by Angela Fairhurst
Heading to America’s Riviera, Santa Barbara? The most well-known boutique hotel in the downtown area, steps away from State Street, is the chic Spanish colonial-style Kimpton Canary Hotel, with its “historic-meets-modern” design.
Need to be closer to UCSB? Then the boutique Kimpton Goodland a surfing themed lodge, is the laid-back choice.
Kimpton Hotels come with perks. They have a hosted wine hour, coffee service in the lobby in the morning, thoughtful bath amenities and complimentary bikes.
Kimpton hotels are designed with the personality and vibe of the neighborhood in mind. Each of the pet-friendly hotels has created a “muse,” the likely visitor. The Canary muse is a Los-Angeles-based entrepreneurial mother named Susan in Santa Barbara for a weekend getaway. The Goodland’s muse is a bohemian music-loving surfer.
KIMPTON CANARY
If this hotel is not named after its cheery yellow exterior, then it should be. The location is central to Santa Barbara’s main promenade’s boutiques and cafes.
Kimpton Canary combines contemporary California style with authentic Mediterranean décor. The generous sized rooms with hardwood floors have tall four-poster canopy beds with superior mattresses so that guests cannot help but get a restful and luxurious night’s sleep. Other amenities include flat screen TVs, complimentary Wi-Fi and yoga mats.
The rooftop pool, deck and hand-painted tile and wrought-iron lounge area have impressive views of the surrounding area.
The Finch & Fork restaurant is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner and use only local-sourced products. Produce and all-natural beef come from the area’s farms, while the just-caught seafood comes straight out of the Pacific Ocean. Favorites
include rainbow trout, deviled eggs and Tuesday night’s Buttermilk Fried Chicken. The wine is selected from world-class vineyards, also from the vicinity, and the creative cocktails are served up by George, the lead bartender.
Kimpton Canary will arrange unforgettable excursions for you, including private tastings to local vineyards. We were fortunate enough to have one such vineyard come to us. Carthartt Vineyards is a family-owned and operated vineyard in nearby Los Olivios. They farm their own fruit sustainably and with the utmost care and consideration for the environment. They bottle over 20 different wines, making 6,000 cases annually, which are available to their wine club members and through online stores, as well as direct to the consumer. No restaurants, wine bars or super markets carry their wine, so of course, they have their own tasting room.
Photo by Angela Fairhurst
GOODLAND
Only 10 minutes up the road off Highway 101 from Santa Barbara is its sister city of Goleta and the Kimpton Goodland. The hotel was once a Holiday Inn. The hotel was bought by Kimpton and redesigned into a beach cool with a retro-surf vibe hotel, making it a hangout for both tourists and locals An Airstream and a Woody car are permanent fixtures in the roundabout driveway. Longboards and beach art adorn the walls.
The 158 rooms are artfully and eclectically designed. The spacious contemporary rooms feature sitting areas, work desks, hardwood floors, re-purposed wood cabinets and classic record players with vinyl albums.
The resort fee covers Wi-Fi, fitness classes and parking, as well as coffee and tea and access to regular live entertainment. There’s an outdoor pool where you can enjoy a sangria and a record store called Vnyl.
The Outpost is an airy restaurant and bar with a terrific chef serving seasonal coastal cuisine from local farms and purveyors with a regional influence. The inviting setting allows guests to relax and enjoy a cocktail.
The Kimpton Goodland brings creativity, community and inspiration to the environment every day with live up-and-coming bands, trivia nights and fireside s’mores. Before dinner, we got were put to a contest with a multitude of ingredient choices to make fresh salsa. I happened to win!
