This Laid-back California City Is a Movie star Haven — Find out how to Go to

Montecito has lengthy been often called a sanctuary for the wealthy and first-name-only well-known: Oprah, Ellen, Harry and Meghan. However currently, with the arrival of eating places and boutiques price touring for—plus facelifts to a few of southern California’s most storied resorts — this unique city feels just like the Golden State’s hottest getaway.

On the north finish is San Ysidro Ranch, which is unfold throughout 550 lush acres. Initially constructed in 1893 and now owned by Beanie Infants magnate Ty Warner, it’s considered one of Montecito’s oldest retreats. It additionally has celeb credentials: Vivien Leigh and Laurence Olivier have been married there, and Winston Churchill favored it for winter holidays. (His title nonetheless graces the doorway to one of many 38 sumptuously appointed cottages.) 

The property lately added the Speakeasy at Plow & Angel, a smooth cocktail bar with reside music. Friends even have entry to the resort’s 14,000-bottle wine cellar, together with the Ty Warner Wine Collective, which gives tastings of uncommon vintages from producers like Château Petrus and Château d’Yquem. 

Three miles south, Rosewood Miramar Seashore attracts a see-and-be-seen crowd for dinner at Caruso’s, its beachside Italian restaurant. (A second restaurant, FronteMare, will open quickly and serve seafood family-style.) This summer time, the lodge added a surf membership; there’s additionally an outpost of Goop, the approach to life model of Montecito resident Gwyneth Paltrow. 

4 Seasons Resort the Biltmore Santa Barbara reopens subsequent 12 months on the heels of the refreshed Coral On line casino Seashore & Cabana Membership, a member’s membership with a soon-to-come Thomas Keller restaurant that can be open to the general public. (Each are additionally Ty Warner holdings.)

Montecito’s essential drag, Coast Village Highway, has nice people-watching—particularly at its buzzy eating places. One of the vital sought-after reservations is Fortunate’s, a celeb-approved steak home that turns 25 this 12 months. (It’s the place Meghan and Harry lately celebrated their wedding ceremony anniversary.) If tables are booked, attempt the bar, which serves the complete menu and turns delightfully raucous throughout huge video games.

A block away is Honor Bar, which attracts a happy-hour crowd, and Tre Lune, a trattoria with decadent pastas like fettuccine with lobster and porcini in a saffron-tomato sauce. Throughout the road, Montesano Market & Deli seems filling piadine, calmly pressed flatbreads wrapped round cured meats and cheeses. In the meantime, Bettina serves what many locals (and the Michelin information) contemplate to be the most effective pizza on the town.

Downtown has first-rate procuring, too. Browse French magnificence merchandise, stylish gardening instruments, tableware, and extra—take care of a $120 heirloom tomato-scented candle?—at Emily Joubert, which opened in July. A number of doorways away is an outpost of Dôen, a girls’s-wear model based by Santa Barbara sisters who make straightforward separates, knits, and vintage-inspired attire, all with a California-cool vibe. 

And Homer, named after the proprietor’s grandfather, employs saddlemakers to craft weekender and crossbody baggage. Decide up a cheekily named “Overnighter” (it’s nearly large enough for a bank card and a lip gloss) and stroll alongside Channel Drive, which winds previous Butterfly Seashore, a scenic stretch alongside the Pacific that’s favored by these within the know.

A model of this story first appeared within the December 2024/January 2025 problem of Journey + Leisure underneath the headline “Stars, They’re Simply Like Us.”