Belmond El Encanto

A 1918 Santa Barbara estate of bungalows and Spanish-Mediterranean buildings on seven acres above the Riviera neighborhood, with the Pacific to the south and the Santa Ynez Mountains behind. Ninety-two rooms across detached cottages and main-building suites. Lily Pond, ocean-view pool, full spa, on-property restaurant. Now part of the Belmond group, but small enough — and old enough — to read as a Santa Barbara institution before it reads as a brand.

Belmond El Encanto is the Riviera's residential answer to the beach-side resorts. You're up the hill, with the view, in a neighborhood, surrounded by bougainvillea.

The setting

The hotel sits on Lasuen Road in Santa Barbara's Riviera neighborhood — the steep, eucalyptus-lined slopes above the mission. Mission Santa Barbara is a three-minute drive down. State Street and the waterfront are five to seven. Montecito's Coast Village Road is fifteen. The grounds wrap up the hillside; the layout is residential — paths between cottages, gardens, the Lily Pond at the center.

The drive in from US-101 climbs gradually through Riviera streets. By the time you arrive, you're above the city and looking down at the channel.

The building

The original 1918 main building is Spanish Colonial Revival — white stucco, red-tile roof, courtyards. The bungalows scattered through the property are Craftsman, in the California-bungalow tradition that preceded the larger Spanish-style estates. After a major renovation that took most of a decade, the property reopened in 2013. Materials are stone, timber, brass, and velvet — the Belmond sensibility layered onto a property with much older bones.

It's owned by Belmond (a small luxury group of around five U.S. hotels and a global portfolio), which makes it the rare collection-listed property that still feels independent at room level.

The rooms

Ninety-two rooms across detached bungalows, garden cottages, and main-building suites. From around $895 in shoulder seasons; peak summer and holiday rates run higher. Rooms get fireplaces, soaking tubs, and either ocean, garden, or mountain views. Bungalows have small private patios. The Riviera Suite and Penthouse — at the top of the property — are the view rooms.

Food & drink

The restaurant is The Lily Pond — California cuisine, ocean and mountain views, breakfast through dinner, open to non-guests by reservation. The terrace seating overlooking the Lily Pond is the photograph everyone takes. No Michelin Key listed for the property, but the room's view and the Riviera Bar's cocktail program are the in-Santa-Barbara reasons to book.

On the property

A real wellness program — full spa with treatment rooms, an ocean-view infinity pool, garden walking paths. Concierge for tee times and tastings.

• Outdoor heated infinity pool, ocean view
• Full spa
• Lily Pond, gardens, walking paths
• Tennis nearby (off-property at Riviera Tennis Courts)
• Open year-round

Who it's for

• Anniversary trips, where the Riviera-view bungalow is the point
• Travelers who'd rather be up the hill in a residential neighborhood than at a beach resort
• Couples and small groups doing the Santa Barbara wine country (Solvang, Los Olivos) for the day
• Repeat Santa Barbara visitors who finally want to do the El Encanto stay

Who it's not for

• Travelers who want to walk to the beach or State Street (it's a drive — five to seven minutes)
• Anyone needing children-focused programming — there's no kids' club here
• Budget travelers — this is the top of the local market

Nearby

Mission Santa Barbara is three minutes down the hill — California's "queen of the missions," still a working Franciscan parish. State Street's restaurants and shops are seven minutes. Stearns Wharf and the Funk Zone (urban wine trail) are ten. Butterfly Beach in Montecito and the Coast Village Road shops are fifteen. The Santa Ynez wine country (Foxen Canyon, Los Olivos, Sta. Rita Hills) is 35–60 minutes. Lotusland — Madame Ganna Walska's botanical garden — is 20 minutes south by reservation.