The Ritz-Carlton Bacara, Santa Barbara, the oceanfront resort at 8301 Hollister Avenue, lists 34 indoor and outdoor event spaces, from the 11,310 sq ft Bacara Ballroom and a Screening Room to the Rotunda, six salons and lawns above the Pacific. Above the Line provides audio, video, lighting and LED for events across the resort.
Bacara pairs a 23-foot-high ballroom and a dedicated Screening Room with Spanish-style terraces and lawns above the ocean. We plan general sessions, breakouts and oceanfront dinners from the hotel's own capacity chart, with weather-ready gear for the outdoor spaces.
Room names, dimensions and capacities come from the capacity chart on the hotel's events page at ritzcarlton.com. Photos are the hotel's own. Production notes describe a typical Above the Line setup for each space.
The resort's largest indoor room, which the hotel describes as having soaring ceilings, framed mirrors and six balconies.
Reception 1,100 · Theater 1,050 · Banquet 850 · Schoolroom 600 · U-shape 120 · Conference 110
The 23-foot ceiling leaves room for a full LED wall and flown line arrays, so a 1,000-seat general session can run from a single front-of-house position.
The ballroom's three equal sections, usable on their own or in pairs.
Theater 350 · Reception 350 · Banquet 260 · Schoolroom 175 · U-shape 76
When the ballroom is split, each section gets its own screen pair and audio zone, with mics patched back to one control position so the rooms can rejoin for a combined session.
The pre-function corridor along the ballroom, used for registration, breaks and receptions.
Reception 250 · Banquet 180
For registration, we run digital signage and soft background audio here, and repeat the main-stage feed on monitors for overflow.
A Spanish-style open-air terrace next to the ballroom, which the hotel suggests for breakfasts and lunches.
Reception 850 · Banquet 550 · Theater 450 · Schoolroom 300 · Conference 140
For lunch or a reception after a ballroom session, weather-rated speakers and a wireless mic let announcements carry across the terrace and lawn.
A screening room that the hotel offers for film premieres and business presentations.
Theater 211 · Schoolroom 211
For a premiere, we check the room's playback chain ahead of time and bring a presenter mic, laptop switching and a confidence monitor for anyone speaking.
A lounge-sized room in the hotel chart, often paired with the Screening Room for receptions.
Theater 220 · Reception 200 · Banquet 140 · Schoolroom 120 · Conference 46
For a pre-screening reception, we run playlist audio and a welcome slide loop, then switch to one wireless mic for introductions.
A circular room above the lobby with floor-to-ceiling windows, a built-in bar and two terraces facing the Pacific.
Reception 200 · Theater 150 · Banquet 120 · Schoolroom 75 · Conference 30 · U-shape 30
In a round room, we place speakers to cover the space evenly and keep the dance floor at the center, with uplighting on the arches between the windows.
The terrace next to the Rotunda, where the hotel suggests dinner under the stars before dancing inside.
Reception 250 · Banquet 200 · Theater 120 · U-shape 35
For dinner outside and dancing inside, we split the sound into two zones and move the DJ feed from the terrace into the Rotunda on cue.
A balcony off the Rotunda for small dinners and receptions.
Reception 50 · Theater 48 · Banquet 30 · Conference 30
For a balcony dinner, a small weather-rated speaker and one wireless mic for toasts are enough.
A room with natural light, vaulted ceilings and exposed beams, which the hotel suggests for meetings and midsize gatherings, with its own terrace.
Room: reception 220 · banquet 170 · theater 140 · schoolroom 100. Terrace: reception 150 · banquet 110
With daylight in the room, we use a bright LED display rather than projection, and add a terrace speaker zone for the break.
Six salons used for breakouts and midsize meetings. The photo shows Salon 4.
Theater 45–116 · Reception 50–100 · Banquet 40–80 · Schoolroom 30–70
As breakouts, each salon gets a projector and screen like the one shown, a lectern mic and a room-tagged laptop.
Four smaller meeting rooms with 10 to 11.6 ft ceilings, plus the Green Room, Lecture Hall and Executive Conference Center Lounge.
Anacapa 40 · San Miguel 30 · Santa Cruz 50 · Santa Rosa 50 at most
For a U-shape like this, a display at the open end and a conference camera let remote attendees see and hear every seat.
The resort's smaller rooms can also be set with a single boardroom table.
For a board meeting, we run cables under the table to boundary mics and keep the display on the wall facing away from the windows.
An outdoor space high above the Pacific, which the hotel uses for ceremonies and receptions.
Theater 350 · Reception 200 · Schoolroom 200 · Banquet 160 · Conference 100
For a ceremony on the bluff, we use a wind-screened lavalier on the officiant and low-profile speakers at the aisle ends.
A large ocean-view lawn for ceremonies, sunset dinners and cocktail receptions. The hotel did not name the location in this ceremony photo.
Theater 650 · Banquet 550 · Reception 400
Because the lawn is so large, we bring generator-backed power and distributed speaker towers so sound reaches every row.
Three more outdoor spaces in the hotel chart. The Square is the resort's largest event space.
The Square: reception 1,200 · banquet 800. Oval Lawn: theater 500 · reception 450 · banquet 300. Monarch Lawn: theater 150 · reception 70 · banquet 50
For a 1,200-guest reception on The Square, we plan a stage, delay speakers and festoon lighting zones from the start.
Two more terraces in the hotel chart for receptions and dinners.
Ocean Terrace: reception 300 · banquet 250. Lobby Terrace: reception 100
On a narrow 130-foot terrace, we run a line of small speakers along its length rather than one loud pair at the end.
Capacities as published in the hotel's capacity chart.
| Room | Dimensions (L × W × H) | Sq ft | Theater | Schoolroom | Conference | U-shape | Reception | Banquet |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ballroom level | ||||||||
| Bacara Ballroom | 130' × 87' × 23' | 11,310 | 1,050 | 600 | 110 | 120 | 1,100 | 850 |
| Ballroom A | 87' × 43' × 23' | 3,741 | 350 | 175 | 45 | 76 | 350 | 260 |
| Ballroom B | 87' × 43' × 23' | 3,741 | 350 | 175 | 45 | 76 | 350 | 260 |
| Ballroom C | 87' × 43' × 23' | 3,741 | 350 | 175 | 260* | 76 | 350 | 260 |
| Ballroom Foyer | 130' × 40' × 12' | 2,549 | 250 | 180 | ||||
| Ballroom Terrace and Lawn | 9,606 | 450 | 300 | 140 | 850 | 550 | ||
| Screening Room and conference rooms | ||||||||
| Director's Lounge | 50' × 50' × 10.6' | 1,734 | 220 | 120 | 46 | 200 | 140 | |
| Screening Room | 72' × 20' × 16' | 2,880 | 211 | 211 | ||||
| Green Room | 31' × 32' × 12' | 525 | 64 | 36 | 24 | 24 | 40 | 30 |
| Lecture Hall | 31' × 36' × 22' | 1,116 | 88 | 88 | ||||
| Anacapa Room | 18' × 28' × 10' | 504 | 40 | 24 | 16 | 24 | 30 | 30 |
| San Miguel Room | 20' × 13' × 10' | 315 | 30 | 12 | 12 | 15 | 20 | 20 |
| Santa Cruz Room | 20' × 29' × 10' | 580 | 50 | 30 | 20 | 22 | 40 | 40 |
| Santa Rosa Room | 18' × 28' × 11.6' | 504 | 40 | 30 | 16 | 24 | 50 | 30 |
| Executive Conference Center Lounge | 852 | 40 | 20 | |||||
| Channel Terrace | 853 | 30 | 30 | |||||
| Rotunda and Santa Ynez | ||||||||
| Rotunda Room | 45' × 45' × 20' | 1,734 | 150 | 75 | 30 | 30 | 200 | 120 |
| Rotunda Balcony | 33' × 16' | 715 | 48 | 30 | 50 | 30 | ||
| Rotunda Terrace | 52' × 56' × 9' | 3,970 | 120 | 35 | 250 | 200 | ||
| Santa Ynez Room | 56' × 37' × 9' | 2,072 | 140 | 100 | 36 | 40 | 220 | 170 |
| Santa Ynez Terrace | 1,970 | 50 | 25 | 150 | 110 | |||
| Salons | ||||||||
| Salon 1 | 25' × 26' × 10.6' | 702 | 50 | 30 | 20 | 22 | 50 | 40 |
| Salon 2 | 44' × 26' × 10.6' | 1,144 | 116 | 70 | 30 | 40 | 100 | 80 |
| Salon 3 | 27' × 29' × 10.6' | 783 | 45 | 30 | 20 | 22 | 50 | 40 |
| Salon 4 | 43' × 27' × 10.6' | 1,161 | 80 | 70 | 30 | 40 | 100 | 80 |
| Salon 5 | 27' × 27' × 10.6' | 729 | 45 | 30 | 20 | 22 | 50 | 40 |
| Salon 6 | 43' × 27' × 10.6' | 1,161 | 80 | 70 | 30 | 40 | 100 | 80 |
| Outdoor | ||||||||
| The Square | 115' × 116' | 13,340 | 1,200 | 800 | ||||
| Ocean Terrace | 130' × 24' | 3,497 | 300 | 250 | ||||
| Lobby Terrace | 56' × 27' | 1,512 | 100 | |||||
| The Bluff | 40' × 125' | 4,000 | 350 | 200 | 100 | 45 | 200 | 160 |
| Ocean Lawn | 10,000 | 650 | 400 | 550 | ||||
| Monarch Lawn | 100' × 55' | 1,000 | 150 | 70 | 50 | |||
| Oval Lawn | 6,500 | 500 | 450 | 300 | ||||
Sources: capacity chart on the hotel's events page, and the weddings page. Retrieved October 24, 2026. A blank cell means the figure is not published.
* The chart lists conference seating for 260 in Ballroom C, against 45 in Ballrooms A and B of the same size. That figure is shown as published; confirm it with the hotel.
The text on the hotel's pages gives some different figures from the chart: the ballroom for dinners of up to 450, The Bluff for up to 300 seated or 400 for receptions (200 for a wedding ceremony and cocktail reception), the Ocean Lawn for up to 500 wedding guests, and the Rotunda and terrace for up to 200. The chart figures are shown above.
Not an official Ritz-Carlton website. Confirm every capacity with the hotel before contracting.
The Ritz-Carlton Bacara does not publish floor plans on its events page.
Wireless and podium mics with a PA tuned for the Bacara Ballroom's 23-foot ceiling.
Projection and bright LED displays sized to each room and its daylight.
Warm lighting and uplighting for dinners, receptions and award nights.
LED walls for general sessions, launches and award moments.
Cameras, switching and streaming for hybrid meetings and boardrooms.
We draw layouts from The Ritz-Carlton Bacara's own room specs and a site walk.
Weather-rated audio and lighting for terraces and outdoor spaces.
Itemized budgets for The Ritz-Carlton Bacara, with every line explained.
Our technicians work alongside the resort's event team from load-in to strike.
Gear ships from our own Southern California warehouses.
We maintain our inventory from VUE, Shure, Barco, Avid, Yamaha and Sony.
We work up and down the Central Coast, from Santa Barbara and Goleta to the Santa Ynez Valley.
We build walk-in loops, sponsor slides and award graphics sized to your screens.
Our itemized budgets match what is actually in the room.
We keep you updated clearly and consistently from proposal to strike.
Our proposals are drawn from the resort's own room specs.
In 16 years and 2,113 events, including 85 concerts, our team has handled everything from early design to show day.
Learn More →We support conferences, incentives, premieres and weddings across the resort, from the ballroom to the bluff.
Learn More →In-house AV: Five Star AV. Outside AV vendors like Above the Line can work alongside or instead, subject to hotel policy.
Above the Line, your AV partner at The Ritz-Carlton Bacara, Santa Barbara. Succeed Today →
Send your RFP or room plan for The Ritz-Carlton Bacara, and we'll return an itemized quote.
