvoy
- Loyalty Category: Category 7 (50,000-70,000 Points)
- Discount Applied: Amex Offer: $50 off $250
- Room Type: Deluxe Guest Room 1 King
- Upgrade: Club Lounge Deluxe King Room ($70 Value)
- Resort Fee: $50
- Parking Fee: $56 (Valet)
Location
Located just east of Santa Barbara, California (just 15 minutes from Santa Barbara Airport), Ritz-Carlton Bacara is ideally situated on one of California’s most scenic coastlines.
The hotel sits on a perch between two beaches (Driftwood Beach and Haskell’s Beach), next to the scenic hiking trails of Tecolote Canyon. Sandpiper Golf Club is just a hop, skip, and a jump away.
Image: ritz-carlton.com
Parking
Overnight parking ($56) was [officially] by valet-only.
Valet parking circle
FHOP Tip: I noticed some guests parked their own cars in the lot (but the same $56 nightly parking fee applied).
Don’t tell anyone…but you can also park yourself in this lot
Marriott Bonvoy Redemption
We opted to book our reservation using a 50,000 point certificate, which equated to a CPP of 1.6 – very good for a Bonvoy redemption.
Lobby
Front Desk & Check-In
Check-in was business-like and professional. We were told on the spot that we’d been given a room upgrade to a “Club Room” – but that the Club was currently closed.
Welcome Package
Property Map
Room Key
The Walk To The Room
We were given a room in Villa #17 which was basically on the other side of the property near the large pool. As we began our walk, we were stopped by an employee who asked us if we wanted a ride to our room (via a converted golf cart).
As tempting as it sounded (and it did sound tempting), we opted to walk to our room so that we could take some pictures and enjoy the sunset.
FHOP Tip: The Bacara property is huge and hilly; walks to and from rooms can require a steep downhill walk or a steep uphill walk (or both). As such, the Ritz-Carlton offers complimentary shuttles to guest rooms.
Villa 17
Room Entrance
Click here for a Club Lounge Deluxe King Room Walkthrough at Ritz-Carlton Bacara, Santa Barbara
Bedroom Area
Although our “upgraded” room was not really much of an upgrade (it wasn’t any bigger than the standard room we booked, the Club lounge was closed, and we didn’t even have a partial ocean view), the room itself was nice and consistent with the other California Ritz-Carlton rooms we’ve stayed at in Laguna Beach and Rancho Mirage.
We found the room clean, well-lit, and in very good condition.
The nicest touch to the room was probably the fireplace (which came in handy during our “sweater weather” winter stay).
Living Area & Room Amenities
Fireplace
Office Desk
Closet
Bathroom
The bathroom was cleaned to a shine and supplied with the Standard Ritz-Carlton Asprey Purple Water brand of toiletries.
The bathtub was quite large and there was a separate water closet.
The bathroom also came with a stash of oil slick beach tar remover (in the event we were to run across some of the areas naturally occurring tar on the beach).
Just in case
Balcony
The balcony was a nice size and had a relaxing (if uneventful) view of the garden.
View From The Room
Dinner Menu
Dinner (In-Room Dining)
After our hike around the property and the coastal park next door (which I’ll get to below), we decided to go with some good old-fashioned room service consisting of carb-heavy Italian comfort dishes.
We went with the Salsiccia Pizza (which was tasty and spicy) and the Lasagna Al Forno (which was delicious).
We may have also had a bottle of red wine, but who’s to say.
Breakfast Menu
Breakfast At Caffe (To-Go)
For breakfast, we decided to head over to the Caffe to grab some food to-go.
We went with the Ritz version of a Sausage and Egg Biscuit and a Bacon and Cheese croissant sandwich. I thought the Sausage and Egg Biscuit was very tasty, but the croissant was dry and overcooked.
Lunch Menu
The Bistro
“O” Bar + Kitchen
Angel Oak
Image: ritz-carlton.com
The Property Exterior
It must be said that the Ritz-Carlton Bacara, Santa Barbara is one of the most stunning properties I’ve ever set foot on in terms of pure aesthetic beauty.
The Mediterranean-style buildings were garnished with expertly manicured gardens juxtaposed against the area’s inherent natural beauty.
We took a sunset hike around the property, from east to west, to get a better view of the southern coastline (Haskell’s Beach).
Looking northward, we were gifted with a wonderful sunset view of the Elwood Pier.
Haskell’s Beach
Ellwood Pier
Swimming Pool
Image: ritz-carlton.com
Actual photo
Fitness Center
Image: ritz-carlton.com
Spa
Image: ritz-carlton.com
Bike Rentals
Bike rentals are included in the resort fee
Cliff Drysdale Tennis Club
The Hiking Trails At Tecolote Canyon
Just South of the Ritz-Carlton is a small (but wild) protected estuary and wetlands area with hiking trails that trekked through the neighboring scrublands, to the beach, then up the hill to an amazing lookout spot.
From the beach house, it’s possible to do a loop-trail hike up to the top of the cliff (and the lookout) and then back down around the other side and back to the beach house.
The trailhead to the hiking trail(s)
Estuary
Image: ritz-carlton.com
The lookout spot
Haskell’s Beach
This could be you!
Historical markers for history buffs
The Bottom-Line Review: Ritz-Carlton Bacara, Santa Barbara (CA)
We absolutely loved our stay at the Ritz-Carlton Bacara, Santa Barbara.
The location was jaw-droppingly beautiful (in terms of architecture and landscaping, – and the even more impressive – natural beauty), the hotel was elegant and secluded, and the service was solid (as expected).
Perhaps the impressive thing about the resort was just how many activities there were to do within a “stone’s throw”; from the pool, hiking trails, beach activities, fine dining, romantic walks along the pier, tennis matches, and world class golfing (just next door).
Oh, and those Santa Barbara sunsets.
The Ritz-Carlton Bacara, Santa Barbara, is easily one of the best California properties in the Marriott Bonvoy hotel portfolio. Starting at just 50,000 Marriott Bonvoy points, it’s also one of the best values in the Bonvoy loyalty program (although I don’t expect that will be the case for much longer, so book sooner rather than later).
We’ll be back. Sooner.
Final Rating: 9.5 out of 10.
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