Ojai is one of those places that seems to recalibrate you almost immediately. The pace softens, the light changes, and somehow the days begin to feel fuller without ever feeling busy.
For this edition of Checked In, Ojai Valley Inn was our home base, but some of our favorite moments came from moving between the resort and town—on foot, on horseback, over coffee, and around a beautifully set table. We walked the bike trail from the Inn into downtown, shopped Ojai’s boutiques and antique stores, and let the days unfold in that wonderfully unhurried California way.
What I loved most was how each stop offered a completely different expression of Ojai—from polished hospitality to farm-driven food, charming neighborhood spots and experiences that put us right back into nature.
There is a reason Ojai Valley Inn feels like a destination unto itself. Set against the Topatopa Mountains, the property has an ease and sense of history that makes it tempting to never leave. Between time at the spa, wandering the grounds, and experiencing the Floating Sound Bath Meditation, the Inn gave us exactly the kind of restorative pause we were hoping for.
The property’s dining program is rooted in the surrounding valley as well, drawing from local growers, ranches, orchards and the California coast.
Our dinner at Olivella was one of the defining experiences of the trip. The restaurant’s valley-to-table approach takes its cues from Ojai’s farms, orchards, ranches and surrounding waters, resulting in distinctly California cooking with an Italian point of view. The Inn also has a remarkable wine program: its private wine room showcases just a portion of a collection numbering thousands of bottles, with California, Central Coast, French and Italian selections represented.
For us, though, what elevated the evening beyond the food was the hospitality. Mackie, our sommelier, guided us through the wine and mocktail experience with such knowledge and warmth, while Elena made us feel genuinely cared for from beginning to end. The food was beautiful and deeply connected to place, but it was their graciousness that made the evening feel personal. Olivella is currently recognized by Forbes Travel Guide as a Five-Star restaurant, and the experience felt every bit as considered as that designation suggests.
One evening began at The Snug inside the newly reimagined Hotel El Roblar, and I could have lingered there much longer. It is intimate and tucked away, with cozy nooks and an old-world quality that gives you time to take in the architecture and details of the hotel before dinner.
From there, we moved into Condor Bar, where the mood shifts into something more expansive while still feeling wonderfully connected to the building around it. The hotel describes Condor as modern Californian cuisine, while The Snug serves as its intimate lobby bar—and the combination makes for a beautiful progression through the property.
The renovation itself is part of the pleasure. There is a confidence to the interiors that feels historic without being precious and fresh without erasing what came before. Add an excellent menu and beautifully executed food, and it becomes one of those places where the surroundings and dinner feel equally important to the experience.
Ojai Mountain Farm, or OMF, was the perfect place to begin an evening. Rather than committing immediately to a full dinner, we stopped in for mocktails and light bites, which turned out to be exactly the right rhythm for Ojai. The menu is incredibly tied to the farm, with vegetables, herbs and produce appearing throughout both the food and beverage offerings.
Even the non-alcoholic drinks feel considered rather than secondary. Current selections include combinations of fresh cucumber, celery and lime; strawberry preserves and balsamic; grapefruit and citrus; and fresh carrot with lemongrass, ginger and honey. Pairing those with small plates and farm bread made OMF feel less like a stop before dinner and more like an introduction to how Ojai eats: seasonal, unfussy and very connected to the land.
Ojai Valley Trail Riding Company
One of the moments I will remember most came on horseback with Ojai Valley Trail Riding Company. There is simply no better way to appreciate the landscape than to move through it slowly, with the mountains rising around you and the valley opening up ahead.
Horseback riding also became a reminder that luxury does not always have to mean polish or formality. Sometimes it is access to a beautiful landscape, time away from your phone, the sound of hooves beneath you and the rare feeling of being completely present. It gave us a perspective on Ojai that we never could have experienced from a car.
Thank you, Donna!
Downtown Ojai: The Dutchess & Barts Books
After horseback riding, The Dutchess was exactly what we needed. Dusty boots, a little tired from the trail, and completely ready for coffee and something sweet, we slipped in for pastries and a proper afternoon reset.
The bakery case is filled throughout the day with fresh breads, seasonal pastries, cookies, cakes and pies, and the coffee program uses locally roasted Bonito beans. There is something particularly satisfying about finishing a morning outdoors and then settling in with a cappuccino and pastry somewhere that feels so distinctly local. It was casual, warm and just indulgent enough.
Some of our favorite time was also the least programmed. We walked the bike trail from Ojai Valley Inn into town, letting the landscape transition naturally from resort grounds into downtown life. From there, we wandered through local shops and antique stores without much of an agenda.
No visit to downtown Ojai feels quite complete without wandering through Bart’s Books, the wonderfully unconventional open-air bookstore that has been part of the community since 1964. What began with founder Richard “Bart” Bartinsdale placing a few bookcases outside his home—along with coffee cans for honor-system payment—has evolved into a beloved Ojai institution filled with more than 130,000 new and used books, from well-loved paperbacks to rare and out-of-print finds.
I love places that retain their individuality, and Bart’s captures so much of what makes Ojai special: a little bohemian, wonderfully unhurried, connected to its community and completely comfortable doing things its own way. It is the kind of place where you intend to browse for ten minutes and suddenly realize an hour has passed—which, in Ojai, feels exactly as it should.
Final Thoughts & Reflection
Ultimately, that calm feeling is the luxury of Ojai. You can build a day around a beautiful dinner, a horseback ride or a spa experience, but you can just as easily let a walk turn into shopping, coffee become an afternoon ritual, or a mocktail stretch into the beginning of dinner.
Perhaps that is why Ojai stays with you. We checked into Ojai Valley Inn, but what we really found was permission to check out from the usual pace. The best part was not doing one extraordinary thing; it was the way the entire destination made ordinary moments—walking into town, having coffee after a trail ride, sharing a bottle of wine—feel a little more special.
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