Hotel Californian

Hotel Californian sits at 36 State Street, at the beach end of the Funk Zone, about a 15-minute drive from Santa Barbara Airport and about two hours from Los Angeles International. Amtrak is one block away, Stearns Wharf and the beach are a block, and the wine-tasting rooms are at the door. This is the one luxury spa hotel in the market a guest can plausibly do without a car.

No. Moroccan influence is tile and scent, not thermal architecture. The spa's 2019 director put it plainly: the property could not build "the hammams and the pools" of a true Moroccan bathhouse. Translation? Moroccan styling, steam only.

No. Hotel Californian confirmed in September 2026 that there is no dry sauna on the property; Majorelle's wet facilities are men's and women's eucalyptus steam rooms. Booking.com and Google list a sauna in error, and none of the 262 guest reviews I read mentions one. No downtown Santa Barbara hotel spa currently documents a dry sauna; for a real thermal circuit you are driving to Bacara.

Majorelle's 2026 menu prices a 60-minute massage from $275 to $295, a 90-minute from $395 to $435, five facials at $265, and the two-hour Majorelle Signature at $545. Oasis Renewal Reflexology runs $275 for 60 minutes, and the menu floor is $255 for the 60-minute cranial sacral treatment. A 22% service charge is added at checkout, so the $275 hour bills $335.50.

Membership runs $600 a month with a $225 initiation fee, and it includes two 60-minute treatments a month, fitness center access, Tan-Tan pool access with blackout dates, 20% off additional treatments and retail, ten guest passes a year, discounted valet, and 15% off rooms and dining. Adding family or friends runs $500 a month. It is the only hotel-spa membership model in the Santa Barbara market.

Yes, and a day-guest treatment confirmed by the hotel in September 2026 includes the rooftop pool and steam rooms that day. Majorelle splits its booking portal between hotel guests and day guests, and ResortPass sells rooftop day passes and massage or facial bundles that add steam-room access and a glass of champagne. ResortPass prices did not render in US dollars for this refresh, so price them in the spa's booking portal before assuming.

Hotel Californian charges a $65 resort fee per night, taxed to $74.23. In September 2026 the hotel confirmed that $65 applies across all room types, with no change planned. It covers local transfers, custom bikes, the 24-hour fitness center, EV charging, WiFi, beach chairs and umbrellas, and on-property activities, but it does not cover parking.

Overnight valet is $65 with in-out privileges; daytime valet is $35 without. A public garage on site charges $65 overnight with no in-out and gives the first 75 minutes free. Tesla and EV chargers are complimentary for valeted cars on a first-come basis.

Ask for a room away from the eastern side and not directly under the rooftop deck. Train horns reach eastern rooms in 6 of 137 recent reviews, and rooftop DJ events reached premium rooms below the pool deck in two TripAdvisor and two Yelp reviews during 2026.

Children are welcome with an adult and rollaways cost $75 a night, but the spa is 18-and-over, there is no kids club, and the rooftop hosts DJ events that guests in 2026 heard from their rooms. Families wanting a kids' pool and grounds will do better at Bacara or the Hilton Beachfront.

Dinner now runs to The Knock Kitchen + Cocktails, opened mid-July 2026 in the former Blackbird space and serving Tuesday through Saturday. Goat Tree's grab-and-go runs until 8 PM year-round, the hotel confirmed in September 2026. Goat Tree runs the all-day café, Djinn the cocktail bar, The Society: State & Mason the wine room, and Tan-Tan the poolside service.

Pick one: the city or the view. Californian gives you walkable Santa Barbara, newer rooms, and the prettier small spa. El Encanto gives you the Riviera panorama and garden bungalows; on wet facilities the two are level, eucalyptus steam only at both, and El Encanto opens its steam room to every hotel guest. Book Californian if you are car-free. If you want to hide from the world for a weekend, climb the hill to El Encanto.

Winter midweek, when the Malaga entry room prices from $559 against $995 on a July Saturday. That same room runs $659 on a January weekend, and a late-September Saturday prices as peak at $990. Because the $65 fee is flat, it takes the largest bite out of the cheapest nights.