Social Media comes to Santa Barbara: Chris Brogan, Justin Levy and Brian Clark stay at Vista Riviera

Santa Barbara was invaded by the Social Media Elite last week. We were fortunate enough to host Chris Brogan (http://www.chrisbrogan.com), Justin Levy (http://www.justinrlevy.com) and Brian Clark (http://www.copyblogger.com).

Chris' website is the top marketing website on the planet, and ranks in the top-50 of all websites, Justin, Chris work closely together and Justin's website pulls in a lot of traffic on its own, and Brian's website Copy Blogger is in the top 200 websites out there. Between the 3 of them they represent a hat-trick of social media impact, wielding a huge amount of reach and influence.

They were in town for two reasons, Citrix Online (a local Santa Barbara company that powers GoToMyPC and GoToMeeting is a customer of theirs) as well as for the Nine Inch Nails and Janes Addiction concert (on the NINJA tour) at the Santa Barbara Bowl.

When these guys come to town they come in style. The house that they picked? Santa Barbara Luxury Rentals Vista Riviera Villa. Located on Santa Barbara's Riviera looking out over the town, the pacific oceans and the Channel islands. Vista Riviera is a 5 bedroom house with everything, from big spaces and panoramic views to a swimming pool and hot tub, and as Chris points out in the video (which you should watch), is complete with chocolates on the pillows.

I'll let Chris and Justin explain the rest in their video below.



If you're into learning about Social Media like Twitter, FriendFeed and BrightKite check these guys out. Thinking of a vacation rental in beautiful Santa Barbara? Have a look at the wide selection of furnished rentals, both short and long term, available from Santa Barbara Luxury Rentals here.

Getting ready to travel? Bring along iStoryTime for the ride

Getting ready to take a trip to one of our luxury Santa Barbara rentals? check. Kids? check. iPhone? check. Then you should bring along iStoryTime. iStoryTime is a library of narrated and illustrated kids books for the iPhone. Great for traveling, when the kids get antsy instead of a movie or videogame, hand them a book. Read it to them yourself, or if you are stuck behind the wheel it will read to them. Available from anywhere, at the restaurant, getting on the airplane, or in the car.

iStoryTime keeps the kids entertained without making parents feel guilty, and at $1.99 it wont break the bank either.

iStoryTime currently has a library of 5 books which it has been expanding quickly. iStoryTime is available in the Apple AppStore here.

The wholesomeness of a book with the convenience of your iPhone. The iStoryTime website is: http://www.istorytimeapp.com


Have a great trip!

Princess Day at the Zoo

The Santa Barbara Zoo is another example of what makes Santa Barbara such a great town. Usually a town would have to be 2 or 3 times the size of Santa Barbara to have such a high quality Zoo. The Santa Barbara Zoo has elephants, lions, monkeys, giraffes... and to top it off its across the street from beach.


This weekend the Zoo had a special 'Princess Day' event for girls of all ages. It was complete with frog kissing, face painting, bouncy castles... in addition to all the other regular Zoo fun.


The Santa Barbara Zoo is definitely worth checking out while
you are in town:

The Santa Barbara Zoo
500 Niños Drive
Santa Barbara, CA 93103
Main Phone: (805) 962-5339
Info Line: (805) 962-6310
Admissions Office: (805) 963-5695

Breakfast at D'Angelo's Bakery

D'Angelo's Bakery isn't just a Bakery, its a REAL bakery, the kind where the guys show up at 4am to start making the bread. Not only does it have some of the best bread in Santa Barbara but it's also a fantastic way to start the day for breakfast (the Huevos Rancheros are amazing, as is the Bananas Fosters French toast) and a cup of coffee. It's a bit of a locals hang out so be prepared for a few minutes wait for a table in the sun on the weekends.

D'Angelo's is located at:
137 S Quarantina St
Santa Barbara, CA 93103
(805) 560-0525

Yelp reviews give it a 4.5/5 rating: http://tr.im/lBvc

Have fun. Tell them Santa Barbara Luxury Rentals sent you!

Chocolate Maya, Santa Barbara's World of Chocolate

Satisfy your sweet tooth at Maya Chocolate in downtown Santa Barbara. Artesian chocolate with a wide selection of chocolate from around the world. A perfect way to add to your luxury vacation stay... About 3 minutes from the Mesa, 10 minutes from Summerland and 5 minutes from Montecito. Chocolate Maya has a wide selection of Chocolates, everything from plain truffles to passion fruit filled White Chocolate delights.

Makes a great place to take kids for a treat after shopping on State St, exploring the Santa Barbara Pier or enjoying East Beach, all of which are within a short walk.

Chocolate Maya is a Santa Barbara Luxury Rentals favorite, check it out.

Chocolate Maya is located at:
15 W Gutierrez St
Santa Barbara, CA 93101
(805) 965-5956
Website

Renting a Luxury Vacation Home in Santa Barbara is the Only Way to Go for Jetiquette's Gailen David

Gailen David, The Sky Steward, recently visited Santa Barbara (during the Jesusita wildfire) and stayed in a luxuriously appointed home all his own that gave him "the feeling of living in this Southern California paradise for a fraction of the cost of a hotel." He stayed in the lovely Casa Bella, a 3 bedroom home in the Montecito area of Santa Barbara nestled between the Biltmore Four Seasons Hotel overlooking Butterfly Beach and Montecito's Coast Village.

But don't take our word for it. Check out his travel review in Jetiquette.

Here are the highlights:

• Gailen enjoyed a 20% "locals' discount" (he mentioned that his home was a block away) on a sugar scrub treatment and a deep tissue massage at the Four Seasons Hotel Spa. (Way to go! What a great tip!)

• He arranged his California home rental through Santa Barbara Luxury Rentals, which he said was just as easy as checking into a hotel due to all the attentive service he received from our team.

• He was also pleased to find all of the amenities one would expect from a luxury hotel - including everything from bathrobes waiting in the bedroom closets to bottled water and chocolates on each nightstand.

• His conclusion? If you enjoy luxury without the restrictions and unnecessary expenses of a hotel stay, renting a luxury property is the only way to go!

Gailen, thanks for the kind words. We are glad we were able to make you feel at home during your visit.

If you have an wonderful experience in one of our luxury Santa Barbara vacation homes that you would like to share, please feel free to drop us a line at info@sbluxuryrentals.com

Get Santa Barbara Vacation Concierge for the best Vacation Stay

In our years renting luxury Santa Barbara homes, villas, cottages and get-away cottages, we found ourselves getting asked frequently for recommendations. It's one thing to make a smart choice in vacation stay in Santa Barbara for comfort, cost and convenience, but once you come to Santa Barbara, you need to know SB local secrets....so we added concierge!!

Santa Barbara Vacation Concierge helps vacationers access the best babysitters, pet sitters, mobile spa services, health cl and more.

We offer a free grocery shopping and delivery service. Arrive with your favorite items on hand by clicking here to download our grocery list.

Just fill it out and return it to us 72 hours prior to your check in date, and we will have the groceries placed in your rental prior to your arrival.

For more Santa Barbara concierge resources, please browse through the following links on the right side of our blog, and contact us before your arrival if you would like health club access, grocery delivery, baby gear delivered before your check in, private chef services arranged, or reservations and appointments made for your stay.

As always, we strive to create a memorable vacation experience so our guests experience Santa Barbara at it's best - with the utmost consideration and quality service.

Contact us online and to click here to learn more about Santa Barbara Luxury Rentals.

Santa Barbara Vacation Rental Properties

If Santa Barbara is on your destination list and luxury accommodations are on your travel requirement list, reconsider a hotel stay.

More and more travels are renting large Santa Barbara vacation homes, villas and luxury cottages to make their stays enjoyable, relaxing, comforting and fun.

View some of SB's best vacation rentals!