The Ritz-Carlton Bacara, Santa Barbara

What an overall disappointment. Either the phone system is out, or not enough staff to answer the phone. We tried many times, the valet for the car, operator for housekeeping, and concierge. Our room had not received house keeping by 4:40pm on Friday afternoon and we could not reach anyone to request housekeeping. The same to have the valet being the car up. The grounds are unkept. There was dog poop on the walkway to our building that was not cleaned up for two days. Our neighbors room service breakfast treys from Friday morning are still outside in the hallway between our door and theirs. We learned if you want breakfast on the patio you must make a reservation!!! This is a dog friendly property and we love dogs! However, dog owners should abide by the rules; no dogs in the pool area and pick up the poop. The hotel should have staff to remind guest of the rules when broken and pick up the poop. On the positive side, the valet was aware the phones were not being answered to bring up the car. He asked if we knew what time we needed the car and he said he personally would bring it up and have it for us. We gave him a tip for offering a solution. The manager at the Lulio restaurant was very nice and explained the reason they have reservations at breakfast to eliminate the long lines. The checkin staff, valets, and restaurant servers were all very well trained, welcoming and friendly.

I am a longtime Marriott user and frequent traveler, and my stay at the Ritz-Carlton Bacara was the worst hotel experience I have ever had. What should have been a celebratory birthday turned into a series of humiliations, disappointments, and outright hostility. At check-in, I was aggressively upsold on a so-called “extra bathroom.” In reality, this was nothing more than a second vanity with no shower or toilet. When I questioned the misrepresentation, management was not apologetic or professional. They were openly hostile. That tone carried through the entire stay. After dining at their much-hyped “fine dining” restaurant, I became sick almost immediately and asked for something simple to settle my stomach. Hours later, on my birthday, I was still waiting for a CVS delivery (which I ordered and paid for) of Tums because the Ritz-Carlton Bacara could not be bothered to show the most basic act of hospitality to a sick guest. Old food trays sat outside our room for hours, which perfectly symbolized the neglect and indifference everywhere on this property. The Bacara is staged luxury, Disneyland-style, designed to look good in photos while guest care is ignored. This hotel uses the Ritz name as both sword and shield, charging Ritz prices while delivering mediocrity and hiding behind the Marriott umbrella. As a loyal Marriott Bonvoy member, I have received far better care at Courtyards and Residence Inns. Loyal members should think twice before wasting points or money here.

After reading some negative reviews, we were pleasantly surprised by how much we loved this hotel. The grounds are very pretty, the way the buildings/villas are situated make you feel like you're in a village in Europe. The food was excellent, providing lots of choices. The one disappointment was there are no lounge chairs on the beach or beach service which is a shame because it's a beautiful spot and the pool gets very busy. For a hotel that size, they really need two large pools, the adult pool was nothing special and small.

I just want to share the incredible experience I had with Alana at the front desk. Long story short we had some issues and were about to leave, but she is a rockstar and made everything right. She went ABOVE and BEYOND to fix the situation and followed up to make sure we were all good. Further, the hotel is beautiful, love the grounds and everyone is super friendly. But Alana is 15/10! Ask for her!

The Bacara was our salvation during the pandemic—it was a treat to be able to get out of our lockdown routine. We even spent Christmas there one year and enjoyed the hotel’s festive feel. The last time we were there was a disaster, though—there was a clot of long hair on the shower wall and a dead roach on the floor. Despite having prepaid for the breakfast and being told by the front desk that we didn’t need a reservation, the staff at Lulio made us wait for a half hour for a table, even though the restaurant was nearly empty and they were offering a self-serve buffet. The spa pool stopped supplying towels at 4:00 pm—and didn’t leave any on the pool deck for guests (!?!). To top it off, we had dinner at their new restaurant, Marisella (the best part of which were the locally-grown cherry tomatoes and basil they served at the beginning of the meal), and ended up having to cut our vacation short because my husband got ill. Oy! The prices have gotten very, very, VERY high—sadly, I doubt we’ll be back.