El Encanto, A Belmond Hotel

“Exceptional Stay at El Encanto”

Our stay at El Encanto was absolutely wonderful. The property is stunning, the atmosphere is peaceful, and every detail exceeded our expectations. A special thank you to Michael Noone, who went above and beyond to take care of our family during our stay. His kindness, professionalism, and genuine … more

Our stay at El Encanto was absolutely wonderful. The property is stunning, the atmosphere is peaceful, and every detail exceeded our expectations. A special thank you to Michael Noone, who went above and beyond to take care of our family during our stay. His kindness, professionalism, and genuine hospitality made us feel truly welcomed and made our experience even more memorable. Michael’s attention to detail and dedication to guest service are what make El Encanto such a special place. We highly recommend El Encanto to anyone visiting Santa Barbara and look forward to returning in the future. Five stars all around! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

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“Gorgeous old world retreat”

Beautiful hotel and grounds. Feels a million miles away yet only 12 minutes from State Street up in the hills. Amazing service from all staff including front desk, valet, and restaurants. Romantic and relaxing- an absolute treat. Thank you for making our anniversary so special!

“Extra Special Service With A Very Personal Touch”

Special shout out to Alec Foster, the general manager of the restaurant, who made our meal experience extra special. I will be back… for sure… and am excited at the renovations to be made.

“Beautiful and Charming, but Lackluster Service”

This property was absolutely beautiful and full of charm, and although the location is a bit farther away than most, I thought it helped to capture that private and "hidden" resort vibe. The far location wasn't a problem at all, as they provided a shuttle service within a short distance; enough to … more

This property was absolutely beautiful and full of charm, and although the location is a bit farther away than most, I thought it helped to capture that private and "hidden" resort vibe. The far location wasn't a problem at all, as they provided a shuttle service within a short distance; enough to easily get to Downtown SB. The room was beautiful and quite large, but we were pretty disappointed at how far ours was from the lobby. The walk to and from our room was inconvenient mainly because we had to essentially wrap around the entire property. There was an area right in front of the room that seemed like it would lead to a staircase (and would be the perfect spot for one) to cut that walk time in half, but there isn't. Otherwise though, there was really no issue with the room, it was big, beautiful, clean, and quiet. The restaurant had really amazing breakfast and I *really* miss some of the dishes, but the one time we tried dinner was disappointing. I ordered a vodka pasta that lacked any kind of flavor at all, the penne was overcooked and a bit mushy, and the sauce was soupy. Our server was missing for over 20 minutes once the food arrived, but a busser eventually came over and asked if we needed anything. We asked for parmesan and red pepper flakes, but we never received it and we never saw him again. We also tried ordering room service one night, but our order had issues with every single thing except for one item. And I'm not exaggerating, I really mean every single thing. We ordered two cocktails, truffle fries with ranch, extra plates and utensils, and a dessert. One of the cocktails was not what we had ordered. The 'truffle' fries came and they were just plain fries but also incredibly soggy and old, and we did not receive ranch. They also did not give us the extra plates and utensils requested. The dessert came fine, though the spoons that they gave were visibly dirty so we did not use them. We called room service and asked them to bring plates, new silverware, and ranch, so they brought just plates and silverware but still no ranch.. My partner was fed up at this point and decided to go to the lobby and ask for it, and I was surprised to hear that they told him to go back to the room and they would send someone to deliver the ranch. That wouldn't ordinarily be a big problem, but the ranch did not show up until about 15 minutes later, so it was honestly unneeded at that point. The last issue we had was an issue with our bill, which was never corrected to this day. We had free breakfast every morning, but on the last morning our server mistakenly marked it as a lunch, causing a $90 charge for something that should have been free or nearly free. I've sent three or four emails and made three phone calls, but they were all unanswered except for one of the phone calls. The host informed me that she would check in with the manager and I should receive a call or email back, but I never did. Although the property was extremely beautiful and I really enjoyed taking some walks around it, those issues kinda ruined it for me, especially for the price of this hotel. Before realizing the issue with my bill, I was open to staying here another time and giving them another chance, but after being completely ignored about it, I definitely would not come back. If you do decide to stay here though, I would 100% review your bill before you leave. If you notice an issue when you get home, good luck being able to get a hold of anyone.

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