Hotel Review • North America • United States • California • Ojai

Ojai Valley Inn: A Century-Old Golf Resort With a Spiritual Healer in Residence

Discover Ojai Valley Inn, a 5-star resort featuring a century-old championship golf course, a 31,000-sq-ft spa with energy healers, and valley-to-table dining.

Credit: Waverly Middleton

BY WAVERLY MIDDLETON

Why it works

Hotel Snapshot

The entrance to Ojai Valley Inn is a tree-lined, winding road, with a golf course on one side and tennis courts on the other. Ojai is a small valley at the foot of the Topatopa Mountains, just ninety minutes from Los Angeles. The hotel is a mile from downtown Ojai, which is easily walkable with art galleries, boutiques, antique stores, and tasting rooms for wine, olive oil and honey. In just a few blocks you might pass a ceramicist, a farmer, an energy healer, a group of moms who just finished playing tennis, and a toddler in Brunello Cucinelli. Ojai is charming and worth exploring, but once you’ve arrived on property you won’t have much desire to leave.

Rooms are dispersed in two-story, hacienda-style buildings, striking the right balance of privacy and easy access to the pools, spa, and restaurants. After checking in, you can walk to your room or catch a ride on the hotel's complimentary shuttle (I recommend the latter for a proper first look at the property). Ojai Valley Inn is well suited for families, with full- and half-day camps and a range of kids' activities, but it serves adults just as well with an adults-only pool and 31,000 square foot spa. It's a distinctly Californian pairing – a century-old golf and country club and an expansive spa offering spiritual and energy work.

Design & Character

The design is classic, elevated California and Spanish Colonial, with white-washed buildings, red barrel-tile roofs, terracotta planters, and hand-painted mosaic tilework. The golf course, mountains, and rolling hills surrounding the hotel make for a scenic, peaceful backdrop. Explore the grounds and you'll find yourself among Ojai Pixie trees (a tangerine variety unique to Ojai), fig trees, and rose bushes, with the quiet chatter of birds overhead.

Decades of history have made Ojai Valley Inn a landmark in Southern California, with a Historic Hotels of America designation and a guest list that's included Kevin Costner and Walt Disney.

Its story begins nearly a century ago, when it opened in the 1920s as a golf course and country club. A decade later, it earned its name when a 22-room inn was built on the property. It's been renovated and expanded ever since, most recently with a $10 million refresh of the guest rooms.

The Rooms

The 303 rooms and suites are spacious, with the smallest measuring 425 square feet. Many offer private terraces, soaking tubs, and ample desk space for when you unfortunately find yourself having to check an email or two. Many rooms, like the Fireplace Shangri-La, offer fireplaces or outdoor fire pits. The best views overlook the golf course, offering front-row seats to Ojai’s famous sunsets.

For more space, consider the Paseo Villa rooms, 700–1,100 square feet with separate living and dining areas plus outdoor space to accommodate groups. The newly renovated Casa Elar estate is a 10,000-square-foot Tuscan-style villa on its own acre, with five suites, a private pool, and a dedicated Estate Manager – ideal for larger groups or a special occasion.

The Food & Drink

Ojai Valley Inn’s culinary program leans on local ingredients, many grown in the hotel’s own gardens. Sunday brunch at The Oak, the anchor restaurant on property, is a treat, with live bluegrass music and a signature brunch buffet. Come back for dinner, as the Oak’s indoor-outdoor seating makes for the perfect vantage point for Ojai's sunsets over the golf course. Grab a drink before or after at the Wallace Neff Heritage Bar next door, a nod to the designer of the original clubhouse at the Ojai Valley Country Club.

Olivella's serves a valley-to-table tasting menu, with ingredients from nearby ranches, orchards, and farms. Dishes change daily based on what's available. For something more casual, Jimmy's Pub is great for lunch or an afternoon drink overlooking the golf course, and Libbey’s offers coffee, pastries, and grab-and-go food (McConnell's ice cream included). The boutique next door is a worthy stop for gifts or bringing home a bit of Ojai. It carries locally made goods, clothing, and accessories. The spa cafe offers casual, health-conscious options catering to vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free diets, as well as a pressed juice bar serving juices and smoothies.

Amenities

Between an 18-hole golf course, four pools, a full spa, tennis courts, and the Artist Cottage, you won't run out of things to do at Ojai Valley Inn. With 220 acres to spread across, the property rarely feels crowded, even at capacity.

Every family-friendly hotel needs a kid-free pool. Fortunately, three of Ojai Valley Inn's four pools cater to adults. The main option is Indigo, which serves piña coladas, margaritas, and a stunning mountain backdrop. The spa’s two pools, Tranquility and Energy, are open only to guests of the spa. Energy is technically a lap pool, tucked just behind the gym, but it's just as easy to laze by as Tranquility.

Golf is what the property is best known for, given its origins as Ojai Valley Country Club, one of the first great golf courses in Southern California. The resort also offers golf clinics focused on fundamentals like your swing and chipping. There’s also a multi-court Tennis Center for tennis and pickleball, and resort guests receive one complimentary hour of court time per day.

Beyond that, there are guided bike tours, beekeeping and honey tasting, Camp Oak kids' programming, fishing, guided hiking, horseback riding, surfing, and culinary classes. Bikes are free to rent if you'd rather explore on your own and ride into town. The Artist Cottage & Apothecary runs Open Studio sessions where you can get hands-on with activities like candle making, creating your own aromatherapy blend, or mixing a sugar scrub.

Spa & Wellness

Spa Ojai goes well beyond physical treatments, with a full menu of offerings rooted in spiritual and energy work. Sessions with Spa Ojai's resident healer might involve crystals, intuitive readings, and sage cleansing rituals. You can book Reiki energy healing, meditative sound baths, and forest bathing. If you've spent time in Sedona or Santa Fe, you might recognize a similar energy here, as Ojai is also considered a spiritual vortex.

The rest of the treatment list will make you want to block off a full day at the spa, and that’s exactly what you should do. Facials are customized Biologique Recherche treatments, with seasonal, limited-time experiences like the Luminous Summer Skin Renewal, with exfoliation, sculpting massage techniques, and deep hydration to deliver an immediate "summer glow." The Warm Salt Stone massage targets the back, neck, and shoulders – a welcome relief for anyone hunched over a laptop all day – using Himalayan salt stones to calm the nervous system.

Location & Neighborhood Recs

Ojai Valley Inn is a mile from downtown Ojai, an easy bike ride or short drive away. Downtown is compact and easy to explore on foot. For dinner, snag a reservation at the popular Rory's Place, located next to the historic Ojai Playhouse theatre (dinner and a movie, anyone?). In the morning, head to Rory’s Other Place, right next door, where the matcha affogato offers sweet relief from the summer heat. The Duchess, just down the street, is an excellent stop for coffee and pastries. For a bit of shopping, FiG and Sunday’s, next door to each other, are well-curated boutiques with unique art and home decor finds. Bart's Books, the world’s largest outdoor bookstore with over 130,000 titles, is worth the stop even for casual readers.

Fast Facts

Address: 905 Country Club Rd, Ojai, CA 93023

Neighborhood: Ojai, California

Nearest Airport: Santa Barbara and Hollywood Burbank offer regional connections. For longer flights, Los Angeles International (LAX) is the better option.

Star Rating: 5-star

Room Count: 303 rooms (235 standard rooms, 65 suites, 3 penthouses)

Vibe: A self-contained retreat that feels like its own small town.

Best For: Ojai Valley Inn works well for most travelers, including families, groups of friends, and couples. The crowd skews 30 and up.

Amenities: WiFi, valet parking, 24-hour concierge, 18-hole golf course, four swimming pools, spa, tennis and pickleball courts, Artist Cottage, complimentary bikes.

Nearby: Downtown Ojai offers plenty of restaurants and shopping. Beaches are close by in Ventura, about 30 minutes away.

Our Favorite Thing: Spa Ojai's extensive treatment options, the adults-only pools, the golf-course views from nearly every corner of the property, and the spacious rooms.

Gallery

A closer look

Credit: Waverly Middleton

Credit: Waverly Middleton

Credit: Waverly Middleton

Credit: Waverly Middleton

Credit: Waverly Middleton

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