Top – Diners at Tydes restaurant enjoy front-row seats to
the beach scene below, frolicking dolphins and a view of
the Channel Islands.
Middle – Sip a cocktail at the Coral Reef Bar and watch
colorful marine life in a stunning salt-water aquarium.
Bottom – The Coral Casino’s sparkling pool continues its
role as the club’s centerpiece.
1940s,” says the Resort’s general manager Karen
Earp. “It continues its unique social character, com-
bining dining, fitness and beachfront relaxation
and fun, complete with an oceanfront ballroom for
grand events, enhanced by Four Seasons excep-
tional service and experiences.”
u
Four Seasons Resort
The Biltmore Santa Barbara
Coral Casino Beach
and Cabana Club
Exclusive club and historic landmark
celebrates 80
th
anniversary
in sleek new style
anta Barbara’s legendary Biltmore Hotel (the
original name) immediately attracted Holly-
wood’s Golden Age film stars and other celebri-
ties when it opened in grand style on the shores of
Butterfly Beach in 1927.
A decade later, Biltmore owner Robert Stewart
Odell opened the posh Coral Casino, an exclusive,
members-only private club across the street from
the Resort, just steps from the sand. A 51-meter swim-
ming pool and diving area was the biggest draw,
where Santa Barbara and SoCal elite families and
friends could hobnob over cocktails while gazing at
stunning ocean and island views.
Dozens of celebrities lounged at the Coral Ca-
sino over the ensuing decades, including Dinah
Shore, Lana Turner, Ronald Reagan, Steve Martin,
Joan Crawford, Bing Crosby, Michael Douglas,
Sigourney Weaver, Esther Williams and Jeff Bridges.
A $65 million restoration, completed in 2008,
restored the club’s original theme and historic ele-
ments. The project also modernized the pool, 31
cabanas, the glamorous ballroom and poolside
café, and added a second story restaurant and a
children’s pool.
The Coral Casino Beach and Cabana Club
remains one of Santa Barbara’s most private
playgrounds. It still has only a few hundred mem-
bers, but is also open to guests of the Four Seasons
Resort The Biltmore Santa Barbara across the street.
Resort guests can dine at the club’s upscale
Tydes restaurant and the Coral Café and Reef Bar.
Sip a craft beer, cocktail or glass of wine while
watching tropical fish and crustaceans swim
through live coral in a freestanding, 275-gallon
salt water aquarium-bar built to support more
than 450 life forms.
Members and resort guests can rent the exclu-
sive, private Cabana 24, a spacious hideaway on
the second-story sundeck. Attentive Four Seasons
staff deliver amenities every hour — warm or chilled
towels, snacks and smoothie samplers — or guests
can opt for total privacy.
“This year, Coral Casino Beach and Cabana
Club celebrates 80 years of rich history as a fam-
ily club, frequented by many members and guests
who have been regular visitors since as early as the
S
78
Montecito Magazine
Fall 2017–Winter 2018