San Ysidro Ranch

Let me start off by saying this is the first review I’ve ever written and I’ve been a Tripadvisor member for a very long time. I rely on TripAdvisor for honest and unbiased reviews. And appreciate the insights members provide. We stayed at San Ysidro Ranch in October 2024 and like most guests at this five star beautiful historic resort, this was meant to be a special trip. Sadly, our trip wasn’t what we expected it to be from beginning to end. We arrived at the resort and the man at the gate was very friendly and directed us to the building with reception. We checked into our lovely cottage and shortly thereafter went to the pool to embrace the sunshine and unseasonably warm October weather. We had lunch at the pool and then went back to our room when we came to discover that none of our keys worked. We thought, no problem and flagged someone working there buzzing by on a golf card and said our keys aren’t working. He tried to use the keys himself in case it was user error and realized they did not in fact work. We waited ten minutes or so for someone to come and let us in- a young woman who worked at the resort came, and once again tried the keys that we were given, doubtful that they would’ve made a mistake. She then asked for me to produce my ID before she could let us into the room with a new key. You might imagine that coming back from the pool, wet wrapped in a towel waiting outside for a while, I was a bit surprised that she was asking for my ID for a room that we had just checked into and they had given us the wrong keys for. I found my ID, I showed it to her and she let us in. It was odd and a bit offensive, but that was something we could live with if it was an isolated experience. We then decided that we would drive down to the beach. I went to the reception area and walked in expecting to be greeted with a warm smile like we had received earlier when someone different was working and they said to me “what’s up?” in the way you might say to someone you’ve run out of patience with. I said we would like to go into town and to the beach and do they recommend a place to go thinking that a place like this would have recommendations they would be eager to give. Not so. She responded that basically all the beaches are the same and you just put into your GPS “beach”and we should end up at one. I said my friend had recommended Butterly Beach who went to college here and she said oh yeah that’s a nice one. Yeah go there. The service level just was not what we expected from this boutique five star world renowned place. Once we returned from the beach, we showered in our rooms and got ready for the dinner. Like other reviewers have mentioned, dinner is included in the stay but not the 20% added gratuity, which makes for a confusing dining experience and you have to sheepishly ask your server what’s included in the package and it’s frankly uncomfortable. Before we left for dinner, someone on staff knocked on our door and asked if we would you like caviar before dinner. We thanked him but said no thank you. The man said oh please have the delicious and it’s included in your stay, it’s free. We were skeptical and asked are you sure we really don’t want to order anything if it’s not included and we want to also save our appetite for dinner. He said no it’s absolutely included in your room and we said OK. That would be lovely. Thank you. Probably 20 minutes later he arrived with three separate gigantic servings of caviar that was beautiful but also much more food than we needed and we really did not need three separate servings. We get to dinner and they tell us we see that you got caviar so that means that you cannot get your dinner because you already used your alottment for your dinner. Frustrated, we explained we would not have even gotten the caviar had the gentleman not insisted it was included in our stay. They said they would speak to a manager and begrudgingly admitted the mistake made, and took it off our bill -mind you each serving of caviar was over $280. I’m writing all of this because as you might see there were several errors made and the staff made us feel uncomfortable. We were paying over $2000 a night and we found ourselves surprised again and again with the level of service and the confusion that occurred, not to mention feeling offended when we were made to produce an ID simply to get into our room when they made the mistake on the keys. We would love to some day return because it’s an absolutely beautiful guy l place. Last thing I’ll at is there was a wedding occurring during our stay and it was unclear where we could and could not be at the resort. Our dinner conversation was drowned out by the sound of a dj and dancing.

I have not stayed in this so-called highly rated hotel for many years. I planned a special trip for my family and was shocked how much the experience has changed. For example, they have no room service past 9 PM unless you want a microwaved meal for $6000 a night Suite. So sad.

if i could give more than a 5 star, i would...my family has been traveling around california staying in fancy hotels...this is our top favorite...we have stayed here twice now and anticipate more...stayed in the terrace and orange cottages...this place is heavenly...we had a personalized tea in the rose garden, and a personalized wine tasting in the huge wine cellar...both exceptional experiences...the grounds are meticulously cared for with free roaming rabbits for entertainment...the food is above exceptional and the room service is brought to your private patio with a white table cloth...the staff obviously love their jobs and are all so happy...totally tranquil vacation...highly recommend

The San Ysidro Ranch in Santa Barbara is a spectacular setting – mountains looming above, the sea and views of the Channel Islands below, tall hedgerows, lush herb gardens and charming cottage hideaways for luncheons or teas. Our rather large group had a long standing reservation for tea. When we arrived I ran into friends who were finishing their lunches with beautifully crafted and presented tarts, so I was filled with anticipation for the tea we were about to have. First, we were informed several of the teas on the menu were not available. I ordered a glass of champagne – at $30.00 – which, when it arrived, had not a bubble in sight. The tea I ordered was very nice. But, alas, the food was not. The sandwiches were sloppily piled on a cake plate and we had no implement with which to pick them up but our own forks and fingers – so were left grabbing our selections. The tartlets, the little petit choux pastries and teeny tiny macarons were good – but, again, we were left picking them up off a flat plate with our fingers. Every item was counted to deliver one per person – so the offerings seemed skimpy. As for the scones listed on the menu. Only two sweet scones appeared (we were a group of 12) and no butter or lemon curd. The savory cheese scones were a rubbery glob that was just not good. Finally, another cake plate of ordinary cookies appeared as if to apologize for the lackluster meal. Unfortunately, this was a total disappointment

What a gorgeous place. Amazing service and the setting is spectacular. The included food is decadent and delicious. Caviar and seafood towers at every meal if you want it. The pool feels like St. Tropez. The cottage is beautifully decorated and very private. You pay dearly for this experience but if you can do it for a very special occasion, it’s memorable.