Montecito Inn | |
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General information | |
Location | Montecito, Santa Barbara County, California, USA |
Coordinates | 34°25′17″N 119°38′24″W / 34.42139°N 119.64000°W |
Opening | 1928 |
Design and construction | |
Developer | Charlie Chaplin |
Other information | |
Number of rooms | Around 60 |
The Montecito Inn is a boutique hotel in the southwestern part of Montecito, California. It is considered a Santa Barbara landmark. [1] Located on Coast Village Road in Montecito, adjacent to U.S. Route 101, the inn is 2.5 blocks from Butterfly Beach. Pleistocene gravel deposits are evident nearby. [2]
The hotel was built by Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle, [3] Charlie Chaplin and friends in 1928 as an escape from show business. [4] The inn has a complete library of Chaplin's films; [5] his image is seen in etched glass doors and in the hallways which are lined with movie posters. The 1936 Rodgers and Hart song, " There's a Small Hotel", drew inspiration from the Montecito Inn.
Construction began in 1927, [6] and was completed the following year at a cost of US$300,000. Similar to a Hollywood premiere, the February opening gala included Wallace Beery, Marion Davies, Janet Gaynor, Carole Lombard, Gilbert Roland, and Norma Shearer. [7] The inn was the inspiration for the 1936 Rodgers and Hart song, There's a Small Hotel. [3] But the original wishing well that was inspiration for this song was destroyed in a 1950s renovation. [7] The US$225,000 remodeling occurred subsequent to the property's purchase in 1956 by Avery Brundage. [8] The renovation included adding a parking facility and gardens. [5]: 93– Though he sold the inn in 1960, he repossessed it the following year before selling it again in 1970 for over US$400,000. [8] In 2003, the hotel underwent another interior renovation characterized by a Mediterranean style. [9]
In 1938, the inn could accommodate 100 guests, with rates starting at US$2.50 for singles. [10] In 1988, it reportedly had 53 rooms; there were 60 rooms in 2004. [11] [5]
The Inn was damaged by the 2018 Southern California mudflows.
The inn is a three-story Mediterranean-style hotel with a red tile roof, whitewashed walls and "overflowing flower boxes". [12] Many of the rooms contain French provincial furnishings; bathrooms are of Italian marble, [5]: 92 which is repeated in the lobby. Chaplin's favorite room was the Tower Suite which is popular today with honeymooners. [12] Richard Rogers wrote of the hotel in 1936, "A small hotel, it's the kind of place where one of Chandler's dissolute heiresses might easily have hung her Lily Dache hat." [13] The hotel has a small fitness room, an outdoor swimming pool and spa, and wooden checkers tables in the hallway. [12] Its Montecito Cafe, which serves California Nouveau cuisine, [14] sits on the location of the original wishing well.
There are many images of Chaplin throughout the hotel. These include movie posters and glass etchings of Chaplin. The hotel has a Charlie Chaplin film library. [12] With the 2003 renovation, photos of Santa Barbara were added. [9]
For rejuvenation, pick the Montecito Inn, a 60-room hostelry that inspired Rodgers and Hart to write "There's a Small Hotel." Built by Charlie Chaplin and Fatty Arbuckle...