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FeedBacara Resort and Spa
The directions are downright homey: “Make a sharp right when you see a rock-wall island with an oak tree.” But as you make the requisite turn and view the Mediterranean village climbing the hill ahead, you gasp. Can this entire village be one resort? It’s the size of a small city on the coast of Tuscany.
Bacara Resort & Spa, 13 miles north of Santa Barbara, occupies 78 acres—“compared to Disneyland, which is 85 acres,” says our bellman as he jitneys us to our ocean-view room. His name is Reed, and he sticks with us until we’re completely oriented. There are three vanishing-edge pools, he says (our room overlooks two of them). The spa building, a three-story California mission–style edifice, has a staff of 100 and includes 42 treatment rooms. There’s a world-class wine cellar downstairs from the fabulous fine-dining restaurant, Miró. The wine cellar contains 8,000 bottles.
As Reed stows our luggage, he inspects the room. “They’re mostly all alike,” he says, “except for the suites, and the presidential suite”—which is a $5,000-a-night palace near the ocean. Actress Debra Messing, star of TV’s Will and Grace, and her husband spent their honeymoon there.
For honeymooners, Bacara is paradise. The hotel opened last October and hosted seven weddings in its first month. One was in the ballroom, a space that seems the size of the Queen Mary. The reception was for a mere 250, but the bride had created stations all around the room—living rooms and cocktail areas, says Anne Luther, director of public relations. Another wedding, held on the lawn, featured a spun-glass arch. A favorite chapel-like spot is the rotunda, with its arched cathedral windows.
For couples who aren’t planning a wedding but simply want a romantic getaway, spa director Jennifer Lynn suggests a three-, four- or seven-day package with personal training, a fitness assessment, body-fat analysis and one free spa treatment a day. “You can establish a good, solid workout program in three days,” she says. “Then at home, you can be supportive of each other’s efforts to stay in shape.”
The package includes all meals in the spa café. “The food is simply prepared, organic, with reduced calorie and fat-gram content,” says Luther. “We even have organic wines.”
Couples massage is popular among lovers who just can’t bear to lose sight of each other even for a moment. The choices are many: Swedish massage, deep-tissue/sports massage, aromatherapy, healing stone therapy—or an Eastern variation called Shirodhara, oil poured on the “third eye” in the middle of the forehead, followed by a scalp massage and facial herbal cleansing.
Bacara is the dream of two New Yorkers, Wanda and Alvin Dworman, who now divide their time between the two coasts. There is a definite emphasis on art—note the name Miró, chosen for the fashionable dining room at the top of the cliff, with three original Miró sculptures.
While the food was fabulous when we dined there (lobster beyond perfection, rack of lamb expertly charred), the service was still a little uneven. The waiters, dressed in black with little silver nameplates, seemed new to the job. At first, we thought they were security police, protecting the artwork.
Bacara has been causing quite a stir in Santa Barbara for the past few years. Some watched its construction in awe, some with environmental concerns. What about the globose dune beetle, an endangered species? Once plentiful, today this species is found in only a few places, among them the scrub bushes and driftwood along Bacara’s shore. To provide a quiet habitat for the beetles, Bacara has placed wooden fencing to the south of the village. For guests—and everyone else—this is off-limits.
Even a beetle demands a romantic hideaway.
IF YOU GO: American Eagle and United Airlines shuttle into Santa Barbara from San Diego. The hotel, 8301 Hollister Avenue, is a short taxi ride away. Rooms range from $390 to $675; suites from $950 to $5,000. Spa packages for two range from three nights at $2,508 to seven nights at $5,530. Call 805-968-0100. Web site: www.bacararesort.com.
—Virginia Butterfield
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