Santa Barbara Resort Day Passes: Funk Zone Budget to Montecito Splurge
| Venue | Price | Verdict | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hilton Santa Barbara Beachfront Resort | $55 adult / $25 child | Worth It | The one flat rate in this market that never moves for weekends |
| Hotel Californian | $65-$75 adult (weekday vs weekend) | Worth It Once | Couples wanting the highest rooftop pool in Santa Barbara, 18 and up only |
| The Steward, Santa Barbara | $45-$60 adult / $20-$30 child | Worth It | Free parking and the closest pass to the airport, despite the name |
| Moxy Santa Barbara | $30 adult / $15 child | Worth It | The cheapest flat rate in the Funk Zone, booked well ahead |
| Rosewood Miramar Beach | $175-$400 adult (rarely available) | Worth It Once | A bucket-list Montecito pool day, if a date opens up |
| The Ritz-Carlton Bacara | $100 adult / $50 child | Worth It | Two family pools and a genuinely complimentary valet, in Goleta |
| Kimpton Canary Hotel | $65 adult | Depends | A downtown rooftop pool, but confirm the booking before you go |
Santa Barbara resort day passes earn a depends verdict, because the right pick changes with the day of the week and the property. The Hilton Santa Barbara Beachfront holds a flat $55 adult rate across every one of the 10 dates we checked, Saturdays included. That makes it the closest thing to a sure bet in this market. Hotel Californian and The Steward both price Saturday higher than a weekday, sometimes by $15 to $20 a person. Rosewood Miramar Beach is the aspirational pick, but its Day Pass was only bookable on 3 of the 10 dates we sampled. Check ResortPass for your exact date before assuming any single number here is what you will pay.
Santa Barbara sells more non-guest pool access than its size suggests, with nine properties carrying live ResortPass inventory between the Funk Zone and Montecito. We queried ResortPass’s own booking backend directly, the same system hotels use at checkout, rather than the rendered listing pages. We sampled 10 dates spanning August 29 through October 25, 2026, including all three Saturdays in that window. Every dollar figure below comes from that data or from a hotel’s own official site, dated and sourced inline.
Read how we verify prices before trusting any of the numbers below, and see our Los Angeles pool day pass guide for how a nearby coastal market compares.
How much does a Santa Barbara resort day pass cost?
The floor is $30 per adult at Moxy Santa Barbara, bookable on 5 of our 10 sampled dates before going quiet through late October. The realistic ceiling for a bookable Day Pass is $200 per adult at Rosewood Miramar Beach. Its listing shows figures as high as $400 on dates that were not actually bookable.
Across the 10 dates we checked, August 29 through October 25, 2026:
- Hilton Santa Barbara Beachfront Resort, Day Pass. Flat $55 adult and $25 child on all 10 dates, including all 3 Saturdays. Bookable every time.
- Hotel Californian, Day Pass. $65 adult on weekdays, $75 on Saturday and Sunday, 18 and up only. Unavailable on 2 of the 10 dates, including one of the three Saturdays.
- The Steward, Day Pass. $60 adult and $30 child on all 3 Saturdays. $45 and $20 on Sundays and Thursdays through mid-October. It dropped to $30 and $15 on the two latest dates we checked.
- Moxy Santa Barbara, Day Pass. Flat $30 adult and $15 child whenever bookable. Available on our first 5 dates, then showed no inventory on any date from October 4 onward.
- Ritz-Carlton Bacara, Day Pass. Flat $100 adult and $50 child. Bookable on 9 of 10 dates, unavailable on only the first Saturday.
- Kimpton Canary Hotel, Day Pass. Flat $65 adult, 21 and up only. Bookable on all 7 weekday and Sunday dates, unavailable on all 3 Saturdays we checked.
- Rosewood Miramar Beach, Day Pass. $175 adult on 5 dates, $400 on 3 dates, $200 on 1 date, child flat at $95. Bookable on only 3 of the 10 dates.
None of these figures include the ResortPass platform fee. We found it at 12% on every one of five live carts we checked: Moxy, Hilton, Hotel Californian, The Steward, and Bacara. Sales tax on every day-pass, cabana, and spa-pass product in this market read as 0% in ResortPass’s own data. Food and drinks are pay-as-you-go at every property.
Hilton Santa Barbara: True Cost for a Family of Four
What is actually included in a Santa Barbara day pass?
Inclusions vary sharply by property, and the ResortPass listing for each pass is the actual contract. The grid below reflects the Hilton Day Pass, the most complete and most consistently priced product in this market. Individual property sections below cover where the others differ.
| Amenity | Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Pool access | Outdoor heated pool | |
| Hot tub | Listed on the Hilton Day Pass | |
| Lounge chairs | First come, first served at every property in this guide | |
| Towels | Also on the Steward, Bacara, and Californian passes | |
| Self-parking | With validation, also free on the Steward's pass and Bacara's valet. Californian and Kimpton Canary charge day guests | |
| Beach access | Beach chairs available to rent separately | |
| Two bottled waters | ||
| Food and drinks | Pay as you go | Poolside service is weekends only at the Hilton |
| Spa access | Rosewood and Bacara sell a separate Spa Pass | |
| ResortPass platform fee | 12% | Found on 5 of 5 live carts we checked, August 2026 |
Hilton Santa Barbara Beachfront Resort: the flat rate
The Hilton is the only property in this guide that never changed its adult price across our full 10-date sample, weekends included. That predictability, plus complimentary validated self-parking and beach chair rental access, makes it the default recommendation for anyone who wants to book without checking a calendar first. A Day Pass + Fitness Center upgrade runs $75 adult, and a gazebo cabana for up to 6 people ran $500 to $600 across our sample.
Poolside food and drink service from The Set and Java is weekends-only; on weekdays you order at the counter. Children ages 3 to 17 pay $25, and anyone under 18 must be accompanied by an adult.
Hotel Californian: the highest rooftop pool, adults only
Hotel Californian’s rooftop pool has the best skyline view in this comparison. The day pass is restricted to guests 18 and up, so it is not a family option regardless of price. The $65 weekday rate climbs to $75 on Saturday and Sunday, and the pass was unavailable on 2 of our 10 sampled dates, including one Saturday.
The hotel does not sell a simple day-use product on its own site. The only direct-booking option there is the Majorelle Membership, a recurring $600-a-month plan with a $225 initiation fee (hotelcalifornian.com, verified August 2026). That is a structurally different product from a single ResortPass day. Parking runs $35 for daytime valet with no in-and-out privileges, or the on-site public garage at $3 per hour after a complimentary first 75 minutes (hotelcalifornian.com FAQ, verified August 2026).
Hotel Californian: True Cost for Two Couples
The Steward, Santa Barbara: free parking, and closer to the airport than downtown
The Steward carries the best pure amenity value in this guide. Complimentary self-parking is listed as part of the Day Pass itself, against a $32-a-day rate for overnight guests who park the same lot (Marriott official site, verified August 2026). Despite the “Santa Barbara” branding, the property sits in the Goleta corridor near the airport. It is roughly 7 to 8 miles and a 15-to-18-minute drive from Stearns Wharf, not the walkable downtown.
The adult rate held at $60, with a $30 child rate, on all three Saturdays we checked. It dropped to $45 and $20 on every Sunday and Thursday through mid-October. The two latest dates we sampled, a Wednesday and a Sunday in late October, priced lower still at $30 and $15. A Terra Cabana for up to two people ran $125 to $150 across the same dates.
Moxy Santa Barbara: the cheapest flat rate, booked early
Moxy holds the lowest adult price in this comparison at a flat $30, with a $15 child rate, and it never moved across the dates it was bookable. The catch is availability further out. It was bookable on our first 5 sampled dates, August 29 through September 24, and showed no inventory at all on any of our five October dates. The listing covers the heated pool and communal patio only, with street parking, a communal kitchen, and no poolside food service beyond bring-your-own (ResortPass shop-api, verified August 2026). Check-in age is 21 and up, per Marriott’s official site.
The Ritz-Carlton Bacara: two family pools and a genuinely free valet
Bacara is the strongest family option in the Goleta area, with a flat $100 adult and $50 child rate that held on 9 of our 10 sampled dates. The Day Pass includes two family-friendly pools, a hot tub, and one complimentary non-alcoholic welcome beverage per person. It also includes complimentary valet parking, a real contrast to the property’s own $75-a-night valet rate for overnight guests (ritzcarlton.com, verified August 2026). A separate Spa Pass at $125 covers the full Ritz-Carlton Spa instead of the pools, and a Bacara Cabana for up to 6 ran $450 to $875 across our sample.
Kimpton Canary Hotel: confirm before you go
Kimpton Canary’s rooftop pool is adults-only at 21 and up, priced at a flat $65. It was bookable on all 7 weekday and Sunday dates in our sample but on none of the three Saturdays we checked. Here is the one thing to know before booking. The hotel’s own site states plainly that the rooftop pool is available to hotel guests only. ResortPass sells a live, dated day pass for the exact same pool (canarysantabarbara.com and ResortPass shop-api, both verified August 2026). That is a genuine gap between the hotel’s marketing page and its own ResortPass partnership, not evidence the listing is fake. It is still worth a screenshot of your confirmation before you arrive. Valet parking for a day visit runs about $33 (IHG official site, verified August 2026); there is no self-park option.
Rosewood Miramar Beach: the scarcity story
Rosewood is the aspirational pick in this market, and availability, not price, is the real obstacle. Its Day Pass covers the Manor Pool and the adults-only Cabana Pool plus a hot tub. It priced at $175 on 5 of our 10 sampled dates, $400 on 3 dates, and $200 on 1, with a flat $95 child rate. It cleared as bookable on only 3 of the 10 dates we checked. The separate $95 Spa Pass does not include pool access and was bookable on just 1 date (ResortPass shop-api, verified August 2026). Two adults at the $175 baseline plus the 12% fee come to $392, roughly a quarter of the property’s $1,473 KAYAK room floor. That floor is itself a fraction of the $1,798 to $3,018 range KAYAK shows was actually booked in the prior two weeks (verified August 2026). Rosewood also permits no self-parking; its own site requires valet, and Travelocity lists that valet at $90 per night for overnight guests, with no separate day-use rate published.
At the Hilton and Bacara, the room math is not close either. A family of four at the Hilton pays $179.20 against a $729 weekend room average (KAYAK). Hotel Californian, covered next, is the one property here where the gap is worth checking. See the full room-versus-pass framework for how to run this math anywhere.
Can you use a Santa Barbara day pass on a cruise day?
Santa Barbara is a tender port. Ships anchor roughly half a mile offshore, and passengers ride a tender boat to Sea Landing at the harbor. That is a short walk from Stearns Wharf and State Street, not straight to the wharf itself (Visit Santa Barbara official site, verified August 2026). The City of Santa Barbara’s cruise calendar does not schedule calls between Memorial Day and Labor Day, so nothing is arriving through the rest of this August. The next confirmed 2026 call is Virgin Voyages’ Brilliant Lady on September 16, a 9:00am to 4:00pm stop (cruisetimetables.com, verified August 2026). Additional Princess Cruises and Holland America calls are listed into November.
Hotel Californian sits closest to the tender landing, roughly a 7-to-8-minute walk. That makes it the practical choice over the Steward or Bacara, both of which are 15 to 20 minutes away by car despite carrying the Santa Barbara name. Build slack into any plan. Tender queues mean the ship’s official port window is longer than the time you will actually have ashore. Rough seas can also delay or cancel tender service entirely, since there is no fixed dock to fall back on.
- 1Tender ashore to Sea Landing (7:00-9:30am typical)No fixed dock; a numbered tender ticket queue means not everyone is ashore at once
- 2Walk to Hotel Californian (7-8 min)The closest bookable pool pass to the tender landing
- 3Pool time, 18 and up (3-4 hrs)Book ahead since the pass showed unavailable on 2 of 10 sampled dates
- 4Walk back toward Sea Landing (7-8 min)Build in buffer; the last tender back runs well before the ship’s official departure time
- 5Reboard before final tenderA typical Santa Barbara call runs 7 to 11 hours ship-in-port, not all of it usable ashore
For more on planning a resort day around a cruise stop, see Resort Day Passes for Cruisers.
Santa Barbara’s beaches are public and free. East Beach and West Beach both allow free walk-on access. Nearby City of Santa Barbara metered lots charge $3.50 per hour with a $20 daily maximum (santabarbaraca.gov, verified August 2026). Butterfly Beach in Montecito is free with limited free street parking. For an actual pool without the resort price tag, there is Los Baños del Mar, the city’s public 50-meter heated pool at East Beach. A non-resident adult pays $11 for a single visit, well under any pass in this guide (City of Santa Barbara Parks and Recreation, verified August 2026).
Other Santa Barbara and Goleta options
A few more properties carry live ResortPass inventory but did not clear a full section here. The Milo Hotel by the Sea sells no stand-alone Day Pass, only a Poolside Daybed Cabana for two from about $250. The Courtyard by Marriott’s Pool Bar Saint Remy runs a family Day Pass from $40 to $70. Swell Athletic Club Santa Barbara sells fitness club access, not a resort pool, at $50 a day. The Leta and a second Swell location on ResortPass’s Santa Barbara listing are actually in Goleta, worth treating as nearby options rather than city ones.
El Encanto, long marketed as a Belmond property, changed ownership in 2025 and now operates independently. Its current site shows no public day-use pool or spa product, and it does not appear on ResortPass, so it is not included here.
Who should buy a Santa Barbara resort day pass?
- Anyone who wants a sure thing · the Hilton's flat $55 rate held on all 10 dates checked, parking included.
- Budget Funk Zone afternoons · Moxy at a flat $30, but book well ahead; it went quiet past September in our sample.
- Families needing a pool, not a rooftop · Bacara's $100/$50 rate covers two pools plus valet, in Goleta.
- A once-in-a-while Montecito splurge · Rosewood at $175 to $200 when bookable, only 3 of 10 dates cleared.
- Post-checkout layovers near the airport · The Steward's free parking and $30-$60 rate, despite sitting outside downtown.
- Families at Hotel Californian or Kimpton Canary · both restrict day passes to adults 18 or 21 and up.
- A tight-budget Saturday at Rosewood · the Day Pass ran as high as $400 when it was bookable at all.
- Planning a cruise day pass this summer · Santa Barbara's tender calls pause between Memorial Day and Labor Day.
Where to book
ResortPass is the verified channel for every property in this guide.
| Platform | Price | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| ResortPass | Prices as listed above, plus a 12% platform fee at checkout | Verified channel for all seven featured properties. Prices above are pre-fee. |
| DayPass.com | Not available | No Santa Barbara, CA listings found; coverage is almost entirely international, verified August 2026. |
| Daycation | Not an independent option | daycation.com serves the same ResortPass listings under a different domain, verified August 2026. |
| Resort direct | Not available at most properties | Hilton and Rosewood route non-guest bookings to ResortPass. Hotel Californian sells only a $600/month membership instead. |
Where to stay if you decide to book a room
What to bring and pro tips
Book the Hilton if your date is not flexible. It is the only property that held its price across all three Saturdays we checked, with parking already included.
Check Moxy early. It was bookable on 5 of our first dates and showed nothing from October 4 onward in our sample.
Bring a screenshot of your confirmation to Kimpton Canary. Its own site describes the pool as guest-only even though ResortPass sells a live pass for it.
Budget for parking separately from the pass price. Hotel Californian and Kimpton Canary both charge day guests, while the Hilton, Steward, and Bacara include it in the Day Pass itself.
For a broader look at what resort day passes include across property types, the DayPassScout inclusions guide breaks down the categories that show up again and again in this market.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is included in a Santa Barbara hotel day pass?
Inclusions vary by property, and the ResortPass listing for each pass is the contract. The Hilton includes the pool, hot tub, first-come lounge chairs, towels, two bottled waters, beach chair rental access, and complimentary self-parking with validation. The Steward includes the pool, hot tub, lounge chairs, towel service, and complimentary self-parking. The Ritz-Carlton Bacara includes two family-friendly pools, a hot tub, one complimentary welcome beverage, and complimentary valet parking. Kimpton Canary and Hotel Californian both restrict their rooftop pools to adults. Moxy is the pool and communal patio only, with street parking. Food and drinks are pay-as-you-go everywhere (ResortPass shop-api, verified August 2026).
Is a resort day pass in Santa Barbara cheaper than booking a room?
For a couple, almost always. Two Hilton Day Passes plus the platform fee run $123.20, against a Hilton weeknight average of $456 and a weekend average of $729 (KAYAK, verified August 2026). The gap narrows at Hotel Californian. Two couples on a $75 weekend date plus the fee come to $336, within about $100 of the $434 weeknight room floor on momondo. That is closer still to the $601 floor KAYAK shows actually booked in the last two weeks. A room at that price adds a bed and a second pool morning for not much more, so it is worth running the numbers rather than assuming the pass wins.
Will the hotel actually honor my ResortPass booking at check-in?
At most properties, yes. ResortPass is the channel every hotel in this guide routes non-guest pool access through, including Hilton's own site, which sends locals directly to the ResortPass listing. Kimpton Canary is the one property to watch. Its own site states the rooftop pool is available to hotel guests only. ResortPass sells a live, bookable day pass for the same pool (canarysantabarbara.com and ResortPass shop-api, both verified August 2026). That is a real conflict between the hotel's marketing page and its own booking partnership, not evidence the pass is fake. Screenshot your ResortPass confirmation and bring photo ID to the front desk.
Does the price change by day of the week for Santa Barbara day passes?
Yes, and not always in the direction you would expect. Across 10 dates sampled August 29 through October 25, 2026, the Steward priced at $60 adult on all three Saturdays we checked and $45 on every Sunday and Thursday. Two late-October dates dropped to $30. Hotel Californian ran $65 on weekdays and $75 on Saturday and Sunday. Hilton held a flat $55 on every one of the 10 dates, Saturdays included. On one specific cart we checked, Monday August 31, 2026, Hotel Californian's listed $40 price carried an automatic 25% discount at checkout. The platform fee was still charged on the original $40, not the discounted total. It can look larger than expected relative to what you actually pay (ResortPass shop-api and live cart check, verified August 2026).
Does the Rosewood Miramar Beach day pass include the spa?
No. Rosewood sells a separate Spa Pass at a flat $95 per adult, covering the Sense spa's dry sauna, steam sauna, cold plunge, and relaxation lounge. The Day Pass covers the Manor and Cabana pools instead and does not include spa access (ResortPass shop-api, verified August 2026). Both were scarce in our 10-date sample: the Day Pass was bookable on 3 dates at $175 to $200, and the Spa Pass on just 1 date at $95. Treat any specific date as a longshot until you check it yourself.
Is there free parking at Santa Barbara resort day passes?
It depends on whether you are reading the day-pass listing or the hotel's own overnight rate, and mixing the two is the most common mistake. The Hilton Day Pass includes complimentary self-parking with validation. That is separate from the hotel's $42 self-park and $50 valet overnight rates, which do not apply to day guests (Hilton official site and ResortPass shop-api, both verified August 2026). The Steward and Bacara Day Passes list complimentary parking too, versus $32 and $75 respectively for an overnight guest. Moxy is street parking only. Hotel Californian and Kimpton Canary both charge day guests for parking: valet from $35 at the Californian, and $33 for day parking at Kimpton Canary.
Can I use a Santa Barbara day pass on a cruise port day?
Sometimes, and check the calendar before you plan around it. Santa Barbara is a tender port with no summer calls between Memorial Day and Labor Day, so nothing is scheduled through this August. The City of Santa Barbara's cruise calendar lists calls clustering in spring and fall. The next confirmed 2026 arrival is Virgin Voyages' Brilliant Lady on September 16 (santabarbaraca.gov and cruisetimetables.com, verified August 2026). Hotel Californian sits closest to the tender landing, about a 7 to 8 minute walk. That makes it the practical pick over the Steward or Bacara, both a 15-to-20-minute drive away despite the Santa Barbara name.
Are there free or cheaper alternatives to a Santa Barbara resort day pass?
Yes. East Beach and West Beach are both free to walk onto, with City of Santa Barbara metered lots nearby at $3.50 per hour and a $20 daily maximum. Butterfly Beach in Montecito is free with limited free street parking. For an actual pool without a resort price tag, there is Los Baños del Mar, the city's public 50-meter heated pool at East Beach. A non-resident adult pays $11 for a single visit (City of Santa Barbara Parks and Recreation, verified August 2026), a fraction of any pass in this guide.
This article was researched and written with AI assistance. All prices, inclusions, and operational details have been independently verified against resort websites, booking platforms, and visitor reviews. Last verified: August 2026.