Be Our Guest

With sweeping water views and sustainability on the menu, The Club & Guest House at UC Santa Barbara is officially open for business.

The former Faculty Club, as the iconic Charles Moore structure was known since 1968, has been under renovation since late 2015. The reborn building features boutique lodging, state-of-the-art meeting spaces and a first-class dining room overlooking the campus lagoon and the ocean beyond.

A grand opening celebration for the campus and community, including an open house, will be held at the new facility Tuesday, Jan. 31, from 3:30 to 6 p.m.

“I am thrilled about the new Club & Guest House,” said Willie Brown, UCSB’s associate vice chancellor for housing, dining and auxiliary enterprises. “It is a very unique space that captures the history of the old building while looking towards the future aspirations of one of the world’s great public institutions. As a gathering, meeting and special events venue, UCSB now has a living room where staff and faculty colleagues can continue their natural exchange of ideas while dining from a quality menu that focuses on local, sustainable and organic offerings.”

Done in partnership with UCSB Housing, Dining and Auxiliary Enterprises, the renovation also came with an expansion: The Club & Guest House is twice its former size, with increased dining and meeting space, 34 guest rooms and an outdoor terrace. UC Santa Barbara Foundation trustee, real estate investor and philanthropist Betty Elings Wells helped fund the project with a significant leadership gift to name the west terrace and a pavilion at the new club.

The building also boasts a members’ lounge, a bar, a private, ocean-view dining room adjacent to the main dining area and modernized restrooms. An entrance has been added at the restaurant level, as have a larger lobby and enclosed entry upstairs.

In keeping with the campus’s longtime commitment to sustainability, The Club & Guest House has adopted myriad practices meant to protect, preserve and regenerate environmental resources. Among them are ongoing sustainability training for staff and students, the purchase of Energy Star-rated and energy efficient equipment, the implementation of energy-saving lighting systems and the use of electric, hybrid and compressed natural gas vehicles. The facility also is working toward a Green Business Certification from Santa Barbara County.

Dining operations at The Club are employing several waste reduction and responsible waste management strategies, including composting all pre- and post-consumer food waste, recycling all cooking oil waste for use as biodiesel fuel and purchasing from vendors with a proven track record of environmental responsibility.

“The Club & Guest House focuses on fresh, local, sustainable and quality food for an enhanced campus dining experience,” said Jill Horst, director of residential dining for UCSB Housing, Dining & Auxiliary Enterprises. “With a commitment to personal and environmental wellness, menu offerings include healthy, natural and seasonal ingredients. By partnering with local distributors for organic and/or sustainably-grown produce, The Club & Guest House prides itself on a farm-to-table experience with a breathtaking view.  

The dining room offers breakfast daily for hotel guests and is open for lunch to the broader campus community from 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. each weekday.

Said Indras Govender, food and beverage manager for The Club, “Our beautifully remodeled modern facility now includes state-of-the-art conference rooms together with a new seasonal menu incorporating sustainable, fresh and locally sourced items coupled with exceptional service delivered by our very own UCSB students.”