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Montecito Inn
Montecito Inn
	Location in California
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.

History

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.

Architecture and fittings

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 Lilly Daché 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]

Gallery

Swimming pool
Corridor
Old-fashioned elevator

References

^ Leggett, Kim; Leggett, David (17 November 1998). Leggetts' antiques atlas: 1999 edition. Three Rivers Press. p. 103. ISBN 978-0-609-80394-3. Retrieved 10 October 2011.
^ Willard, Daniel Everett (1942). Adventures in scenery: a popular reader of California geology. The Jaques Cattell press. p. 375. Retrieved 10 October 2011.
^ ^a ^b California business. California Business News, inc. 1983. p. 81. Retrieved 10 October 2011. 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...
^ Hotka, Thomas Carl (11 March 2010). West of the East Coast. AuthorHouse. p. 143. ISBN 978-1-4490-8277-2. Retrieved 10 October 2011.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Brown, Andrea (1 May 2004). Writers' and Artists' Hideouts: Great Getaways for Seducing the Muse. Quill Driver Books. p. 92. ISBN 978-1-884956-34-8. Retrieved 10 October 2011.
^ Benjamin, William A.; Bridgers, Karen (1991). Santa Barbara, the American Riviera. Pacific Travellers Press. p. 38. ISBN 978-0-929591-03-2. Retrieved 10 October 2011.
^ ^a ^b Wallace, David; Miller, Ann (23 September 2003). Hollywoodland. Macmillan. pp. 221–. ISBN 978-0-312-31614-3. Retrieved 10 October 2011.
^ ^a ^b Barney, Robert Knight; Meier, Klaus V.; University of Western Ontario. Centre for Olympic Studies (1994). Critical reflections on olympic ideology. The University of Western Ontario, Center for Olympic Studies. p. 63. ISBN 978-0-7714-1697-2. Retrieved 10 October 2011.
^ ^a ^b Hastings, Karen; Shobe, Nancy A. (18 March 2008). Insiders' Guide to Santa Barbara: Including Channel Islands National Park. Globe Pequot. pp. 45–. ISBN 978-0-7627-4555-5. Retrieved 10 October 2011.
^ State Bar of California (1938). The State bar journal of the State Bar of California. California Bar Association. p. 8. Retrieved 10 October 2011.
^ Emmis Communications (August 1988). Orange Coast Magazine. Emmis Communications. p. 96. ISSN 0279-0483. Retrieved 10 October 2011.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Wright, Anne E. (9 May 2000). Best places to stay in California. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. p. 169. ISBN 978-0-618-00532-1. Retrieved 10 October 2011.
^ Emmis Communications (February 1996). Los Angeles Magazine. Emmis Communications. p. 99. ISSN 1522-9149. Retrieved 10 October 2011.
^ California. New West Communications Corp. 1 January 1990. p. 43. Retrieved 10 October 2011.