CENTRAL COAST
SantaBarbaraca.com; @VisitSantaBarbara—Framed by the Pacific Ocean and Santa Ynez Mountains, Santa Barbara offers meeting planners a destination of natural beauty and sophisticated culture. “Meetings planners who choose Santa Barbara are searching for a sense of place,” says Beth Olson, director of sales for Visit Santa Barbara. “They come here because the destination is part of the attraction; meeting attendees are attracted to the casual elegance and natural authenticity of the destination.”
With more than 163,000 guest rooms, Santa Barbara offers a diverse range of accommodations. The Ritz-Carlton Bacara, Santa Barbara celebrated its 25th anniversary last year, with a multimillion-dollar renovation across its 78-acre property, which includes 73,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor meeting space. Downtown, the 75-room Hotel Santa Barbara refreshed guest rooms, conference spaces, and its lobby, adding the sophisticated new 1926 lobby bar. Adding to its existing 40,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor meeting space, Hilton Santa Barbara Beachfront Resort upgraded its pool, cabanas, and pickleball courts, and opened the new Float Luxury Spa Beachfront. Hotel Milo completed a full redesign of its 121 guest rooms and outdoor spaces in 2025, while El Capitan Canyon Resort enhanced its upscale glamping offerings with four new Elderberry Cottages. Montecito Inn, historically owned by Charlie Chaplin, is undergoing a major room renovation, while Four Seasons Resort The Biltmore Santa Barbara is set to reopen in early 2026 with refreshed accommodations and dining, including Nobu and Bouchon Bakery.
These varied options provide meeting planners with flexible, stylish, and fully modern spaces to host groups of any size while giving attendees a memorable stay.
