Peeping Sundaze
Sunday Afternoons Atop Hotel Andalucía
Text & photos by Shannon Kelley Gould
Last Sunday afternoon, a perfectly sweltering, sweaty summer
day, I found myself eyeing my bathroom door with a hatred and
disgust normally reserved strictly for the parking Nazis who seem
to have singled me out as public enemy number one. Why? Because I
knew what awaited me, and there was no escape: an event I wouldn’t
consider missing was about to get started, and I had to blow-dry my
hair. “Just shoot me,” I muttered, to the utter bemusement of my
dog, and marched in to face the music. Five minutes of
indescribable torture later, I emerged, red-faced, boiling, and
defeated with my hair in a ponytail. My dog didn’t seem to think
anything was amiss, and, making my way over to the Hotel Andalucía,
I pretended she was right.
The event to which I was headed has been a long time coming, if
you ask me. Though the Hotel Andalucía has been open for a couple
of years now, and has been through at least as many management
changes, I’ve yet to see it make proper use of its exquisite
rooftop bar, El Cielo. But a couple of weeks ago, I ran into Josh
Murray, Mary Lynn Harms, and Ryan Grau — the masterminds behind the
Film Festival’s legendary soirees — and they let me in on their
latest plan, dubbed “Sundaze.” The three, it seems, have wisely
teamed up to form a side venture they call Premiere Events and
Locations, and Sunday’s affair kicked off a summer-long Sunday
afternoon gathering they’ll host every week atop the Andalucía.
I’ve been to a Film Festival party or three, so I had no doubt that
this one would be every bit as fabulous as any of their other
creations. And even if it wasn’t, it was a fantastic excuse for
wrapping up my weekend poolside with a cocktail, while taking in a
few UVAs, a few UVBs, and that amazing view of our beautiful little
city.
Sundaze’s maiden voyage got rolling at 4 p.m., and the promise
of a stellar DJ lineup, drink specials, and no cover charge scored
a killer turnout of friendly, pretty peeps primed to cap their
collective weekend in style — the perfect way to ease myself back
into the workweek. In keeping with Santa Barbara’s unsaid sartorial
code, no shirt or no shoes proved to be no problem whatsoever, and,
fortunately, the same could be said of my unfortunate hairdo.
4·1·1 Sundaze takes place every Sunday at 4
p.m. during the summer at the Hotel Andalucía’s rooftop bar, El
Cielo. See pe-sb.com
for more information.