Santa Barbara Biltmore


The Four Seasons Resort The Biltmore Santa Barbara is a luxury resort hotel located in Santa Barbara, California known for its Spanish Colonial Revival architecture and gardens. It opened in 1927 as the Santa Barbara Biltmore, part of the Bowman-Biltmore Hotels chain.

History

The Santa Barbara Biltmore was designed by architect Reginald Johnson and landscape architect Ralph Stevens in 1926-1927. Their design of the hotel and outdoor garden rooms synthesizes Mediterranean Revival, Spanish Colonial Revival and Moorish Revival styles of architecture. The $1,500,000 construction cost was funded by the Bowman-Biltmore Hotels Corporation of New York City, with a 5 March 1927 groundbreaking.
The 'Coral Casino' and 'Butterfly Beach' are adjacent to the Biltmore.
Allied Properties of San Francisco bought the Biltmore in 1936. They sold the property in 1976 to Marriott for $5.25 million and the hotel was renamed Marriott's Santa Barbara Biltmore. Marriott sold the hotel to Four Seasons Hotels in 1987 for $55 million and it was renamed the Four Seasons Resort Santa Barbara. In 2000, billionaire Beanie Babies creator Ty Warner purchased the hotel for $150 million, while retaining Four Seasons as the management company. He restored the hotel at a cost of $240 million and brought back the historic 'Biltmore' name soon after, renaming the hotel the Four Seasons Resort The Biltmore Santa Barbara. Since its 1927 opening, the hotel has been known popularly simply as 'The Biltmore.'
Fred William Stringer produced ornamentation and murals for the hotel. Originally an artist in England, he moved to Canada prior to 1920, then was brought to Southern California to do backdrops, sets and theater ornamentation for the fledgling movie industry. He also did similar work for several hotels and theaters in the Los Angeles area.