REV’s Sustainable Guide to Santa Barbara

To stay: El Encanto -

El Encanto is one of those rare hotels that you feel at home immediately in, from the lovely staff to the bungalow type rooms to the thoughtful elements of the stay that lend themselves to what I was pleased to see was an overall conscious ideology around running a hotel. They are EARTH MARK certified, which means they have outside auditors that come look in on the progress of sustainable efforts and help them improve. I think external audits are so helpful in many ways, and to learn that they were working one I respect was wonderful. 

The hotel itself has minimal plastic and waste, their efforts to have things out of plastic were really wonderful in fact as someone who hates seeing it every time I travel. The food is locally sourced for the most part, working with small regenerative farms like Ojai Roots, and the wine is all labeled as biodynamic or minimal intervention. They are making efforts at water conservation through efforts like native plants in the gardens and eco-friendly irrigation. I even heard from the manager that Belmond Group has implemented sustainable competitions throughout their hotels to see who can do best. A place this beautiful deserves to be conserved and I hope that the guests appreciate all their efforts as much as we did.

To visit: Beckmen’s Biodynamic Vineyards -

Being in Santa Barbara a trip to wine country was in order, but I have been committed to only drinking organic, sustainably harvested wine ever since learning about the amount of pesticides used in normal grape growing and some questionable additives in processing. Enter Beckmen Vineyards – a biodynamic Demeter certified vineyard growing beautiful, clean grapes and making delicious wine that aligns so much with our ethos here at REV. We got to tour the lower vineyard, seeing everything from the pond and biodiversity they have cultivated for local animals to tasting the fresh and spray free grapes right off the vine.

Bonus, if you are staying at El Encanto you can order their wine at the restaurant, or arrange a free visit and tasting through the hotel! This place is certainly worth a visit, from the lovely and knowledgeable staff to the gorgeous Syrah that has deep richness, healthy roots and sunshine in it.

Food:

Breakfast – Oat Bakery

Oat Bakery believes that good bread is healthy bread. Their goal is to change the traditional way of creating and eating bread by using whole grains, local produce from the farmers market and superfoods like oats, chia seeds and flaxseeds to make our bread the healthiest and must nutritious it can be. Their bread is all organic and handmade and baked in small batches in daylight, that way employees are happy and well rested. In this light, breads are always fresh and our customers get to be a part of their bread making process: from making the doughs, shaping and coming fresh out of the oven. They want to share knowledge and passion with anyone and everyone who walks through our bakery doors. Oat don’t just want to be another bakery…they want to be a part of the community, an experience and a healthier choice. 

Dinner – Bettina Pizza

Prepare to eat the best pizza out of Italy. Bettina serves up naturally leavened breads, and pizzas alongside beautiful Italian dishes inspired by the local farmers market. They are 100% transparent about where they get all of their ingredients and produce from, so you know exactly what you are eating. You can really taste the quality of the organic and local ingredients. 

Drinks & Dinner – Satellite for Farmer’s Market Food

Satellite is a Farmer to Table / Farmer to Glass Restaurant & Natural Wine Shop. They are focused on ethical, environmentally beneficial agriculture and the freshest locally grown ingredients.  Some might say Satellite is galaxies ahead of the rest when it comes to vegetarian fare. With creative dishes like the picture-worthy Gigante Beans Confit, a delightfully floral vegan mac and cheese and its legendary Yoga Pants Salad. While you’re there, top off your glass with a splash from Satellite’s eclectic collection of natural, ethically sourced wines from across the globe.

Wellness: Sun Potion:

We suggest hitting up the HQ of one of our favourite organic wellness lines, Sun Potion, to grab some holistic goodies to support you in your travels. Sun Potion Transformational Foods is dedicated to health, happiness and well-being through the use of medicinal plants, superfoods and tonic herbs. They source the planet for potent, healing substances with the ability to transform consciousness and health. We work with suppliers who can meet their stringent quality standards and commitment to purity. They only source Organic and/or Wildcrafted products and never use ingredients that have been chemically treated in any way.

To visit: Santa Barbara Botanic Garden -

As the first botanic garden to focus exclusively on native plants, Santa Barbara Botanic Garden has dedicated nearly a century of work to better understand the relationship between plants and people. Their mission is to conserve native plants & habitats for the health & well-being of people & our planet. Conserving biological diversity starts with native plants, and Santa Barbara Botanic Garden takes a comprehensive approach — from the (sub)microscopic level of genes to the landscape level of ecosystems. This allows us to more thoroughly tackle the conservation challenges of our day, such as habitat loss and fragmentation, invasive species, climate change, and pollinator decline.

To drive: Fisker EV -

Founded by Henrik Fisker, Fisker are on a journey to create a clean future for all. Their mission is to create the most sustainable vehicles on Earth. Fisker sees a future where skies are blue, the air is pure, and your conscience is clear whenever you go out for a drive in your Fisker EV. They put people and the planet first in everything they do – whether it’s sourcing from responsible suppliers, creating a solar roof, or using upcycled sustainable materials.

A Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is a thorough study of our vehicle’s impact on the planet. The LCA of the Fisker Ocean reveals the total carbon footprint, from raw materials through production and use, until the vehicle is dismantled at its end of use phase. The results of Fisker’s LCA assessment represents their hard work and focus reducing their impact through the entire vehicle lifecycle.

Discover their sustainable values here.

To ride: Santa Barbara Bicycle -

Their electric bike share system currently operates along the Waterfront, downtown SB, East & West side neighborhoods, and the Mission & the Mesa with more to come! With 250 electric bikes and 500 docks, members of the public can unlock a bike instantly from their mobile device and return to any station location across the city. Join us as we get people out of cars and onto bikes.