After a four-year closure and numerous renovations, The Four Seasons Resort The Biltmore Santa Barbara is planning to partially reopen on May 31.

In what he called a soft opening, Mark Lloyd, a private land-use agent for The Biltmore, said the resort’s main buildings will be open and operational as well as 55 guest rooms.

The hotel, at 1260 Channel Drive in Montecito, is bringing in a new general manager who will start in a few weeks and will begin the hiring process.

The company plans to initially bring on 150 employees and add more over time, according to Lloyd. It’s unclear if any former Biltmore employees will be returning during this phase.

The resort’s fate has been a bit of a mystery since its closure in 2020. The closure resulted in 650 employees being furloughed and a lengthy legal battle between the Four Seasons and the workers that is ongoing. 

The spouse of a former Biltmore employee who worked there for more than 30 years spoke to Noozhawk on the condition of anonymity.

They said they were unaware of the resort’s plan to reopen, and that former employees have been left in the dark by the owners about the plans.

Lawyers informed them that some employees received offers to go back to work there, but not with the same positions, seniority or pay they had before, they said. It would be as if they were a new employee.

Employees didn’t receive severance pay when they were furloughed in March 2020, and they haven’t been given access to their 401(k) accounts, the spouse told Noozhawk.

Alexandra Jaimes, an attorney who is representing the 450 employees, declined to speak to Noozhawk for this story.

Reopening Plans

The Biltmore will be opening in phases, with phase one opening planned for May 31.

The resort’s main buildings — A and B, which house the resort’s main lobby, retail space, a restaurant, a bar, a banquet hall and a newly added theater — are all expected to be operational for phase one, according to Lloyd.

Some guest rooms are being converted into retail space, and the total number of guest rooms is being reduced to 192.

The rooms being converted are the ones that previously were right off the main lobby and next to the car drop-off area. Lloyd said it made the most sense to convert those rooms because of the noise level. 

The bungalows, which were recently reviewed by the Montecito Board of Architectural Review, will be part of phase one B and are expected to open by spring of 2025, according to Lloyd.

The resort is working on plans to add two swimming pools to the property, according to Lloyd.

Ty Warner owns The Biltmore and the neighboring Coral Casino Beach and Cabana Club. The Coral Casino also closed in March 2020 and reopened in January after some renovations of its own.

The private club’s membership fees increased substantially to $2,500 a month, and the Biltmore’s hotel guests will no longer get access to the facilities.