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.
I find the treatment of The Daisy to be appalling but not surprising. This is a very unfriendly city for business. I am in Portland OR at the moment scoping it out as a place for me to move my lighting and home store.
The bigger difference is that many European countries take strong pride in maintaining their cities and towns, and enforcing the laws that keep them beautiful and user friendly.
I would summarize this city government and all its departments’ performance as follows: No accountability, no oversight and no leadership.
Im encouraged by all your State St comments and the simple logic! I work downtown and if we walk to Paseo Nuevo for lunch I am always struck by how desolate it is! Its embarrassing and depressing! Time for some logical ACTION!
The Mediterranean mooring/docking method is always stern to the quay, and there is a scary passerelle, basically a narrow gangplank from stern to dock that one has to navigate. It’s a way to save space, and it’s complicated by two anchors and sometimes other necessities. Most def rent a boat next time.
P. S. Love your travelogues.
Anacapa and mission!!
It is very sad to see some great places go out of business in Santa Barbara and friends, colleagues moved out. With that being said the city and whoever else makes it so impossible for anyone to live in this community. They just want out of town people particularly to pay ridiculous money for school then graduated and move away then the circle keeps going on…
Tell me how fake and prejudiced most people are in this community especially the ones that think they’re helping out. The housing crisis in Santa Barbara is ridiculously prejudiced stating “we want people to make 3 times or 40% of income or more to rent a place here.” To be honest this is detestable, and inhuman to make this kind of rule by pretending they are for the people, so in fact they are really pushing good model citizens out of the city. Therefore everyone should be more genuine about the community to make it a better place for all.
