Best Romantic Getaway Hotel in North America

What can you get for the proverbial “man who has everything?” My husband has a gratifying career, happy kids, and enough consumer electronics to keep his geeky self busy for a while.  So for his big birthday recently (let’s just say it’s a number divisible by 10), I thought about past romantic getaway weekends we’d had, and picked one of the best for a repeat trip. Once I thought about it, the choice for a weekend luxury vacation was pretty obvious: The San Ysidro Ranch in Montecito CA was named The Best Hotel in North America by Forbes Traveler (2009) and is adjacent to Santa Barbara, our favorite nearby town for an upscale getaway.

Suite living room at San Ysidro Ranch

We arrived to find we’d been given an upgrade to a gorgeous suite – hooray! Since a few other couples were joining us, we let our living room be “home base” where they joined us for breakfast in the mornings and wine in the afternoons. Each cottage at the San Ysidro Ranch has a

Santa Barbara wine at SYR

private outdoor patio with hot tub, fireplace, and breakfast area, along with wi-fi and huge flat screen televisions (but don’t spend too much time watching TV, please). It’s really the personal touches that help elevate the San Ysidro Ranch above others to become a best hotel in North America for couples, though. Guests’ names in blocks by the front door, wine and cheese, handwritten notes, turndown service with rosemary right from the citrus garden, attentive service, and easily made appointments for in-room massage services all add up to a perfect luxury travel experience.

There are a few hiking trails right off the ranch property; all the couples on our birthday celebration weekend enjoyed these. Montecito is great for hiking all year round, after all. We also had one of the best meals of our lives at the San Ysidro Ranch’s popular restaurant, the Stonehouse. Everything was extremely well prepared and beautifully presented, and the sommelier knew his stuff. There’s a more casual restaurant on the property as well; the Plow & Angel is pub-style in the back, with a casual and friendly atmosphere.

Stonehouse Restaurant near Santa Barbara

The town of Montecito is charming and lovely, and Santa Barbara is less than 10 minutes away.  Santa Barbara is simply wonderful; from the mission to the art museum to the huge variety of restaurants on State Street, my family never gets tired of weekend vacations there.

Even when traveling with family and close friends, it’s important for couples to get some alone time. The cottage arrangement of the San Ysidro Ranch, with their privacy, crackling fire in fireplaces, and incredibly lush interior, make the San Ysidro Ranch perfect for the best romantic getaway trip. Those Forbes Traveler people knew what they were doing when they named this spot the best hotel in North America, at least in terms of couples’ vacations. After a couple of fantastic weekends here, I completely agree. A weekend getaway at the San Ysidro Ranch is a great gift, too, for the man who has everything. Thank you, SYR, for helping make this a most memorable birthday celebration.

Cheese plate at SYR, Montecito