Los Angeles-based Palisociety has added to its West Coast portfolio with the debut of Palihouse Santa Barbara, now open in the city’s historic Presidio neighborhood. A 24-room residential-style boutique hotel that was formerly the site of The Santa Barbara School of the Arts from its 1920 inception, the Spanish Colonial-inspired property is a hideaway in the heart of downtown Santa Barbara, bringing an intimate, proprietor-driven offering to the market.
“I wanted to bring something new to the Santa Barbara experience that still felt authentic to the city and its roots,” said Avi Brosh, founder/CEO of Palisociety. “My inspiration was American preppy meets American Riviera (the area is known as the American Riviera), which, for me, meant overlaying plaids and florals on top of traditional, coastal and Spanish-inspired Santa Barbara furnishings, all topped off with a beachy, casual vibe.”
Creatively and carefully reimagined by Brosh and his in-house design team, the two-story hotel has all-new interiors and signature bespoke details and charm throughout with an anti-formulaic aesthetic storyline that blends this “vintage preppy” with “American Riviera” for a cool, comfortable setting intended to feel private and intimate.
“Inspiration strikes from each property in its own way. It starts with an internal story I tell myself about how a hotel can best reflect what’s valuable about the location it is set in, and then taking my own quirky and bespoke perspective on what that is and running with it,” Brosh explained.
Hotel guests and locals alike arrive into a lobby area with fireplace, a small assortment of café style seating and peek-a-boo view of the adjacent courtyard and its lush landscaping. A reception desk awaits where check-in is handled with the utmost attention to health, safety and the Palisociety COVID-19 safety protocol. To the side, guests are welcomed into the living room, a cozy seating area for work, gathering or small bites throughout the day that is flooded with natural light from the courtyard via wide open, glass French doors. Beyond the living room, the bar shines in an intimate space with a beautifully stocked bar adorned with a stunning pink glass chandelier where libations, daily coffee service and all-day refreshments are available. From there, guests enter the principal outdoor courtyard, a lush environment where café style and lounge seating is intermixed around a central, babbling water fountain, evoking a European-inspired atmosphere for food, drink, gathering and work. Pale pink vintage-style umbrellas dot the space while Brosh’s signature mixed and matched aesthetic is brought to life on floral armchairs, marble-topped tables, woven dining chairs and more.
“I think these all heavily influence the story of the hotel’s overall aesthetic, but the goal is to not be too literal about any of them,” Brosh said. “Location, culture and history all play an equal role, along with my take on what these all mean in the modern vernacular.”
For example, the team retained a lot of the building’s original Spanish Colonial features and details but added in its own aesthetic, Brosh explained, to avoid it coming across as an overt ode to its history.
“Location-wise, we’re on a beautiful stretch of one of the city’s central streets surrounded by small buildings, residential homes and low-key commercial spots and we wanted to reflect that back to the community, so we kept an understated footprint with the exterior and facade,” he said. “And the local culture plays a heavy hand in all our hotels. We are neighborhood inns at the end of the day and it’s very important to us that we understand the fabric of each community and our place in it. In Santa Barbara, this means designing a really beautiful, comfortable, welcoming central outdoor courtyard setting that’s great for casual gatherings, meetings, coffee, happy hour. It’s intended to be a favorite for locals and hotel guests alike.”
Meandering through the property, one is surrounded by beautifully established greenery, bright bougainvillea and climbing vines. The hotel’s sparkling pool sits tucked away at the back of the property, offering a relaxed, low-key environment for sunbathing and swimming, and a private Club Room for private dinners, buy outs and events sits alongside a spacious Fitness Center at the property’s edge, outfitted with Peloton bicycles, NordicTrack treadmills and more.
In the guestrooms, a mix of king and double queen accommodations are available in an assortment of room types varying in size from 365-820 sq. ft. Guestroom walls are awash in a light blue color that nods to the city’s coastal setting and a layered mix of vintage and custom furniture, art and details give each space a comfortable, stylish allure heavily inspired by pied a terre residences.
“For me, the design is quite brave in terms of the use of colors—the subtle mix of blues, reds and greens is actually rather irreverent and highly unconventional if you look closely. This makes the property feel curated over time and not too perfect or overly valued—that’s the big win for me here,” Brosh noted.
All guestrooms feature a gas fireplace and outdoor space (balcony, patio or Juliette balcony), SMEG refrigerator, Diptyque bath amenities, fine Italian Bellino linens, Marshall Bluetooth speaker, well-stocked minibar, Nespresso coffee machines and more. Select rooms also offer a kitchenette with amenities for longer-term stays and/or needs.
“The story is about creating a hotel that is residential and clubby in feel, but spacious and easy to use at the same time,” Brosh said. “This is a unique quality you can only achieve in a small, low-rise property and this one brings it to life beautifully. It’s a place where you check-in and feel like you’re instantly on vacation and being taken care of but in a way that feels very relaxed and easygoing in a charming, casual way. It exemplifies how we feel about Santa Barbara. Its understated relaxation should be at the core of your stay and the story we’re trying to tell.”
