Santa Barbara has landed a prestigious spot on the Best Small Cities in the U.S. list, compiled by the Conde Nast Traveler 2018 Readers' Choice Awards.
There are 15 destinations listed in the category from all the small cities in the nation. Santa Barbara first appeared on the list three years ago.
More than 400,000 readers took part in the annual survey.
Several Santa Barbara hotels were named as winners under the survey's top hotels in southern California and top resorts including Hotel Californian, Belmond El Encanto, The Kimpton Canary Hotel, The Four Seasons Biltmore and The Ritz-Carlton Bacara.
The honors are especially timely after the area suffered a setback in business early this year because of the Thomas fire and the deadly Montecito mudflows.