- I recently spent the weekend at Rosewood Miramar Beach, a five-star resort in Montecito, California.
- I stayed in a beachfront suite right on the sand, falling asleep to the sound of the ocean.
- My dinner at the resort's Michelin-starred restaurant was one of the best parts of the experience.
Nestled along the American Riviera, a place so revered that Meghan Markle tried to name her lifestyle brand after it, sits Rosewood Miramar Beach.
The five-star resort, owned by billionaire real-estate developer Rick Caruso, is mere steps from the sparkling Pacific Ocean. It's become an iconic part of Montecito, the swanky California neighborhood that many A-list celebrities — including Markle, Ariana Grande, and Oprah Winfrey — call home.
After spending a weekend at Rosewood Miramar Beach, it was easy to see why so many stars love this property. The beach was spotless, my suite looked out directly over the sand, and I still can't stop thinking about my dinner at its Michelin-starred restaurant.
Rosewood Miramar Beach was inspired by the grand estates of Montecito.
Once a farm of lemon and black walnut trees, the property became an established beach hotel by 1910, according to Rosewood Miramar Beach's website.
Originally named Miramar By The Sea, the hotel was beloved by legendary newspaper publisher William Randolph Hearst, who would stop by on his way to Hearst Castle.
Miramar closed in 2000 and remained empty for nearly two decades. Caruso purchased the estate in 2007, and after years of renovations, the Rosewood Miramar Beach opened in 2019.
It wasn't long before the beachside resort began making a splash.
Rosewood Miramar Beach is currently one of only 15 properties worldwide to hold a triple Five-Star title from the Forbes Travel Guide, which means its hotel, restaurant, and spa have all received five stars.
But those aren't the only stars attached to the resort. Rosewood Miramar Beach also quickly caught the attention of Hollywood, attracting everyone from Patrick Schwarzenegger and Larry David to Travis Barker and Kourtney Kardashian, who got engaged at the property in 2021.
My boyfriend and I spent two nights in one of the second-story beachfront suites located right on the sand.
Rosewood Miramar Beach has 119 rooms and 34 suites, offering garden bungalows or beach-facing retreats that start at $1,695 a night. Business Insider received a media rate for accommodations and dining during the two-night stay.
My stylish 960-square-foot suite came with a large wooden deck with sweeping views of the Pacific Ocean.
The interior leaned into the nautical theme with textured blue-and-white pinstripe wallpaper, blue and gold lamps, and complimentary beach bags.
It was a warm and charming room, unafraid of mixing bold fabrics and chic fixtures that added plenty of personality.
Our first meal of the weekend was at AMA Sushi, one of Rosewood Miramar Beach's six on-site restaurants.
AMA Sushi's interior is a beautiful study of sleek Japanese minimalism. The marble sushi bar seemed to glow against the dark wood walls while a fireplace roared under a moody painting of the moon. The atmosphere was both serene and sexy.
The omakase dinner featured creative dishes and an incredible nigiri course.
Our $135 omakase menu began with a delicious snow crab, followed by a sashimi course featuring bluefin tuna.
One of my favorite dishes of the night was the delicious red miso soup with clams, which, per Japanese tradition, came at the end of dinner.
We then headed to The Manor Bar, where the cocktails are inspired by literary works.
With its wood-paneled walls, velvet seats, and stuffed bookshelves, The Manor Bar felt like the kind of library you'd find at a sprawling estate in the English countryside. The lights were dim, but the bar was packed and brimming with energy. I was almost shocked it didn't smell like cigar smoke.
As a former English major, I loved the creative cocktail menu, which featured drinks named after iconic literary villains. The "Lady Macbeth" melded gin with pineapple, roasted banana, and cinnamon, while the "Tom Buchanan" had two types of Johnnie Walker whiskey, plus tawny port and bitters.
The sound of crashing waves was my soundtrack as I went to sleep and woke up the next day.
Even the rainy morning couldn't damper my mood as I watched the ocean from the comfort of my plush king bed.
The French doors offered a perfect sea view, making the suite feel incredibly romantic.
We enjoyed breakfast at The Revere Room, which had a very different vibe from the restaurant and bar the previous night.
The Revere Room's Tiffany-blue walls were covered in illustrations of white roses and bluebirds. Frosted Christmas trees twinkled in the corner for the holidays while natural light streamed through the floor-to-ceiling French doors.
We started with the gluten-free lemon ricotta pancakes, which had a lovely fluffy texture and were served with a delicious blueberry sauce. Then came the breakfast sammie, which stuffed a fried egg, bacon, and Havarti cheese between two soft and flaky homemade sourdough slices.
With the sun finally out, it felt like the perfect time to tour the grounds.
The centerpiece of Rosewood Miramar Beach is the Manor House, which includes the lobby, ocean-view guest rooms, luxury retail stores, The Manor Bar, and The Revere Room.
Tucked behind the Manor House is a massive and perfectly manicured lawn, which made me feel like I was in someone's incredibly nice backyard. Since the resort is kid and pet-friendly, the lawn was frequently filled with children chasing after their adorable pups.
Rosewood Miramar Beach is lush with beautiful gardens.
The resort could have easily coasted on its beach access alone, but every inch of the estate is designed to evoke beauty and elegance.
The air is naturally perfumed with scents from the gardenia and lavender bushes, while citrus, olive, and fishtail palm trees dot the property. Everything was pruned to perfection, nary a leaf or petal out of place.
Luxury retail stores are tucked inside elegant clapboard houses, and a large bocce court stretches across the lawn.
Rick Fidel, the resort's managing director, told me that Rosewood Miramar Beach was designed to make guests feel like they were "being hosted in a private home."
If it weren't for the beautiful weather at the end of November, you could easily forget you were in California. As I walked around the property, I felt like I had been transported to Martha's Vineyard or the set of a Nancy Meyers movie.
There's even an outdoor gym.
I didn't squeeze in a workout during my stay, but I had to check out the resort's indoor/outdoor fitness studio, where guests can enjoy weekly fitness classes and private personal training sessions.
Treadmills, bikes, and elliptical machines dotted the gym's patio, while Pelotons, weights, and StairMasters could be found inside.
While I opted to walk, guests can tour the resort on complimentary electric bikes or a Rosewood Miramar Beach Jolly car.
The cotton-candy-pink Miramar Jolly cars are inspired by the open-top taxis of Capri. They feature wicker seats and canopies and are free for guests who want to be chauffeured to the beach or around the property.
After the tour, we stopped for lunch at Miramar Beach Bar.
The oceanfront Miramar Beach Bar is a small restaurant on the deck above Caruso's, the resort's Michelin-starred restaurant. It was just steps away from our beach suite and offered gorgeous views of the sea sparkling under the California sun.
Our tacos — tempura fish and red chili-braised beef — were solid but couldn't compete with our breakfast at The Revere Room or our dinners at AMA Sushi and Caruso's. Next time, I'd skip the food at Miramar Beach Bar and just grab a drink while watching the sunset.
Before heading to our room for a nap, we saw the iconic Pacific Surfliner train passing by the resort.
According to Rosewood Miramar's website, the family that first owned the property — which was originally a farm — decided to build a guest house after the train tracks were built in 1887. The Pacific Surfliner and Coast Starlight Amtrak now cut through the resort en route to the Santa Barbara Amtrak station.
The tracks are gated, and a guard is always on duty for safety purposes. While the trains didn't pass by very frequently, it was fun watching everyone around us stop to admire them whenever one came through.
My favorite meal during our stay was dinner at Caruso's.
Before dinner, I had the opportunity to sit down with Massimo Falsini, the chef at Caruso's and director of culinary operations at Rosewood Miramar Beach.
Falsini's menu seamlessly blends his Italian roots with California ingredients. All the seafood at Caruso's is "from the ocean in front of you," Falsini told me, including the spiny Santa Barbara lobster and the signature Channel Islands halibut (which were both fantastic).
"We don't fly in anything; we only buy from local small fishermen in order to support the community," said the chef, who hopes to make Caruso's a zero-carbon footprint restaurant by 2026.
Caruso's is a swoon-worthy restaurant with bold and stunning dishes.
The open-air space allows you to hear the waves and smell the sea as you dine amid the beautiful navy-blue leather booths and pristine white chairs.
The service was impeccable from start to finish, as was my $175 four-course dinner. The amuse-bouches included cones stuffed with caviar and gougères plump with truffle cream. Olive oil was decanted tableside for the bread basket, and the Baja Kanpachi crudo looked like a work of art.
One of my favorite courses of the night was the honeynut squash vellutata soup, which was topped with an intricate tuile of vines and tasted like autumn.
The dinner was so good that I think the restaurant deserves a second Michelin star.
Our final morning at Rosewood Miramar Beach began at the pool.
The resort has two pools on the property. We spent our time at the cabana pool, which is for adults 21 and up and features 19 cabanas, plus a bar and a large jacuzzi. The cabana pool features a scalloped zero-edge border, a design choice that makes it feel whimsical.
For those with kids in tow, there's also the kid-friendly manor pool. We stopped by to check out the Scoop Shop, which is right next to the pool and offers gourmet burgers and house-made gelato.
The pool also has a fire pit, where we tried the resort's complimentary s'mores kits.
While checking in at the resort, we learned there were s'mores kits at the front desk, which we could always pick up and enjoy by one of the fire pits.
I finally got to try the kit on our last day, opening the bag to find the most classic of s'mores ingredients: Honey Maid graham crackers, Hershey's milk chocolate, and Jet-Puffed marshmallows.
My boyfriend and I giggled like kids at camp as we used the provided wooden sticks to roast our marshmallows over the fire before building our s'mores.
And we couldn't leave without a long walk on the beach.
After such a rainy weekend, it felt fitting to end our stay with the sun shining down on us at the beach.
If it had been summer weather, I could've easily laid on the sand all day. The resort offers complimentary chairs, umbrellas, and beach toys, as well as equipment for paddleboarding, kayaking, and beach volleyball.
There's a designated beach butler who brings food and drinks, and the resort even has a falconer who helps keep seagulls and pigeons at bay.
Rosewood Miramar Beach perfectly understands that cozy and luxury can go hand in hand.
In the era of #quietluxury, which I detested, many people equated splendor with mundane. The colors went neutral, patterns disappeared, and everything felt inoffensive and uninspired. It was all very beige, like a plate at Thanksgiving.
But Rosewood Miramar Beach isn't afraid to make the space feel comfortable yet distinct, even with the luxury price tag. There's a fine line between Nantucket and coastal grandma, and the resort knows exactly where to stand. It's effortlessly chic and cozy, as if you're staying on a beautiful yacht.
And with the fantastic dinner at Caruso's and the sexy Manor Bar, Rosewood Miramar Beach is perfect for a special-occasion romantic getaway. I can't wait to go back.
