Name: Ojai Valley Inn & Spa
Type of Spa: Luxury Resort Spa
The Setting at Ojai Valley Inn & Spa: Just an hour-plus from Los Angeles, Ojai Valley Inn & Spa is a lush, 220-acre resort surrounded by mountains become so shrouded in a warm, hazy pink at sunset that it’s called “The Pink Moment.” This is where Frank Capra shot his 1937 classic, “Lost Horizon,” about the legendary paradise where no one grows old.
Accommodations at Ojai Valley Inn & Spa: Built in Spanish-colonial style in 1923, Ojai Valley Inn & Spa is a Southern California classic resort. A recent $70 million investment restored it to its orginal glory - -and then some. It now has 305 guest rooms, including 60 romantic suites with fireplaces. The top-ranked classic golf course is a favorite with classic and romantic, firelit dining at Maravilla, and a kid’s camp. Lots of activities, including horseback riding very close by.
The Spa at Ojai Valley Inn & Spa: Spa Ojai is its own paradise -- a large spa at 31,000 square feet, but beautiful and intimate. The downstairs area is are decorated in a sensuous, Moroccan style, and I loved the sunlight pouring in while I sat in the hot tub. Spa Ojai is a “village” at the far end of the resort where cars have been banned. It includes an outdoors courtyard with fountain, and a movement studio with a full schedule of complimentary classes in yoga, Pilates and body sculpting, an artist's cottage, a small café, and a pool surrounded by trees. Stay near the spa for a total spa retreat.
Signature Treatments at Ojai Valley Inn & Spa: The Journey to Ojai Facial ($220) is a nearly two-hour extravanga that is worth the splurge. This pampering facial starts with stimulation of energy points on your spine, and progresses through a number of masks and moisturizers applied at a deliciously relaxed pace. Wonderful!
For the Kuyam ($55), up to eight people (all the same sex) don a terry wrap, enter a heated sanctuary, recline in a tile chair, and slather themselves and each other with mud. ( Hint: don’t put it on your face – it’s too drying.) A recorded “guided meditiation” helps you relax, and an attendant spritzes you when things heat up. When you’re completely relaxed and detoxified, it’s off to the showers and a private outdoors terrace patio to let the experience sink in. It’s a great girlfriend treatment for girlfriends to share. Other specialties are the “Ojai Lavender Sampler” ($100), a combination of scrub, bath and aromatherapy, and the Ojai Orange Scrub ($95.)
Rates: Check the website, www.ojairesort.com , for current specials.
What’s Special at Ojai Valley Inn & Spa: The spa itself is unusually sensuous and beautiful, and I was impressed with the quality of the therapists. I also liked the fact you don’t have to pay extra for the exercise classes -- unusual for a resort spa. Explore your creative side in the Artist's Studio. lets your explore your creative side.
Bottom Line: This spa is for you if you want a tasteful, luxurious spa with great treatments and classes, a romantic setting, good food and wine, and a classic golf course – even a kid’s camp! This spa is not for you if you don’t like to walk -- or be ferried about by golf carts.
Contact Info: Ojai Valley Inn & Spa, 905 Country Club Road, Ojai, California, 93023. Phone: 1-800-407-3002. Websites: www.ojairesort.com , www.spaojai.com or www.golfojai.com
