SANTA BARBARA ECO RESORT
Clientele: Families with children / Couples of all ages
FAMILY FRIENDLY / OUTDOOR ADVENTURES / SURFER’S HAVEN
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SANTA BARBARA ECO RESORT REVIEW:
Coming in with a hefty price tag, our expectations were sky-high for the Santa Barbara Eco-Beach Resort. And yet, we couldn’t help coming away feeling a bit underwhelmed, frustrated with some of the experience, and at times, ripped off. Let’s be real - this hotel demands New York prices but doesn’t seem to be able to quite nail the execution (TLDR: you’re better off staying at sister hotel White Exclusive Suites and Villas (you check out our review here).
That said, let’s start with the positives. The property itself is impressive, perched on a cliff edge overlooking the majestic Santa Barbara beach. The large complex encompasses a swathe of low-rise, cork-cladded villas that peek out of the rugged landscape. The rooms are nicely decorated with calming earthy tones and natural materials. The main building area (including the lobby, restaurant, pool, and a viewing platform) looks out over the horizon and across the Atlantic offering wild, romantic views with plenty of opportunities to kick back and gaze into the distance, contemplating life and all its wonders. On the face of it, this is the perfect hotel to unwind and enjoy nature at its finest. Unfortunately, we found the experience to be all style and little substance. The staff were pleasant but more focused on the flourishes than the basics - housekeeping often either completely forgot to clean the room (or did so very haphazardly), but quite bizarrely, diligently hand-delivered a superfluous ‘sleep kit’ of herbal tea and a pillow spray every evening without fail. When it came to the restaurant, many of the dishes we ate, whilst presented as if they were straight from a fine dining establishment, were distinctly hit or miss. The rooms were comfortable, but lacked the small details that are expected for this price point, including a lack of good lighting in the bathroom and nowhere to hang hand towels (a real pet peeve). All of this might sound nit-picky, and maybe it is, but at this price range, frankly, we expected more.
Date of our stay: July 2023