Look at the Disneyland Rick Caruso made of the Miramar. This is a case of one billionaire trying to out do the next billionaire. Just because people have a lot of money doesn’t mean they have a sophisticated good taste. Just saying.
Why surprised? Look at what he did to The historic Montecito Country Club and Coral Casino -Disneyland and Vegas
Okay, I got it, you won't listen to me when I say State street has no appeal to me. And I've lived here long enough to remember State & A, and Carlito's having the only outdoor seating on the street. Guess what, it's still a street.
Closed to cars, open to cars, flat & flexible, or some other plan. . . enjoy your time there. I'll stick with the Funk Zone, the Waterfront, the ease of driving to Goleta and shopping there. And I buy more things on Milpas and upper State than downtown State street.
PS, I'm a gardener of 35 years here and I don't have a lawn.
I think people are distrustful of his taste levels after some of his other projects.
Only been to MCC once but not impressed. Yeah can’t believe he’s taken away the Plow and Angel and his redesign for the Biltmore sounds tacky.
Love the food in SB but we need some good Chinese.
I hoped that the "...." at the end of the Jonesy's item would imply some ambivalence. But if I'm going to be honest, I think everything about Starbucks—the coffee, the food, the atmosphere—is bad.
This could be an amazing property once done. if done tastefully with the proper landscaping (which i dont doubt is part of the plan, this could be a pretty epic place. I dont understand all the naysayers beating up a plan without envisioning how it could be worked into the property and not even be seen by the locals.
I suspected the platform wouldn’t allow emoji. So, let me go old school… ;-)
OK. So, just to be sure we’re clear: Online ordering at Jonesy’s. Good. Online ordering at Starbucks. Bad.
Cool. ???? <— That’s a wink because this post is all in good fun.
It was hideous !!!
Ty Warner ruined the Plow and Angel at SYR. His aesthetic leans casino. An abomination.
I agree with the criticism of the SSAC and City Council for the utter lack of progress in this endeavor. Someone should have figured out a long time ago that you will never please everybody, so just pick a direction and get going.
However, I have decided that I am done listening to people who “never go to State Street anymore.” As far as I’m concerned, you’re part of the problem. Restaurants not as good as they used to be? Aw, let me get out my tiny violin. Scared of bicycles? Gee, remember that thing you used to walk on back in the Glory Days when cars drove in the street, called the “sidewalk?” Yeah, it’s still there.
Could State Street be “better” somehow? Of course! But life’s too short to sit around and whine about it. Go grab a beer, or some pizza, or some cargo shorts, and do your part to help the hardworking merchants downtown who work every day for this community.
By the way, don’t look now, but I think there’s a kid walking on your lawn.
Okay but that menu doesn't feel like a *meal* - it feels like snacks. I'm also doing the whole sympathetic sobriety these days since my lady is pregnant, so going out for snacks just seems like more trouble and money than it's worth. I guess I just miss Le Marchands, which I loved. And to be clear - I'll sing the praises of every single other Acme joint, they're on the whole wonderful and worthy of praise and patronage. No chip here!
What a tacky plan for a beautiful, historic hotel. So sad...
Ty Warner has a lot of money but precious little taste. His design themes are usually rather strange, see the Montecito Club and the new "speakeasy". He doesn't really care about making money as he is a billionaire many times over and can be irrational all he wants. Still making a clown show out of an iconic property in such a great location is a travesty. The Miramar needn't be worried.
Jason and SkyG: You both come off as people with a chip on their shoulder rather than discerning food lovers who have actually eaten the new items mentioned in this article. I've been to Pearl twice since their relaunch and love the new menu. The fried chicken is easily one of the best bites in all of SB. The new cocktails are phenomenal and the vibe is so much more energetic than any of the previous iterations.
The pools sound incredibly vulgar. There’s a place for those kinds of resorts. I have a kid, I get it. It’s just sad that this is happening at the Biltmore. Bacara seems ripe for this kind of tweak in my mind. Destroying the Biltmore is shameless.
It sure seems that way. That's what I get for ignoring those ads.... Thanks!
An abomination. RIP beautiful Biltmore. It's a shame that Ty has to have such a heavy hand in the "design" of his properties.
Also, doesn't the ad they ran on the cover of the Montecito Journal "Mr. Whistle can't decide where to eat, at Thomas Keller or across the street at Nobu" sort of serve as a press release to confirm Nobu is indeed opening there?
Definitely not what the Biltmore should become. Such a beautiful old property that should be treated with class and respect. His redesign of the Ty lounge some years back was awful. The final product ended up looking like it should have been a set design for Game of Thrones. That big marble slab bar in the middle looked like a sacrificial altar. All that money and zero sense of taste. Do better Ty!!!!!!
A beach? Really, that would work in Las Vegas or Scottsdale which are both hundreds of miles away from a beach. But C'mon Ty, there's a real beach across the street.
A lazy river with rock waterfall and sandy beach on property with the historic Santa Barbara Biltmore which is a Spanish Revival hotel (once a private mansion) with 6 foot fences blocking this magnificent property? It sounds like that beautiful property is being turned it to a joke with a non cohesive vision of two different styles. One of the visions is Disney’s Aulani hotel. It makes me sad for all who have fond memories visiting this classic hotel through the decades.
I’m a little shocked the Four Seasons and Ty Warner are up for something as pedestrian as a lazy river.
Cars on State Street does not equal no outdoor dining. We have very wide sidewalks, many of which could be expanded by bricking over the unkept shrubbery, with plenty of room for outdoor dining.
