Hotel Review: Rosewood Miramar Beach
It is hard to believe it was only nine weeks ago when I was in balmy Santa Barbara. It seems like such a distant memory after being quarantined at home for six weeks now. Spending a few days at the newly opened Rosewood Miramar Beach with my family over a long President’s Day weekend, there was no such thing as ‘social distancing’. COVD-19 then seemed such a distant crisis isolated in Italy and China. No, at this time, the main conversation among guests was the tragic Kobe Bryant helicopter crash the prior week. What a difference two months can make.
I visited Santa Barbara for the first time for a quick weekend with my girlfriend back in 2017 (you can read about our trip here) and was so enchanted with this area of Southern California, I vowed to myself to return soon with my family. There is a reason why Santa Barbara and its neighboring areas of Goleta and Montecito has often been referred to as the American Riviera. This is a unique spot on the California coast where the mountains meet the ocean, where one moment you can be driving up winding roads to a spot offering endless views of the coast and the next you can be sipping wine in one of the 200+ vineyards less than a 30-minute drive away or one of the 40 tasting rooms in town.
But I will let you in on a secret: This enclave, just two hours (depending on the traffic, of course) and 92 miles north of Los Angeles, simply crushes its French counterpart. Why? The 25 beaches the area are wider, softer and less crowded, there is a wide variety of incredible restaurants, tons of cultural activities and sports (50+ museums, galleries and entertainment venues), most all of the the local resorts and hotels are newly updated, and the sublime Mediterranean-like climate is pretty much consistent all year round. The only thing missing is a direct flight from New York!
The newest and most chic place to stay right now of course is the seaside resort of Rosewood Miramar Beach in Montecito. There has been a lot of buzz about this property even before it opened in March of 2019. Since then, I have only received amazing feedback from clients and friends alike. Having a long holiday weekend with my husband and 13-year old daughter, it was a perfect excuse to pack our bags and check out the resort for ourselves.
FIRST IMPRESSIONS
A super easy flight from JFK to Los Angeles on Jet Blue (I highly recommend their premium class service, Mint) was sadly soured with a subsequent three hour drive in bumper to bumper traffic jam (yup, we hit the dreaded rush hour on Highway 101. Never again.) from LAX to the hotel. Our mood quickly lifted however the minute we pulled into the driveway of the resort in the early evening. First impressions truly count and nothing pleases me more than an exquisite hotel entrance. Rosewood Miramar Beach, with its stately Manor House welcoming you, made a lasting impression. When building the resort on the property of the old Miramar By The Sea, the owner Mr. Caruso (who developed The Grove and Palisades Village retail complexes; this is his first hotel project) wanted a place that felt like a beautiful family home and he achieved his dream.
Read the full review here on Inviato (including our favorite places to eat and drink).