Bella Vista Restaurant Review:
Italian chef Alessandro Cartumini thrives on the California coast, making use of regional seafood as well as produce from local farmers markets and his on-site garden at the Four Seasons Biltmore. For sheer ambience, Bella Vista’s outdoor patio with views to the ocean and Channel Islands is unbeatable. The sedate interior has a pleasant Moroccan feel. Cartumini’s recipe for success is based on...
Surrounded by lush, perfectly manicured gardens and across from the beach, Santa Barbara's grande dame has long been a favorite for quiet, California-style luxury. The sumptuous 10,000-square-foot spa near the resort's pool and gardens, which includes 11 treatment rooms, is an oasis for rejuvenation. Guests also enjoy privileges (though entrance fees apply for some room types) at the historic,...
This gem of the American Riviera manages to adhere to the most elegant standards of hospitality without making anyone feel unwelcome. It's easy to sense the ghosts of golden-age Hollywood celebs such as Greta Garbo, Errol Flynn, and Bing Crosby, who used to play croquet on the hotel's perfectly manicured lawns and then head over to the private Coral Casino Beach & Cabana Club -- because that's...
Bella Vista is a mixed bag, an amalgamation of the Biltmore’s erstwhile fine dining establishment, La Marina---which was closed as part of an extensive remodel---and the hotel’s decidedly more casual eatery, The Patio, now also defunct. A number of Biltmore habitués were chagrined at the change, but executive chef Martin Frost has risen to the challenge. His California cuisine is executed...