Santa Barbara Trip Recap

Santa Barbara is another of my favorite spots in SoCal, a beautiful landscape and great climate known for agricultural land, outdoor activities, award winning wineries, and attractive cultural tourism. A perfect family & couple destination, just two hours north from LA.

And since we had such an incredible & safe experience at Ritz Carlton Laguna Niguel last month (see trip here), we decided to stay at Ritz Carlton Bacara in Santa Barbara.

This charming hotel is tucked onto 78 acres overlooking the Pacific Ocean, with a two-mile natural beach where you can lounge, have the kids play, surf, sail, kayak, paddle board and more; and three infinity-edge pools (two with ocean views) with day beds and cabanas.

I recommend calling one of their shuttles to go down to the beach and get around the resort, especially with kids because it's a huge lot and yes: you can bring the stroller on-board too.

The property also offers golf from the Golf Club next door to the resort, 4 in-property tennis courts, hiking, on-property nature trails, horseback riding, biking, and other nature activities. We absolutely love going on the nature trail with the stroller before breakfast during the sun rise, just magical.

Here are the amazing safety measurements they are taking during Covid:

-Pool has limited capacity

-Pool reservations are needed, they offer three time slots to choose from, and you can always stop by to see if there’s walk-in availability

-Pool furniture is sanitized in between guests

-Turn down housekeeping service is paused

-All dining is outdoors only

-The fitness center is closed

-The SPA is open (Wednesday through Sunday) for massages & facials outdoors

Our bedroom was the one-bedroom suite with ocean view. I highly recommend it for a family, although it can also accommodate 4 adults. The living room has a gas fireplace and sleeper sofa (where Sofia slept) and a wet bar, and the bedroom has a king bed. Beckham slept in his stroller-bassinet (suited for overnight sleep) since he is still little, however the hotel also offers crib and rollaway bed upon request. This suite also has two full bathrooms, with showers and the master also offers a deep soaking tub, I love doing bubble baths with my babies after long beach & pool days! Finally, this room also offers two extra-large balconies overlooking the pacific Ocean, which are great for in-room dining (prefect for families).

This resort has a variety of dining spots available and luckily, a lot with outdoor space that allows them to be open during these times too!

- Angel Oak has beautiful ocean views and is perfect for their casual breakfast buffet with the minis, and more fancy dinner if you are looking for steak & seafood and a more sophisticated sunset dinner experience.

- The Bistro has an a-la-carte brunch menu that's delicious too! And they offer a more casual menu & vibe for dinner too.

- O Bar is perfect for bites and causal dinner with the minis, and absolutely breathtaking during sunset time. Plus, their kids menu is amazing!

- The Pool Bar has casual drinks & bites too, to enjoy by the pool, or take to-go at the beach, for example. Also great with kids, but has less options.

PS: Make sure you ask for their smores and enjoy them at one of the resorts fire-pits. So fun.

* Note: they are not all open every day right now, so please check availability on your dates!

We enjoyed the resort in late September during a heat wave, so we got to enjoy the beaches & pools at 90F/34C which was amazing. But the destination is truly perfect all year round, as a majority of the nature & sporting activities can be done in any season, their 42,000sf SPA is incredible, their six restaurants, painting classes & their wine-tasting rooms for flights and culinary experiences make any month a perfect one to visit too!

Finally, we went to the Santa Barbara Zoo, just 20min away from the hotel (on way back to LA!) and its 100% recommended, it sits on the most beautiful grounds and is just so charming tool. You can buy tickets in advanced since spots are limited due to social distancing, we went at 530pm on a weekend and it was completely empty, plus the weather was just gorgeous. If you go I also recommend you buying tickets for the train, so worth it.

We love Santa Barbara!!