••• An update from Alex Timmons of Blue Oak Retreat, the health-focused resort in the works at 3940 Paradise Road, off Highway 154 behind the Santa Barbara foothills. (It’s a sister to Mountain Trek Health Reset Retreat in British Columbia.) “We have just completed our well, which was the last item outstanding on our CUP application, so we hope to go in front of the planning commission early 2026 and receive our permits shortly after. We will need to fundraise for the project but still hope to break ground in 2026.” The website has new renderings and site plans, including the ones shown here.
••• Hotel Milo on Cabrillo Boulevard announced that it “has unveiled the results of a multi-million-dollar renovation and rebrand,” including “a full reimagination of all 121 guest rooms, upgraded outdoor gathering spaces, and a refreshed brand identity.” The new name: The Milo, Hotel by the Sea. Thankfully, it’s being shortened to The Milo. Someone I spoke with recently who has seen the new rooms said they came out nicely.
••• The Arroyo Hondo Preserve on the Gaviota Coast is closed due to storm damage, with “flooding, landslides, and impacts to trails, roads, parking areas, and infrastructure.” Repairs are expected to take at least a few months.
••• A branch of Poppy Bank is coming to 30 E. Figueroa Street later this year.
••• From C.: “As part of a dying breed that loves magazines (and in particular the foreign shelter variety), I’ve been heartened to see that The Trading Post at the Montecito Country Mart has upped their magazine collection. It and Chaucer’s are the only two sources I’ve found. If you share this interest, maybe you could share your sources or shout them out to your followers. Want to support the effort in the hope that it carries on.” I’m not sure there’s anything we can do about the fate of magazines…. For what it’s worth, I believe that Domecíl and The Eddy both stock them.
••• James Taylor returns to the Santa Barbara Bowl on May 6.
••• Santa Ynez shop Rodeo Riviera has opened a second location at 122 Gray Avenue in the Funk Zone. It stocks women’s and men’s apparel “blending coastal and western style,” including a custom trucker hat bar.
••• If you’d like to get a look at La Casa de Maria in Montecito, closed since the 2018 debris flow, Heal the Ocean executive director Karina Johnston is giving a free talk there on January 29. Lunch is included, and donations are welcome.
••• The San Ysidro Ranch has added a paved parking lot at its north end. It’s may or may not be visible from the property, but you can definitely see it from San Ysidro Trail, Old Pueblo Trail, and McMenemy Trail.
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Blue Oak Retreat looks really nice. Break ground in 2026 seems ambitious. Maybe being away from everything there won’t be much for planning to be concerned with.
I noticed a lot of eaves and what looks like natural material construction. Maybe fire protection bunkers will be on site.
Hi Don,
Alex Timmons here. Thanks for your comment! To add more info to the discussion:
Planning – We’ve been working with planning for almost two years now. Being fully off-grid and committed to sustainability (energy efficiency, water reuse, habitat creation, minimal damage to the forest, and more) has made the process much more intensive, but we hope to be on the final stretch!
Fire – The retreat will use zero combustible materials on the exterior and store 50,000 gallons for fire protection infrastructure (roof and interior sprinklers and hydrants). We designed the retreat to survive a wildfire, which is a sad reality, but a reality all the same.
Will this health resort only be accessible for the wealthy? Is this a resort that the working class can also afford?
Not many boutique health resorts being built for the middle class Im afraid.
On the plus side lots of jobs from construction and operations.🙂
Hi Evie and Don,
I completely agree that it’s becoming harder for the working class to attend these experiences. Teachers, nurses, mothers, and so many others who sacrifice their own health to help others deserve support to attend programs like ours. This is why we launched the Deserving Fund in 2022, which offers $1-3k grants for guests who need a helping hand budget for our retreat. Please explore this grant program here, if you’d like: https://mountaintrek.com/resources/the-deserving-fund/
As someone who grew up camping down Paradise Road, with many family members living in the cabins on forestry land, I do not support this new development. Is there no where anymore that people won’t build. Can we just not leave the forestry land alone and enjoy the beauty when we camp or go to the little water holes. Sad that someone buys this vacant land and thinks let’s build and add more traffic to an area not needing it. Personally I hope it takes years to get approved and built.
Totally agree, and they need a fundraiser to finance this blight on nature
Hi Monica and Art of el sueno,
I understand your concerns. Hopefully I can share some more context for the conversation:
From day one, a principle design constraint has been to impact the forest as little as possible, as it is the most potent healing opportunity for guests of the proposed retreat—just as you, and I, have personally experienced when camping.
Our architect, Jim Cutler, has won many environmental awards and is renown for his ability to design into the existing landscape, not on top of it. The parcel has been homesteaded for 30+ years, and we are reusing all roads and footprints to minimize impact. We have designed the retreat such that no roof exceeds 16 feet in height, and being amongst majestic valley and blue oaks that are upwards of 50 feet tall, the retreat will be invisible to any onlooker. There is actually a farm structure on the property now that is over 20′ tall and it can not be seen at all! (you can experience this if you drive the road to Rancho Oso and look back on the parcel).
With private land, there is always a risk that something incongruent with the natural landscape gets built (a casino?), so we are immensely proud that we have designed a facility that reveres and works in harmony with the native landscape and uses private funds to help restore habitat that is being lost to climate change.
Thank you,
Alex
Well Alex,
Unfortunately you will never understand the mind set of us locals. We do not want to make big bucks out of our natural surroundings. We want our children and grand children to experience nature pure. We teach them to be stewards of the earth, i.e. to treasure and protect it , not how to exploit it for our personal gain. Your vision for our natural environment will never be our vision.
Hi Cyndi, I invite you to join me on the land for a tour so you can see the extensive homesteading/ranching that has already taken place and how we plan to restore natural forest landscape lost to climate change. I envision lovers of nature, your children and grandchildren, being the stewards of this facility – using it as a vessel to educate the public on the importance of conservation and sustainability.
Please email me at [email protected] if you’d like to meet on site.
-Alex