The Top 17 Hotels Near Four Seasons Santa Barbara
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Santa Barbara has been criminally under-served for boutique hotels, and the Kimpton Canary is here to fix that. Named for the Canary Islands rather than the color, it's a stylish escape sitting right in the thick of the Spanish Colonial architecture downtown. You get easy access to the mountains, the coast, and Central Coast wine country, with a hotel that finally matches the setting. The crowd tends toward weekend getaway couples who've done their research.
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Santa Barbara already looks like a movie set, and Hotel Californian leans into that shamelessly, mixing Spanish Colonial architecture with Moroccan tilework and fountain-filled courtyards until the whole thing feels less like a hotel and more like a small village someone accidentally built next to the beach. Forbes Four Star, walkable to wine tasting and both beaches, rooftop pool, two restaurants on site. Pack linen.
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Drift is a boutique hotel on State Street that somehow pulls off looking effortlessly cool without trying too hard about it. The bones are classic Santa Barbara, all Spanish Revival curves and white stucco, but step inside and it goes full minimalist, warm textures and clean lines, like someone finally trusted restraint. On-site you've got Dawn for morning coffee and Dusk for oysters and tequila when the day earns it. The crowd wears linen and means it.
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A Forbes Five Star oceanfront resort in Montecito, where the celebrity-to-civilian ratio is already tilted and the sand is practically in your room. The sprawling property feels like a very wealthy family's estate that happened to install two restaurants, three bars, a spa, and a Goop shop. Art Deco touches, manicured gardens, and a south-facing beach do most of the heavy lifting. The kind of place where doing nothing feels like an accomplishment.
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Tucked into the hills above Montecito with mountain views on one side and ocean on the other, San Ysidro Ranch is the kind of luxury resort where people come specifically not to be photographed. Private cottages, attentive staff, and a general air of tasteful seclusion that has been pulling in honeymooners and heads of state for decades. Come to genuinely disappear for a few days, not to post about it.
- Forbes Travel Guide Forbes Four Star
- 50 Best #68 · The World's 50 Best Hotels
- Michelin Guide Selected Hotels
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Seventy-eight acres of beachfront, a spa the size of a small town, and that classic red-tile-roof Santa Barbara look that makes you feel like you're on a movie set. This is a full-on coastal resort where guests drift between the pool and the ocean looking extremely relaxed and slightly smug about it. Wine country is just up the road, the mountains are behind you, and the Pacific is right there. It's a lot of good problems to have.
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Don't let the word "inn" fool you: this is a full-blown Spanish Colonial resort sprawling across several hundred acres of wooded mountain valley, about 90 minutes northwest of LA. Hollywood has been hiding out here for ages, and honestly, with four pools, a serious spa, golf, tennis, and bikes, you might not leave either. The surrounding hills are gorgeous, and Ojai's little town is right there if you do manage to peel yourself away.
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Ojai's oldest hotel, El Roblar has been around forever and just got a proper second life as a 50-room boutique spot on the main drag. The Spanish Revival bones are all still there, and the rooms lean into the valley's earthy, sun-baked vibe with warm tones and natural wood. Spring for a bungalow if you can, the garden patio makes it feel less like a hotel and more like you actually live here.
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Ojai is basically Sedona with better weather, and Caravan Outpost is the place to stay if you want to lean into that vibe without sleeping on a yoga mat. It's a collection of refurbished Airstream trailers and a tiny house arranged around a botanical garden, each with its own private outdoor space. A few even come with hammocks between the palms. The crowd runs toward crystal-curious weekenders who actually unplugged this time.
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