The Ritz-Carlton Bacara, Santa Barbara

There is absolutely nothing "Luxury" about this hotel other than the absurd prices, and so I am hoping I can help other Tripadvisor uses avoid the heartache of wasting time and money on this hotel. To start with the location of this hotel is really not ideal - it's located about 15-30 minutes away from Santa Barbara and Montecito, so you really have to want to enjoy the hotel as a resort stay but there is really nothing at this property that would make you want to stay the entire time. The pools are barely serviced - no attendant and short-staffed so you are lucky if you are able to order F&B. On top of that they stop service at the pool at 4pm, which is not ideal when the marine layer covers the sun throughout the earlier part of the day. The only casual option to get snacks and beverages, the coffee shop/cafe, also closes at 5pm so if you are looking for something at that time you will have to leave the property. The breakfast restaurant was also woefully understaffed - on both days we had to wait over 15 minutes for a table for 2 despite more than three quarters of the tables being empty, and when we were sat eventually we hardly saw the server. We called reception multiple times to make simple requests and those requests were simply forgotten about, including just requesting the car to be pulled up from valet. As far as the rooms go - they have been freshly refurnished but the furniture is cheap and already showing wear and everything else from the paint to the bathrooms are tired and in need of an actual renovation. Also one of the least comfortable, thin mattresses we have ever slept on. If forced to find one bright spot of this hotel it is the large and well-appointed fitness center. Also if you have status with Bonvoy or book through a travel agent/credit card I would not expect any upgrades or early check-in/late check-out because at least for our reservation they were not even willing to entertain those discussions. The most infuriating thing about this hotel is that the nightly rate is in the range of the Rosewood Miramar and the Belmond El Encanto and this hotel does not come anywhere close to that level of service or experience, it is in no way deserving of the luxury moniker.

After I booked this stay I had some questions about my reservation so I reached out to Bonvoy. Benjamin Kessler, the Room Operations Manager, reached out immediately to help me. He went above and beyond to make our stay one to remember. We were celebrating my daughter’s 16th birthday as well as my birthday during our stay so I had reached out to guest services in order to get different amenities set up for our room. Talitha and Dakota were so helpful with getting everything I requested. Beth also helped me with items I had shipped to the resort before our stay. She even sent pictures of everything set up before we arrived so that I knew everything was ready to surprise my daughter with once we checked in. We were fortunate enough to have club lounge access during this stay. All the food and drinks throughout the day were amazing. Everyone there was so kind and helpful, especially Jesus. We ate dinner on property during our stay at Lulio and Marisella. The food at both restaurants was amazing and the service was incredible. We’ve been coming to Bacara for over 10 years and this was by far the best stay we’ve ever had. The resort has done an awesome job with their renovation but the thing that really made our stay amazing was the staff. I highly recommend the Ritz Carlton Bacara, Santa Barbara for your next vacation. My family and I can’t wait to come back next year!

I am beyond disappointed in this property. As a long time Marriott ambassador level for years and now Titanium elite we were not well taken care of. We arrived and our rooms were not ready until very late I was traveling with my husband and mom and dad and had two rooms. The front desk was not very courteous at all to begin with and then our rooms were never cleaned we had to call for service both days and returned back to a dirty room and had to wait to have it serviced instead of being able to relax after a long day. This was suppose to be a long weekend away with my family to bond and enjoy with out the little ones and it was anything but. Then we reached the pool and no one was at all helpful to find seats or get us towels we actually got greeted with attitude and of which we just did it ourselves but that is not what this property and the caliber and level should be expected. All in all I am shocked most ritz properties are super luxury and are so courteous and helpful especially when you have the marriott status that we do. Lastly we confrimed late check out as we had booked a brunch that early afternoon and when we called to confirm they denied it and i had to fight and prove to them with names who had extended it to us bc of our issue with check in. I ended up receiving it but not until i called my marriott rep and had them call absolutly not what i had expected of this property.

Start to finish, this was not a Ritz Carlton experience. When we were at breakfast one morning and started chatting with the couple next to us who felt the same. She said, "You know how when you are staying at a Residence Inn and something goes wrong and you say, 'Well you know, it's not the Ritz'...but in this case, it actually is the Ritz!!" Our first room...the shower drain smelled of a sewer, and the bed was far too soft. No one ever addressed the sewer smell complaint that I raised, but it was disgusting. For the second night they offered to move us to a fireplace room, and the one that was available was slightly larger so we chose it. The bed actually was a bit better, and the shower did not stink. However the A/C didn't work. We called and they sent maintenance. The guy said that since they did the renovations, some rooms have new thermostats that when set to 'Auto' will only come on when there is a 5 degree difference. So if you want your room set to 70 degrees, you will have to wait (ie, suffer) with the temperature getting up to 75 before it will kick in. Or if you try game it and set it to 65, the cool air would come on at 70 but you'd be freezing by the time it reaches 65. The maintenance guy didn't seem to understand the obsurdity of this system, and said, "Well, some people have different preferences for temperature." Not helpful. He left, and we set the A/C to 70 and had to leave it on the 'High' setting (so it was on all the time) in order for it to stay on. Our room was freezing, and after a day of constant cool air, smelled moldy and musty. I contacted the front desk a couple of times, but they ignored our issue. (There was a wedding each day we were there and I think the staff had little time to attend to other guests.) Oh, and speaking of mold, there was mold on the ceiling of our shower. Not surprising given the A/C issue. We also noticed how inconsistent the housekeeping service was...sometimes we would get a bath mat, but most of the time we didn't; sometimes they would put towels on the second sink (which was in a separate space) but most of the time they didn't; once we got chocolates on our bed - we didn't eat the chocolates that night, but the next night they reused the same chocolates on the bed; on the Saturday during our stay there literally was not 1 available chair at either pool; we had to ask multiple times to get a privacy sign for our door; and the bathrooms had no where to hang a towel. Overall this was a terrible experience and nothing about this stay makes me ever want to come back to Bacara.

What an amazing place with incredible service! I especially want to thank Alanna at the front desk for making our stay so special. We were celebrating an anniversary and baby moon, and she arranged a lovely present in our hotel room—a sweet little bear, a photo frame, and a card. But she was not the only thoughtful one; the restaurants’ servers, for instance, were excellent. Dulce gave us a bear, too! I can’t remember his name (maybe Luis?) but he served us breakfast every day and hand wrote a list of restaurants in the area to check out! The one thing the hotel could work on is the way the host seats people at the breakfast restaurant…it takes way too long. All in all, a wonderful experience for which we are very grateful!