Highlights: Four Seasons Resort The Biltmore Santa Barbara

•The Four Seasons Resort The Biltmore Santa Barbara is in an exclusive Montecito location overlooking Butterfly Beach

•Resort blends history with inimitable Four Seasons service

•Elegant Spanish-colonial décor highlighted in the rooms and suites

•Restaurant spotlights California wine country cuisine

•Resort has a full-service business center and ample meeting space

•The Four-Star-rated Spa at Four Seasons Resort The Biltmore Santa Barbara incorporates indigenous botanicals in many of its treatments

Amenities: Four Seasons Resort The Biltmore Santa Barbara

• 207 rooms, 2 story. Pets accepted, some restrictions. Check-in 4 pm, check-out 12 pm. High-speed Internet access, wireless Internet access. Restaurant, bar. Fitness room, fitness classes available, spa. Outdoor pool, whirlpool. Tennis. Business center. Credit cards accepted.

General Impressions: Four Seasons Resort The Biltmore Santa Barbara

With its red-tiled roofs, graceful arches, wrought-iron gates, and adobe buildings, the Four Seasons Resort The Biltmore Santa Barbara is a perfect example of romantic Spanish-colonial architecture. Located beachfront in Montecito in the Santa Barbara area, this resort is situated in one of the most beautiful places in the United States. Resting between the Pacific Ocean and the Santa Ynez Mountains, Santa Barbara is often known as the “American Riviera” because of its gorgeous beaches and temperate climate. It is home to movie stars and mega-millionaires that choose to reside here for its dramatic coastline and relaxed attitude. Originally opened in 1927 as The Biltmore, this resort has long attracted the well-heeled. Now managed by Four Seasons, the resort combines the grace and elegance of a bygone era with the modern creature comforts expected of a Four Seasons property.

The Four Seasons Resort The Biltmore Santa Barbara is nestled on 20 lushly landscaped acres facing the Pacific Ocean and gorgeous Butterfly Beach. While active travelers will find tennis courts, nearby golf at a top-rated public course, a spa, fitness center, and shimmering pool, the relaxed pace of the resort pervades, and guests may be persuaded to do very little at all.

In keeping with the resort’s commitment to providing an intimate-scale resort, there is one restaurant and lounge, as well as in-room dining. The resort’s luscious garden setting and laid-back ambience are especially conducive to couples escaping from busy schedules. Everything from the smaller scale and Spanish-colonial architecture to the crashing ocean spells romance, but this resort is also well suited to adults traveling alone or with friends.

While it may seem that it’s not a good fit for families with young children, the Four Seasons entertains the smallest of guests with a series of programs. The Kids for All Seasons Program allows children to make new friends while their parents enjoy a little quiet time, and the resort also provides thoughtful child-friendly touches, such as kid-sized bathrobes, children’s menus at the restaurant and through room service, and welcome amenities for pint-sized guests.

While the views and the attitude may make you want to toss your Blackberry into the Pacific, the resort even caters to business travelers with a host of services and amenities, including a well-equipped business center and ample function rooms for conferences and corporate retreats.

(+) Beautiful old-world beach resort with modern amenities is appropriate for all types of travelers

Guest Services: Four Seasons Resort The Biltmore Santa Barbara

The Four Seasons Resort The Biltmore Santa Barbara upholds the company’s tradition of providing excellent, personalized, and attentive service. Wherever you go at this resort, a staff member is there to greet you with a warm, gracious spirit, and a helping hand.

The concierge is an exceptionally good resource, and is talented at handling all types of travelers. Families are accommodated with suggestions for family-friendly activities in the area, reservations at fun restaurants, etc., and business travelers will also find that the concierge can assist with any needed services.

From the bellman that greets you upon arrival to the desk clerk who sends you on your way, you’ll find a wonderful staff of professionals who enjoy their job and share their pride in the resort and its history.

(+) Professional and pleasant staff cater to every need

Guest Rooms: Four Seasons Resort The Biltmore Santa Barbara

The Four Seasons Resort The Biltmore Santa Barbara’s 207 accommodations include guest rooms, suites, and 12 one-story private cottages. Rooms and suites are sprinkled throughout the resort’s low-level buildings, while the cottages are especially charming with their Spanish-colonial architecture.

The interiors continue the resort’s love affair with Spanish-colonial style. Large, overstuffed leather chairs and ottomans and wrought-iron beds lend a romantic feel to the accommodations, while ceiling fans and beautiful flower-patterned drapes and bed coverings create a comfortable, breezy elegance. The rooms and suites are enhanced with soft color schemes, including pale, buttery yellows and soft, uplifting greens. Some offer balconies, while others offer terraces, and there are several accommodations that boast fireplaces.

The suites are wonderful for travelers planning to spend longer durations at the resort, and with views of the Escala gardens, they are enchanting. Large, separate living and sleeping areas make for an extremely comfortable stay. Spanish-tile floors in the bathrooms reflect the resort’s pride of place.

The cottages are the most luxurious and spacious of all the resort’s accommodations, and are appropriate for larger groups and families or couples that enjoy the privacy.

(+) Comfortable guest rooms and suites offer local flavor and history while incorporating modern amenities

Facilities & Activities: Four Seasons Resort The Biltmore Santa Barbara

The Four Seasons Resort The Biltmore Santa Barbara is a beach lover’s paradise. This resort is nestled right on Butterfly Beach in exclusive Montecito. Sun worshipers who prefer to leave the sand behind will love the seductive pool, set behind wrought-iron gates and lined with palm trees. Meals, snacks, and beverages are available poolside, and those who simply can’t leave business behind will be pleased to find wireless Internet service at the pool. The resort also maintains three hard-surface tennis courts, and complimentary rackets and balls are available for players who left their equipment behind. Lessons with a pro can also be reserved.

The Four Seasons Resort The Biltmore Santa Barbara does not have its own golf course, but it has an arrangement for guests to play at the Sandpiper Golf Course, a 20-minute ride away. This public course was named among the top courses in the country and has played host to PGA and LPGA championships. Resort guests also can play at Rancho San Marcos, 40 minutes from the resort. This Robert Trent Jones II-designed course is known for its intricate greens.

Other resort amenities include a nicely equipped fitness center, where guests can work out in style on state-of-the-art cardio equipment and free weights. Private yoga sessions can be booked through the fitness center desk.

The Mobil Four-Star-rated Spa at Four Seasons Resort The Biltmore Santa Barbara is a wonderful facility, where the lovely scent of roses wafts through the windows. Many of the treatments are inspired by, or utilize, botanicals from the region. Peppermint body scrubs, avocado-citrus body wraps, and grapeseed geranium rose body treatments are among the aromatic choices.

Outside the resort, Santa Barbara welcomes travelers with varying interests. Art galleries spark the interest of culture buffs, while whale-watching, boating, and deep sea fishing excursions delight water lovers. Wine lovers will want to explore the Santa Ynez wine country, about an hour’s drive from the resort. Whimsical Solvang, with its windmills and unique charm, is also about an hour from the Four Seasons. The University of California at Santa Barbara, 20 minutes away, has a wonderful performing arts center, and sports fans will find two arenas in the area.

(+) Great resort amenities and surrounding area offers plentiful activities for travelers of varying interests

Dining & Lounge: Four Seasons Resort The Biltmore Santa Barbara

The Four Seasons Resort The Biltmore Santa Barbara has one restaurant, Bella Vista, and The Lounge, as well as in-room dining.

The name truly says it all at Bella Vista. This lovely restaurant capitalizes on the resort’s beachfront location with inspiring ocean views and a sophisticated atmosphere. The restaurant perfectly captures seaside elegance with its fireplaces, rich mahogany, gleaming marble, and stunning wine wall. The restaurant may be the resort’s only one, but its varied menu spotlighting California wine country cuisine never gets tiresome. Guests wake up with fresh fruit, pancakes, egg dishes, and alternative spa cuisine at Bella Vista, while lunch features a tantalizing array of choices, including salads, sandwiches, entrées, and tempting desserts.

Dinner is where this restaurant really shines, and dishes such as Kobe beef tenderloin with Stilton flan, maple roast breast of duck, and peppered, seared Ahi tuna take center stage. The food is flavorful and artfully presented, as might be expected of a restaurant where the crashing waves of the Pacific provide a magnificent backdrop. Children’s menus are also available at Bella Vista, and room service will also make concessions for little diners.

Just off the lobby, The Lounge provides an oceanview setting to meet for cocktails. The living room setting is conducive to lounging, and live entertainment is featured most nights.

(+) Lovely restaurant with gourmet food and ocean views; lounge is a nice place for drinks and entertainment
(-) Some guests might find one restaurant and lounge limiting in a resort of this size

Business Services: Four Seasons Resort The Biltmore Santa Barbara

The resort offers a business center, where color printers, faxes, copiers, computers, and secretarial services are available. The center maintains normal business hours during the week and is closed on the weekends, but guests needing after-hours assistance will find that the concierge is willing to assist with any need.

This Four Seasons Resort The Biltmore Santa Barbara is a perfect destination for meetings or events. The resort maintains a large number of indoor and outdoor venues, including five lawn, garden, and terrace spaces. There are nine different indoor function rooms that can accommodate large and small groups. The resort’s wide range of facilities and beautiful location make it popular with meeting planners and corporate groups.

(+) Resort handles both business travelers and large corporate groups with ease