Hotel Review
Rosewood Miramar Beach
A luxury beachfront hotel with modern residential beach living in Montecito, on the Southern California Coast
Rosewood Miramar Beach Hotel in Montecito is located on the oceanfront with views across the iconic California coastline. With 160 rooms, 26 beachfront units and exclusive residential suites, the Miramar Beach hotel combines easygoing Californian beachfront living with luxury style and attention to detail throughout..
Perfect For: Small families | Honeymooners | Romantic Getaways | An escape from the city
Rosewood Miramar
Santa Barbara Airport
Rosewood Miramar Beach Location: Miramar Beach Hotel is located just eight minutes south of Downtown Santa Barbara.
Getting to the Rosewood Miramar Beach:The resort itself is only 15 minutes from Santa Barbara Municipal Airport which has direct flights from major US hubs including LA, San Francisco, Seattle, Chicago and Denver. It’s also a great option to include on a California Coast road trip if you plan to visit the area around Santa Barbara, it’s around a 2 hour drive from LA.
Vibe: Miramar means ‘to behold the sea’ and the name truly does reflect this stylish coastal resort where there is so much attention to detail in every aspect of the decor, the amenities and the experiences available. Being the only truly oceanfront resort in Montecito, your arrival feels like a moment of calm washing over you. Away from the traffic, the city and the rush of daily life, the resort encompasses oceanfront living to give you a luxurious yet home-away-from-home feel.
Accomodations: Rosewood Miramar Beach Hotel boasts 160 rooms. The resort has 26 units on the beach, two beach house suites, and beach studios, as well as rooms and suites with ocean or garden views. The Hotel is choosing to limit their maximum occupancy to 70% for the rest of the year, so you can be sure your care is the top priority when you visit.
With 124 rooms on the property, you can choose from rooms overlooking the ocean or the gardens. Beach house guest rooms and studios are located on the beachfront with spacious rooms and private patios decorated in a light-airy coastal style that’s perfect for a relaxing retreat. Bungalow guest rooms offer views of the beautifully manicured gardens and lawns.
Lanai Guest Rooms are in the two-story Lanai House and have rooms of varying sizes for up to four guests. They also offer the choice of garden or mountain views.
An alternative to Rooms is their studios, which are slightly bigger than the Beach House rooms and give you the option of an additional 3rd guest with beachfront views.
Bungalows include the Bungalow Suites with a private courtyard, Garden Bungalow suites with private terraces and garden views, or Lanai Suites with large windows and private terraces. The bungalows all come with private entrances and offer you space and amenities beyond those of guestrooms and include luxurious and spacious parlors and fireplaces for up to four guests. The bungalows are particularly popular with honeymooners or for special anniversary trips.
Located on the beachfront with uninterrupted ocean views and with just two Beach House Suites available, these oceanfront suites are hugely popular. At 960sq ft, with relaxed indoor and terrace decor and accommodating up to 4 guests, the suites are a way to make your stay truly special with the beach on your doorstep.
The Ambassador Suite offers panoramic ocean views and is the largest accommodation option available at 1,885sq ft. The suite can accommodate up to 4 guests with living rooms, a dining area, a private kitchen, a king-size bed and a large private terrace overlooking the lawn and with full views of the ocean. Located on the second floor of the Manor House, you’re just five minutes walk from the beautiful Miramar beach.
Food & Beverage: There’s no need to venture far thanks to the incredible six restaurants and food options at Rosewood Miramar Beach Hotel. Caruso’s is Rosewood Miramar’s most gourmet option. Our meal on our first night was here and the food was beyond incredible. As was the ocean view dining at the restaurant.
For something more casual, the Miramar Beach Bar at the property is great for cocktails and light bites throughout the day. There’s also the Cabana Bar which is perfect for poolside refreshments.
The Manor Bar is the resort’s sophisticated evening option with dark wood-panel interiors, a formal bar and luxurious seating, creating a cozy evening atmosphere for drinks after dinner.
There’s also something for the kids too, with the popular Scoop Shop right by the pool area!
Wellness: Rosewood Miramar Beach is the only 5-star Forbes spa in Santa Barbara, so you’re guaranteed a luxurious retreat when you choose to stay here. In fact, most people do choose to stay for at least 3 nights to really soak in the rejuvenating, coastal calm of the resort. As well as the Sense Rosewood Spa, the resort wellness centre also offers a fitness studio, sunrise yoga and adult-only pools to relax and restore you on your trip.
Things to Do in Montecito:The Rosewood Miramar Beach Hotel offers a range of family-friendly experiences such as family beach yoga, falconry experiences, family movie nights and the Explorer Club for kids.
The resort offers countless activities and excursions for adults too which are perfect for romantic getaways and special occasions like tastings at the gourmet restaurant Caruso’s or sailing the Santa Barbara Coast on a private charter cruise. If you’re looking for something more active, the hotel also offers frequent pop-up events, hiking excursions and surf excursions which can be booked upon request during your stay.
The resort retail experience is another amenity hand-selected by the hotel to bring luxury upscale brands to their guests. With regular pop-ups like the Dior Summer Collection, alongside boutiques like The Webster, shopping is part of the experience at Rosewood Miramar Beach.
What Sets It Apart: When we finally had the opportunity to visit this summer, I knew our stay in Montecito and at the Rosewood Miramar Beach Hotel would be the highlight of our California coastal road trip. Developed by Caruso, the hotel is of course stunning, with elements throughout that show the time and attention to detail that’s given to all their properties.
The hotel is also child-friendly and you’ll often find a lot of families staying for the weekend. Weekdays are more popular with couples for romantic getaways, honeymoons or anniversary trips.
Everything about the Miramar Beach Hotel is personalized for the comfort of their guests. These are some of our favorite parts of the resort:
- Forbes Five-Star Rosewood Spa
- Scoop Shop ice cream and candies is a kids’ favorite of course!
- Family-friendly pools next to the Scoop Shop
- Adult-only pool with rentable cabanas
- Lincoln House Cars (one yellow, one pink!) to take you anywhere you need to go in a three-mile radius of the hotel
- Six restaurants and bars
- Bocce Ball courts and shuffleboard
- A coffee cart on the beach
- Kayak and Hobie Cat rental from the beach club
- Retail boutiques including Christian Dior and The Webster
- A 24/7 guard to assist guests with crossing the train tracks which operates a train several times a day
How Much Does the Rosewood Miramar Cost? The cost varies depending on the accommodation option you choose. Prices start from $1,600 per night for garden view rooms. While an Ambassador Ocean View Suite starts at a nightly rate of $13,000.
Diego Travel Loves:
The wait for a luxury beachfront hotel of this calibre has been worth it to see the easy luxury that Rosewood Miramar creates for their guests. From the soft cream to light blue furnishings that emulate the ocean on your doorstep, to the variety of amenities for all ages and groups, Rosewood Miramar Beach Hotel is effortless luxury.
Extras You’ll Get with Diego Travel:
- Exclusive Rosewood Elite Amenities
- Complimentary one category upgrade upon arrival, based on availability
- Daily USD30 breakfast credit for up to two people per bedroom
- $125 Sense Spa credit per stay
- Welcome note and amenity from the Managing Director on behalf of Diego Travel
- Diego Travel Welcome Box for First-Time Clients
Summary of Our Stay at the Rosewood Miramar Beach in Montecito, California:
When I heard that Rosewood Hotels opened the Rosewood Miramar Beach in the heart of Montecito in 2019, I was ecstatic because it would be the area’s first truly beachfront resort with rooms on the water.
My husband and I had been visiting the area for years due to work obligations and family living in the area, so we couldn’t get there soon enough. Santa Barbara is one of my favorite destinations in the world, especially for it’s casual California surfer meets upscale hippy chic vibe, so I mapped out our itinerary from morning to night with activities like shopping, dining and time for the beach. Pulling up to Rosewood Miramar Beach Hotel feels like stepping into a European resort. The bellmen and valet greeted us and addressed us by name from the start. The sales director met me straight away along with two other colleagues and made us feel at home. We arrived prior to check-in time, so they had one of our rooms ready for us, so that the kids could immediately change into their swimsuits and head for the beach, while my mom and I ditched them to hit the shops. And speaking of shops, the hotel itself has a few of my favorites, including the pop-up shop by Christian Dior, which was absolutely stunning, a personal favorite – Brunello Cucinelli, Goop by the famous Gwyneth Paltrow, and The Webster, which also has a location in Miami Beach. Another on-property favorite is the James Perse store, which cannot be missed for travel basics like comfortable lounge pants and basic tees. However, I had been eyeing hitting my favorite series of stores by Wendy Foster that have locations in Santa Barbara, Montecito and Los Olivos. Speaking of Los Olivos, while we didn’t have time on this trip to spend some time in Santa Ynez Valley, I always suggest to my clients who love wine and horses to split their time between that region, just an hour north of Santa Barbara.
After a day of shopping, and the kids has their fill of the pool and beach, we met for dinner at Caruso’s, the formal beachfront restaurant that offers a truly fine dining experience that really transports you to Europe. The experience was impeccable, and the food was delicious…and if you’re in the right company, stop for drinks at the bar just before dinner. Post-dinner, we were happy to let the kids run free on the sprawling grassy lawn while my husband and I leaned back in some of the white adirondack lawn chairs, people and star gazing while we talked. While an intimate wedding was going on while we were on property, it really didn’t take away from our experience, as the property is so large that we wouldn’t have even noticed had we not walked by the dancing bride and groom and a roomful of infectious laughter and live music coming from the Manor Bar on our walk back to our bungalow.
I would be remiss not to mention the experience of the service itself at Rosewood Miramar Beach. Everyone addressed us by name, and the welcome amenities for myself and the kids went above and beyond. (No, I’m not spoiling the surprise, because when you book with Diego Travel, you’ll also get spoiled by these amenities). One evening, the bath tub wouldn’t fill so we determined there was something wrong with the stopper. Within minutes, a man arrived and quickly replaced the bath tub stopper.
The grounds are beautifully landscaped and have special touches throughout, which makes your stay there feel magical. We really didn’t want to leave the property at all, and spent very little time going out to eat at outdoor restaurants like Bouchon and Jeanette’s, and visited the Santa Barbara zoo – my favorite because it’s small enough to not be too tiring for the little kids, yet with beautiful views of the ocean, especially from the giraffes.
Some of the things we did not have time for, but I would have loved to plan, is the bespoke beach picnic that the hotel will set up for you on the beach. I also would have loved to have time to charter a boat ride to sail along the Santa Barbara coast, but we ran out of time.
One of the highlights of the trip was visiting Montecito Country Mart in the Rosewood Miramar’s cute yellow vintage car – they have a pastel yellow, pink and blue one and are available to drive you to any location within Montecito on a first-come, first-serve basis. My kids loved this experience! They also love the bocce ball and shuffle board and kept themselves busy with that while I got in quick last-minute trip to the spa for a massage. Hey, someone has to research! The massage was phenomenal, and while it’s small, the areas are pristine and decorated in the perfect way that Rick Caruso appointed the rest of the resort.
Whether you’re planning a romantic weekend getaway, a longer summer vacation or a California coast road trip, the Rosewood Miramar Beach Hotel is a great option for families, couples or special occasions. Our stay at Rosewood Miramar Beach Hotel was truly special and we only wish we could have stayed longer – I highly recommend a minimum 3-night stay, but if you truly want to do it all in Santa Barbara and Montecito, you’ll need a little longer. Contact Diego Travel today so we can help you book your perfect Montecito vacation, and add Rosewood Elite amenities and the VIP touch to your stay.
