The Ritz-Carlton Bacara

Bacara Ballroom

11,310 sq ft · 130' × 87' · 23 ft ceiling · divides into Ballrooms A, B and C

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.

Ballroom Foyer

2,549 sq ft · 130' × 40' · 12 ft ceiling

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.

Ballroom Terrace and Lawn

9,606 sq ft · outdoor

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.

Director's Lounge

1,734 sq ft · 50' × 50' · 10.6 ft ceiling

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.

Rotunda Room

1,734 sq ft · 45' × 45' · 20 ft ceiling

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.

Rotunda Terrace

3,970 sq ft · 52' × 56' · 9 ft ceiling

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.

Rotunda Balcony

715 sq ft · 33' × 16'

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.

Santa Ynez Room and Terrace

2,072 sq ft room · 56' × 37' · 9 ft ceiling · 1,970 sq ft terrace

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.

Salons 1 to 6

702 to 1,161 sq ft each · 10.6 ft ceilings

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.

Conference rooms

Anacapa, San Miguel, Santa Cruz and Santa Rosa · 315 to 580 sq ft

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.

Boardroom setups

Conference 12 to 46, by room

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.

The Bluff

4,000 sq ft · 40' × 125' · outdoor, oceanfront

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.

Ocean Lawn

10,000 sq ft · outdoor

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.

Oval Lawn, Monarch Lawn and The Square

Oval Lawn 6,500 sq ft · Monarch Lawn 1,000 sq ft · The Square 13,340 sq ft

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.

Ocean Terrace and Lobby Terrace

Ocean Terrace 3,497 sq ft · 130' × 24' · Lobby Terrace 1,512 sq ft · 56' × 27'

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.