The “Ojai Valley Inn” is Remodeled and this Beautiful Resort/Spa is a Must Visit (1/09)
About a 1/12-2 hour drive from Los Angeles is an artsy, outdoorsy getaway town called Ojai. It’s a great place to unwind, hike, take a yoga class, visit an art gallery or take a trail ride. But the best reason to visit Ojai is to stay at the ultimate resort destination, The Ojai Valley Inn and Spa. Located on 220 acres of property this sprawling resort boasts some of the most spectacular views in all of the California Central Coast. Everywhere you look there is beauty. From the gorgeous golf course to the mountains surrounding you a sense of tranquility comes over you. On the grounds there is fine dining, a world-class spa, tennis courts, swimming pools, whirlpools, an 18-hole championship golf course, 308 spacious rooms and suites, most with fireplaces and terraces with spectacular mountain and golf course views. There is hardly a reason to leave the resort!
On our latest visit to the resort we both experienced Spa Ojai. Todd had an amazing massage and a treatment called Kuyam, the signature mud treatment at Spa Ojai. This treatment combines the therapeutic effects of cleansing mud, dry heat, inhalation therapy and guided meditation. The Kuyam is recommended first to soften your skin while allowing heat to develop before your massage. You cover yourself in mud and lie down in the relaxing room for about 30 minutes. It was then time for the deep tissue massage which the therapist applied perfect pressure for my tight muscles. Todd came out feeling fantastic.
I had a luxurious moisturizing Winter Facial that left my skin feeling hydrated and healthy. This was one of their signature facials to choose from. The spa’s look falls in line with the rest of the resort with historic Spanish style architecture.
The spa offers body treatments and wraps, scrubs, cosmetic services, manicures and pedicures, massages, in room massages, facials and energy balancing treatments. Be sure to check out Shop Ojai within the spa for all your resort-wear needs with facial and body products. It may be hard to contain from buying something there.
Adjacent to the spa is the fitness room equipped with state-of-the-art cardio and weight machines and free weights. A daily schedule of complimentary mind/body classes includes t’ai chi, yoga, qi gong, meditation, spinning, and water aerobics, plus more unusual offerings such as dancing and cardio-boxing. Power walks and nature hikes are offered daily as well. We joined in an informative t’ai chi class.
There is also an Artist’s Cottage and Apothecary where guests learn from local artists and work on pottery, painting, drawing, wreath and paper making. A true Ojai experience!
Maravilla: The Inn’s elegant signature restaurant serves dinner Tuesday through Sunday.
We dinned at Maravilla, just a few steps from our room. Choose from a variety of meats and seafood dishes. The atmosphere is beautiful and very romantic.
Oak Grill: Three-meal-a-day casual restaurant offers an American Grill menu. Dining is outside on the Oak Terrace overlooking the golf course or inside by the fireplace.
Jimmy’s: A casual pub features thin-crust New York style pizzas and a wide selection of beers and wines by the glass.
Cafe at the Spa: Serves lighter spa fare for lunch. Take-out salads, smoothies, sandwiches and desserts are available all day.
Our room was spacious and beautiful with a fireplace, a four- poster bed, a patio and a sitting area. Our view of the golf course was spectacular. The setting is very comfortable and relaxing. If you need to go anywhere, just call down to have a staff member pick you up in a golf cart if you don’t want to walk.
We had the breakfast buffet the next morning. It was delicious and only served on weekends! We had omelets and waffles made to order, fresh fruit, oatmeal, cereals, bagels/cream cheese & lox, pastries, muffins, eggs, freshly squeezed juices and much more! It was our favorite meal the whole time at the resort. There are many activities to choose from from biking, swimming and exercising. Take a group hike or find one on your own as we did to spend part of your day.
905 Country Club Road. Ojai, CA 93023
Phone: 805.646.1111
Toll Free Reservations: (888) 697-8780
Special Past Feature by Gerry Furth below:
“Take a bit of Ojai home with you,” reads the slogan of the Ojai Valley Inn & Resort’s staff. They made sure you did at one event when they stood out with a silk scarf painting, inter-active booth. I took the scarf home, filled with lavender and had it under the mattress for a year..
I first visited the Inn at the at the end of the cold 2006 rainy season. The 101 entrance from the ocean was closed because of a recent storm. All the better to be overwhelmed with the sight of the valley mantled in a lush shawl of Irish emerald green. It seemed impossible that this was the same Ojai we visited during the summer. The 105 temperature made it feel sure you were on Mars, and it was a threatening Mars a couple of years later when the hills were flame and ash covered our car.
A major part of that tradition centers on Ojai Valley Inn & Resort, a 220-acre, world class golf and country club built in 1922. Although every season and every year seems to bring about The most dramatic approach Ojai is through the “back way.” Especially
Pomegranate, olive and oak trees line the road leading up to the Ojai Valley Inn and Spa, and the scent of citrus from surrounding orchards lies fragrant in the air. The Inn’s terra cotta-roofed, Mission-style buildings lie nestled just outside the little town of Ojai, 25 miles southeast of Santa Barbara.
It is no wonder then that California’s breathtaking Ojai Valley has a centuries-old tradition as a gathering place for the health and fitness minded for around 13,000 years. Yes, 13,000 years. when the Chumash Indians inhabited the area. Pieces of their tools are still being found on the Channel Islands.
Fresh from a $90 million renovation in 2005, the staff is prepared. And well they shoud: many of them worked on the construction. After management made every attempt to place the staff in termporary positions while the resort was closed down, it made news by inviting the remaining staff to participate in the remodel.
At Spa Ojai, a full program of Mind/Body classes for adults includes yoga, spinning, dance, and t’ai chi.. Over 220 acres of land are meant for leisurely roaming around in the serenity and natural beauty that the Oak Grove, Chumash and Spanish settlers in nature hikes or in accompanied power hikes or biking just to town or through the horseback, hiking and biking trails of the Los Padres National Forest. Closer to “home, “ walking meditations in a garden labyrinth or in one of the tea houses overlooking the hillside herb garden.
At the spa’s new Artist’s Cottage and Apothecary, local artists teach a wide variety of classes. Thinking I had left all the artwork to my husband (an architect and illustrator), I was more up for the bike riding and swimming. Or thought I was. I thought that Aromatherapy may change your mood with a little sniff, but that was about it.
Alex Hillairet received his Biochemistry Degree from University of Marseille, France in 1997 and relocated to California in 1998. He has certifications in aromatherapy, massage therapy and bodywork. Alex also has a Masters Degree in Oriental Medicine. Currently, Alex works at the Inn as lead massage therapist and aromatherapy instructor and teaches classes at the Ojai School of Massage.
It has a particularly Western currency and persuasion. Although aromatherapy has roots in antiquity, aromatherapy was redefined in the 1920s French chemist René Maurice Gattefossé. He devoted his life to researching the healing properties of essential oils after a lucky accident in his perfume laboratory. After he inadvertently set his arm on fire during an experience, his reaction was to thrust it into the nearest cold liquid, which happened to be a vat of lavender oil. Immediately he noticed surprising pain relief, and instead of requiring the extended healing process he had experienced during recovery from previous burns–which caused redness, heat, inflammation, blisters, and scarring–this burn healed remarkably quickly, with minimal discomfort and no scarring.
Alex explained that “aromatherapy can be any one of a different number of alternative medicine traditions that uses volatile liquid plant materials, known as essential oils (EOs). and other scented compounds from plants for the purpose of affecting a person’s mood or health.
Executive Chef Andy Arndt prepared a meal, exquisite in every aspect, complemented by his outstanding, capable service staff. Candice Salazar is a dream, who knows more about food/wine than most writers. Brianna and Sarah Lagos at the café were superb. I find it hard to believe they are so young and breezy, yet so cosmopolitan and professional. I cannot wait to write about our astonishing life changing experiences with Renate, and our motivating introduction to Aromatherapy with Alex in the Art Studio (we are so happy that Veronica overcame our initial resistance so beautifully!). And this doesn’t even cover the yoga class and long, stimulating conversation with yoga teacher Andy, plus the luxurious, healthy spa treatments!
For Renate Collins, “Painting live presences is a deep form of communication, which also provides insight into self. For me, sharing in the consciousness of all things is happiness.”
Renate is a Natural Science Illustrator, an award winning representational and abstract expressionist painter. She designs jewelry and fashion, lectures on the art of healing, the importance of creative expression, and delights in encouraging others to live fully and authentically.
She is the artist in residence and program developer at the Artist Cottage and Apothecary. Renate’s background includes degrees in music, pharmacy, psychotherapy, healing, art and design. She has a long history of sharing her various experiences through teaching. Extensive foreign travels have enriched her life immensely. Renate’s artwork is in collections in the US, Canada, Germany, Switzerland and India. She also writes and illustrates children’s books.
The lively Camp Ojai children’s program combines fun and educational into activities for children 5-12 such as outings to the Ojai ranch for pony rides (and horse case) and petting farm, swimming, outdoor games, plus craft projects that teach the traditions of the Chumash Indians, are highlights. The camp prompted the honor for the Ojai Valley Inn & Spa as one of Child Magazine’s “Top Ten Family Friendly Resorts” in 2006.
The big red barn at the ranch is an ideal venue for a Western-style country hoedown, or a specially-prepared “cowboy breakfast.”
Renowned George Thomas-designed 18-hole course, the Inn boasts a complete tennis center, with four hard courts and a full service pro shop. Other activities include guided lake fishing and kayaking, plus – just minutes away – a variety of beach activities such as sailing, deep-sea fishing and surfing lessons.
Kuyam: the signature communal mud treatment at Spa Ojai is a celebration of the harmony of cultures from the design and decor of the chamber to the use of healing clays and the sharing of a communal experience. "Kuyam" in Chumash means "a place to rest together" The only treatment of this type in the United States, we encourage all of our guests to experience the Kuyam. This treatment combines the therapeutic effects of cleansing mud, dry heat, inhalation therapy and guided meditation. A terry wrap will be provided. It accommodates up to eight men or women per session.
The orchards, ranches and farms of the Ojai Valley yield the finest seasonal food the earth has to offer and it is one of the only true Mediterranean climates of the world with its warm days and cool nights. Inspired by the many microclimates of Central California and the bounty they bring forth, our chefs have mastered California Central Coast Cuisine.
The bounty of a rich California harvest is served each day in our restaurants. Tender heirloom tomatoes, citrus, kiwi and other freshly picked fruits and vegetables are grown in abundance. Rosemary, basil, tarragon, thyme, lavender, lemon grass and edible flowers are harvested from the Inn’s herb gardens. Local farmers and ranchers supply fresh, wholesome menu ingredients for which Ojai has become famous.
Executive chef Andy Arndt oversees all four of the Inn’s restaurants, which feature produce from local family farms. while a chef at San Francisco’s mc2.
All of the Inn’s restaurants are focused on sustainability — even the wood-fired oven in the casual pub is fueled by windfall gathered on the 220-acre property — but it’s the restaurant Maravilla that is drawing diners from all over the state.
Seasonal vegetables, nuts and olives star on this menu, as well as seafood from the nearby Pacific coast. Not only does Maravilla’s extensive wine list consistently garner awards from such publications as Wine Spectator magazine, but our server, Candice knew
Maravilla introduces Central Coast cuisine. Chef Andy Arndt is a chef who knows what to do with the goods of local family farms and estate-grown fruit and herbs.
Read this menu and weep.
Heirloom tomatoes, shaved candy striped baby heirloom beet salad, caraway croutons with baby greens on a summer truffle emulsion and baby mache (served on an oval plate). Aromatic caraway crouton.
Wine Pairing: Dog Point Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand.
(2) McGrath Farms English pea soup
Tendrils, Celery ice and Pixie Tangerine
Served in a novel rectangular plate with Frank Gehry curves was a cold spring English pea soup with fat peas from McGrath Farms, laced with shaved celery ice, pixie tangerine zest and delicate pea tendrils
3)
Santa Barbara Spot Prawns
Serrano ham, basil, citrus
Served in a deep, small bowl (the better to layer) of Santa Barbara spot prawns with grapefruit, small flat squares of Serrano ham and bits of braised fennel
Wine: A Rhone blend from Ojai Vineyard Vin du Soleil
(4)
Parrotfish
Summer vegetables and their broth, crispy artichoke
Hawaiian Parrot Fish, which has a very limited availability bathed in a broth with baby summer squash,baby zucchini, corn, shaved and crisped artichoke and tomato
Wine: a light German, perfectly balanced Reisling that avoided sweetness
(5)
Sonoma Foie gras with Star anise French toast, hot Satsuma jellies and a swipe of pistachio butter
(6)
A square of dry aged Neiman Ranch NY steak with a surprise underneath: braised veal cheeks – succulent, with a crisp edge, “Mirepoix”, olive oil béarnaise
on a bernaise sauce
Wine: Coe Salare wine from chataur St. Michelle , a super tuscan
(7) Dessert:
Grapefruit, crème fraiche and rosemary sorbets
A trio of homemade ice creams, mortared the old-fashioned way: curry, coconut ice cream and cilantro
Flourless chocolate cake and caramelized malt ice cream, homemade cracker jacks and peanut butter
Creme fraiche panecotta sitting on a gel and grapefruit sorbet with a fringed candied pineapple "mohawk"
Wine from the Ojai Vineyard
Roll Rance 2005
Late harvest Viognier Dessert wine
Wine: mellow yet fiery 20 year old Cockburn Tawny Port
(10) A Passionfruit Marshmellow, blackberry and raspberry pate de fois and a chocolate French macaroon
"We’re trying to showcase regional growers and use sustainabe produce as often as possible," Arndt says. "But sometimes it’s easier for us to purchase fish flown in fresh from Hawaii, like the parrot fish, which isn’t even readily available there all the time. What’s nice for our customers is knowing that a lot of the products on our menu are ingredients they can buy at the farmers market.
"My favorite growers include ‘Frank the Farmer’ — he grows wonderful heirloom vegetables such as fifth generation (from seeds he’s saved) haricot verts, Tokyo turnips, Thai eggplant, and Indian blood plums — and a woman named Camille sells us heirloom melons and three kinds of figs. There are always farmers knocking on our kitchen door, bringing us new things to try."
Staff from both the spa and restaurants harvest herbs such as bee balm, scented geraniums, basils and lemongrass from the Inn’s 3- acre hillside herb garden, which is transitioning to organic farming methods. Fruit trees bear Royal apricots, Empire apples, kumquats, tangelos and Satsuma mandarins in season.
Finally, and most importantly, the seaweed wrap (with Ismael) was euphoric.
It gives new meaning to two phrases by the international powerhouse statesman, Henry Kissinger. “Power is the ultimate aphrodisiac” he said in 1975. And in 2007, “What keeps me going (at 84)? Massages.”
Yet, if I took home a bit of Ojai with me last year, this year it was life changing and life confirming, and it all began and concluded this time with Veronica Cole. As with Veronica, each member of your staff genuinely happy to be at working at your resort, and so caring of us.
I am sitting at a table outside in my patio, glancing at my lavender plant and I am still in Ojai in my mind, just savoring the experience. If my friend had not accompanied me, it would all seem like a marvelous “Brigadoon” dream.
Paradise is still here at Ojai, Joni Mitchell, and it has not been paved over- nor will it be!
Reservations: 1-800-422-6524 (OJAI). Internet: http://www.ojairesort.com