Four Seasons Resort The Biltmore Santa Barbara

The Biltmore has been a Montecito landmark since it opened as the Santa Barbara Biltmore in 1927. Owned by Ty Warner Hotels and Resorts and run by Four Seasons, the 22-acre Spanish Colonial resort has been closed since 2020 and is in the final stretch of a top-to-bottom renovation that changes it more than any refresh in decades.

Rooms and suites

The key count drops by nearly 30 percent, to 138 rooms and suites, so the average room gets bigger. The headline addition is a set of Bungalow Suites with heated private plunge pools. Room interiors are being reworked with multigenerational stays in mind, according to the owner’s representatives.

Eat, drink and swim

Planning documents and the resort’s own updates point to a much more family-friendly layout:

• A free-form family pool of about 3,557 sq ft with a sand-beach entry and waterfall
• A 150-foot lazy river alongside it
• The original pool converted to adults only, with cabanas
• A new restaurant from Nobu, near the former Bella Vista space

One change regular guests will notice: the Coral Casino Beach and Cabana Club across the road is now restricted to club members. The kids’ club and fitness centre are also being relocated within the grounds.

What it means for advisors

This is a strong fit for Southern California road trips, Santa Barbara wine country add-ons and family reunions that want a beach resort with real pool facilities. The lower room count should make it feel quieter, but Nobu will draw outside diners too. Four Seasons Preferred Partner benefits apply, including daily breakfast for two per bedroom, a space-available upgrade, a resort credit and flexible check-in and check-out. California’s coast books heavily in summer and on long weekends, so suggest shoulder months for value and availability.

Opening status

The latest public guidance is early 2027. The date has slipped repeatedly: Four Seasons said spring 2025 in its 2024 release, Santa Barbara media reported a push into 2026 in August 2025, and the preferred-partner channel then moved from late 2026 to early 2027 in July 2026. No exact date has been published, so book with flexible terms and confirm before deposits.

Sources: travelsort.com, press.fourseasons.com, sitelinesb.com, sitelinesb.com, montecitojournal.net, fourseasons.com