Ojai Valley Inn & Spa

Don’t let the word ‘inn’ fool you—the Ojai Valley Inn & Spa isn’t some rustic little bed and breakfast, but a secluded and spectacular resort, a 1920s Spanish Colonial revival-style compound sprawling across several hundred acres of a wooded mountain valley. It’s long been a favorite getaway for refugees from the bright lights of Hollywood, as well as anyone who appreciates the laid-back charm of the Santa Barbara area; but with the addition of an extensive (and architecturally impressive) spa complex alongside its championship golf course, the Ojai Valley Inn is poised to become a major resort destination.

Though the atmosphere is casual, even for California, the service is refreshingly formal and professional, and the rooms as elegant as they are comfortable. Space is in no short supply, and after a recent renovation, the functionally modern guest rooms blend effortlessly with the vintage 1923 architecture of the original adobe structure. Many rooms have fireplaces to warm those cool tile floors, and most have balconies or patios with views of the surrounding mountains.

And although the rooms are handsome enough, to say the least, the public spaces are no less impressive. The Spa Ojai is housed within a palatial Moorish-inflected structure, and offers an extensive and unique menu of Native American-influenced treatments and programs. Atop the spa building is the Penthouse Spa Suite, accessible by a private elevator—certainly the resort’s most decadent lodging, as well as the most convenient, at least for the fitness-minded. Meeting and conference rooms, three pools and eight tennis courts, and a championship golf course round out the facilities, turning Ojai Valley from a quiet little retreat into a top-notch resort.

The new Maravilla restaurant has assembled some of the finest culinary talent in the West, and serves California Central Coast cuisine, a Mediterranean-influenced menu heavy on local seafood and produce. The Oak Grill is more casual, and more defiantly American—but both are first-class, quite up to the standard of the impressive surroundings.

How to get there:
Ojai Valley Inn & Spa is approximately a two-hour drive (83 miles) from Los Angeles International Airport, or 45 minutes from Santa Barbara.