Name: San Ysidro Ranch
Address: 900 San Ysidro Lane Santa Barbara,San Ysidro Lane, Montecito, Montecito, Montecito, CA 93108, United States of America
Rating: 9

Air conditioning

Heating

Garden

Reception desk

General

Non-smoking rooms

Room service

Indoor Fireplace

Cable TV

Minibar

Hairdryer

Wardrobe/Closet

Slippers

Safe (in room)

Rooms

Iron and board

Laundry

Wake-up service

Services and amenities

Restaurant

Meals

Wi-Fi

Internet access

In-room internet

Internet

Parking

Swimming pool

Outdoor pool

Pool and beach

Conference Hall

Business

Beauty and wellness

Family/Kid Friendly

Kids

Location

At the hotel

Room amenities

Montecito Village Shopping Center

Santa Barbara Municipal Airport

Santa Ynez Airport

Oxnard Airport

San Ysidro Ranch

Montecito

child-bed

child-bed-fee

external-private-bathroom

private-bathroom

shared-bathroom

10-beds

11-beds

12-beds

13-beds

14-beds

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18-beds

19-beds

2-beds

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3-beds

30-beds

31-beds

32-beds

33-beds

34-beds

35-beds

36-beds

37-beds

38-beds

39-beds

4-beds

40-beds

5-beds

6-beds

7-beds

8-beds

9-beds

king-bed

queen-bed

limited-time

lounge

treatment

no-window

bay-view

bosphorus-view

canal-view

city-view

courtyard-view

garden-view

golf-view

harbour-view

inland-view

lake-view

land-view

mountain-view

ocean-front

ocean-view

oceanside

panoramic-view

park-view

partial-ocean-view

partial-sea-view

partial-view

pool-view

river-view

sea-front

sea-view

street-view

sunrise-view

sunset-view

water-view

with-view

annex

basement

main-building

1-bedroom

2-bedrooms

3-bedrooms

4-bedrooms

5-bedrooms

6-bedrooms

not-guaranteed

wired-internet-access

smoking

sauna

duplex

safe

mini-bar

breakfast-for-1

breakfast-for-2

pets-allowed

wi-fi

kitchen

I don’t mind paying a fortune for a room in a hotel if it meets my standards, but there’s nothing that bothers me more than spending a fortune and expecting a fortune ‘s worth of amenities, service, food, and beauty and receiving service one would expect in a one star hotel.

I booked to stay at San Ysidro Ranch where I held a large event 10 years ago. Everything about that event was perfect from the person that organized it in the hotel, to the hotel rooms, the private dinner, the guestrooms for all of my friends and family, and the general ambience, everything and everyone was great.

I decided to return because I needed a break from a very sad situation  with a friends illness  and so I thought I would pamper myself and stay for two days in a beautiful suite and experience true service and luxury once again

It was an extremely disappointing experience from the start. The staff seemed young and untrained at the front desk and on arrival they should have been in front of the desk to greet me but instead they were behind the desk talking. A nice young man did come outside to say hello and help me in, but that didn’t make up for the lack of greeting at the check-in desk. It seem to me that the front desk person spent more time having me sign release forms for the hotel, rather than asking me how my day had gone or if there was anything she could do for me.

Upon arrival at my room, the nice young man who had driven us there, did not orient us to the room, or ask us if we wanted to be oriented. The first thing I noticed was how dark the lighting was in the bathroom and in the bedroom. I am a reader, so this was very disappointing because one of my favorite places to read is in the bathtub.

I had to call maintenance because in order to watch movies on the TV they need to attach an apple TV device to it. I have no idea why they just don’t bite the bullet and attach the devices which cost nothing to everyone’s television so that Guests doesn’t have to sit there on the couch, while a maintenance person attempts to make your television connect to Apple TV. Frankly, it was ridiculous.

I went to put on some slippers and found that they only had in the closet two pairs of huge cheap slippers that were the same kind that chain hotels carry. I realize that no one can be like the Mark Hotel  and remember what your size is  every time you stay and provide you with a pair of slippers that you could wear to lunch.!

The worst problem about this hotel is they have a set up where they do not charge you for the food as it is included in the price of your room. If you have room service, they add on a service charge of 20%. The waiter does not tell you this. You have to find it out for yourself by reading the bill. if you eat in the dining room, the same thing will happen. They will present you with the bill which will show you how much the meal cost and then they expect you to leave a tip based on the cost of the meal even though you’re not paying for the meal. For the life of me, I couldn’t figure this one out.

In fact, it was one of the most ridiculous systems I’ve ever experienced in any hotel anywhere. They should not expect guests to leave a tip after charging them so much money for the room, everything should be included except for alcohol. Expecting a guest to leave a tip on the basis of a dinner that was included in the price of the room is insanity.

I get the feeling that this is another sad situation where the hotel can’t afford to stay alive and so what it’s doing is charging people like me insane amounts of money for rooms and then providing them with mediocre service because most of their employees have left. Their solution is to add on gratuities for the guest to pay because they can’t afford to pay their employees enough to keep them happy in their job.

I just feel disappointed because I was hoping that everything here would be perfect but it goes to show that if you’re naïve enough to pay this much money for a room you may not get what you hoped for.

Know what you are paying for

A fabulous stay at The Ranch. Ty Warmer has spent the money - and has the eye for detail - and the insistence on unstinting ongoing perfection, to make every foot of the Ranch from the bottom of the driveway to the top of the property absolutely flawlessly lovely, inviting, elegant, welcoming, stunningly, relaxingly lovely.
Kudos to the landscape architect - and the team of various gardeners who keep it this way.

The Ranch is sublime.
Yes, Ty, in my personal opinion, ought to pay his front of house staff considerably more to avoid the constant turnover and encourage long term loyalty; 
and nightly cottage rates are not for the faint of heart. 
That said, service was attentive and helpful and could not have been nicer.

Pepper Cottage has been updated (perhaps the others have as well) with the most elegant cream and blue wall upholstery; and a few more pieces of furniture, including a mini bookcase unit with drawers below, a little vanity dresser near the bed, all of which all function well, with higher, sturdier chairs by the window seat, and a new rectangular table.
It's just gorgeous. I was blown away.

The Cottage also lacked the sort of funny chemicall-y smell it used to have upon check in in various prior years, so they clearly have changed their products, which was a nice plus.

The bed - hmmm. The mattress was not overwhelming; and did not feel lie the super high end one I think guests should be able to expect at that price point, like a Vi-Spring, or Hastens/Duxiana. I tossed and turned quite a bit.

Sleeping Pillows used to be huge and softly squashy, delightful to sleep on. These were the typical king size but smaller than the old ones The Ranch used to have on their beds, maybe not foam rubber but felt a bit like it, and left me with a bit of a neck ache.

Everything in the bedroom and bathroom  was spotlessly clean.
The air conditioning was very efficient, and cooled the room perfectly to 68 degrees. 
Unfortunately, it sounds as though the vent or return is right behind the bed headboard and was quite loud at night. They should have used some sound mitigation during construction.

The housekeeper turned the fireplace and the thermostat heat up to 74 degrees during evening turn down. 
Next time I will request that not be done, as I like a cold room to sleep in.

There are adorable chocolates as welcome gifts, Herban essential Towelettes by the bedsides (the orange scented is my favorite), the heart shaped soap by the bathroom sinks has a luxurious lather, towel are snow white, soft and very absorbent.

Lunch, dinner and breakfast at Stonehouse were each excellent, delicious and used high quality ingredients and pretty presentation. 
Service was impeccable at each meal, from busboys to wait staff. We were so pleased.
And of course, the views, whether it is during the day or at night with the enchanting lighting, couldn't be more romantic or more lovely.

The Christmas lights and decorations, and soft yellow glow of the pathway lights, were just beautiful everywhere. So pleased that they go to this extra mile in doing everything, and do not skimp. Holidays here are truly special and memorable.

I an't say it enough. The flaws are minimal and the magic is incredible. We are so looking forward to returning again - and again; and highly recommend.



Magical and Enchanting Place

Beautiful property. Excellent services. Prohibitively expensive however. A shame. The Santa  Barbara area is truly gorgeous, but lodging has become so terribly expensive that it is difficult to justify visiting the area when there are so many other beautiful parts of California to visit. The expensive to stay at even a modest hotel or air bnb is just too much. 

Santa Barbara unfortunately out of reach for most 

San Ysidro ranch is resting on the luxury history that they advertise on their website and in articles on the wall near the check in desk.  I am sure when the Kennedy's honeymooned here, they were not surrounded by small children at the restaurant with each meal, or screaming kids on the lovely lawn, or splashing kids in the pool.  Management was aware of the situation, and simply said it was a family resort and they would not address it or do anything to change the experience.  If you are looking for a tranquil, private and luxury experience, best to look for better options.  The manager did not even reach out directly to us after we let them know of the issues.  Very unfortunate that our recommendation is take a hard pass.  

Loud, family focused resort, not a luxury destination

What a magical place this is! From the moment you enter this property you feel like you found yourself in a fairytale. The beautiful garden, the birds, the lemon trees, the view of the mountains. Just beautiful.
All the cottages are one of a kind and decorated with amazing attention to detail. 
The restaurants in property serve delicious food and their wine list is very impressive.
Customer service is top notch!

Magical Place!

Our experience could not have been better. Thinking we would arrive early, walk the grounds, then have a pre-dinner cocktail we arrived vastly early, not reading that the restaurant did not open until 5pm! No problem. We walked the simply impeccable grounds but still had an hour to kill.
Our parking valet saw our predicament and guided us to a wonderful eatery called the Honor Bar to kill time.
Back at the Stonehouse we had a wonderful table overlooking the Pacific. Life is good.
We are greeted by our Liverpudlian Richard who was our attendant for the evening, who was simply wonderful in both timing and conversation. 
He even pointed out pictures outlining the history of San Ysidro Ranch, which was amazing in its own right..but the fact that he took the time to show us this demonstrated his passion for this wonderful place.
Do yourself a favor. Save up for a really big splurge. Have dinner at Stonehouse and ask for Richard. It'll be a great night.

Our first experience with Steak Diane was wonderful. A game changer.
Do yourself a

Stonehouse Restaurant

We attended a wedding at SYR and could not have been more impressed by the welcome and helpfulness of Lisa! She was working the front desk and was an absolute treat to us and all of the members of the wedding party! Truly the day couldn’t have gone as smoothly without her hospitality. She deserves a raise!

Best Staff

My husband and I stayed at SYR in October 2022 for the first time as a romantic escape from NYC. We were blown away by the property. Every detail is incredible. Each of the cottages are unique with layered decor pieces from around the world. The design of the common areas is incredible. The property landscaping is lush and beautiful and smells of jasmine and fresh burning wood from the onsite fireplaces. The service is absolutely incredible and the food is not to be missed. The property is private and intimate feeling with a limited number of guests at any one point. We felt we had the place to ourselves at many points during our stay. We could not recommend this hotel more and are already planning our trip back next year

A Uniquely Magical Stay in Montecito

OVERRATED seems like the perfect word to describe this absolutely gorgeous property that fails on literally every other level. 

The property looks spectacular but for $4000/night it’s almost as if they don’t understand that service and “the details” will ultimately determine its value to those of us who only want the best and don’t really care about the price. Anything and everything you ask for is a chore for them to provide. Even simple things like coffee in your room is too complicated for them with basic items continuously missing despite asking for them. Housekeeping comes in when they please regardless whether you have a sign on your door asking for privacy or not. Breakfast means continuously asking for items over and over again and brunch is basically a lesser breakfast at a much higher cost. It is unfathomable to me at $4000/night how difficult it was to get coffee, juice, butter, etc. I’m literally talking 3-4 times asking for each item and in an area with almost no guests at tables. 

I’m not sure if this has anything to do with it but apparently the owner is the Beanie Baby founder, Ty Warner who also owns the Four Seasons in NYC and Santa Barbara which are both in a nasty dispute with Four Seasons and remain unopened since Covid. Is he purposely trying to run this property down too? Seems unlikely but they now are offering complimentary meals to lure people in. I assure you all the meals they give you and it’s still not worth it.

All in all a very underwhelming experience that leaves you feeling ripped off. Hopefully they will train their staff better and maybe take lessons from Twin Farms or Blackberry Farm so they can understand how to run this properly. Unfortunately probably the worst part is that I don’t think they really care and this is what it is. Be smart and save your money and go somewhere else. If you decide otherwise don’t say I didn’t warn you.

Overrated in nearly every way

We absolutely loved our stay at San Ysidro Ranch. The grounds of this hotel are stunning. The vibe is definitely quiet luxury and I would probably only go as a couple. 
We stayed in Eucalyptus, which is a really special cottage. The large backyard space is incredibly relaxing, with its own hot tub and hammock. 
We thoroughly enjoyed all of our meals. The breakfast bread basket was a naughty treat each morning!
It is great to be able to walk to good hiking trails. 
This hotel is really expensive. For us, it was definitely worth it.

San Ysidro Ranch

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