When Nick and I were on our Asia trip back in March, we met the loveliest couple who live in Ojai. Since moving to California, I had heard of Ojai a few times but really knew very little about it. I became intrigued by it and once we had a free weekend, we packed our bags and headed south!

After a scenic six hour drive along the 101 and various backroads, we made it to the most quintessentially California town of Ojai. Nicknamed “Shangri-La”, referencing the natural beauty of this health-and-spirituality-focused region, with a downtown lined with local coffee shops, galleries, and boutiques, I could definitely see why this was a place for celebrities or city folk to retreat and recharge over a long weekend.

We pulled into the beautiful Ojai Valley Inn & Spa, which resembles an upscale Spanish hacienda style inn, as Ojai was once inhibited by the Chumash Indians; it was rebuilt in Spanish Colonial Revival architecture after a fire struck the town in 1917 and taken to our suite. Ojai Valley Inn & Spa has quite the property tucked in between the mountains on 200 acres, with a golf course, tennis courts, pools, spa, and all necessary amenities, we knew right away we could easily stay a week. Our room (fireplace Shangri-la) was on the farther edge of the main grounds, nice and private and backing up to the golf course, with a little porch overlooking a courtyard. As tempted as I was to use the fireplace, August in Southern California probably wasn’t the right time.

Once our luggage was unpacked we needed a bite after driving all day and ventured out. Our time in Ojai was short, and we wanted to see the downtown, so we quickly refueled ourselves at the resort then headed out to the town to explore further. We wound up at the Wallace Neff Bar at the resort and asked the bartender if we could take our tuna tartare and cheese & charcuterie plate outside to enjoy the summer heat which he happily did, whilst probably thinking we were a bit crazy.  We miss not having those warm evenings (or days for that matter!) in San Francisco so we definitely had to take advantage of this wonderful weather. Both dishes were not only outstanding, but beautifully presented. They even make the chickpea crackers for the tartare in house, wonderful!

With our bloodsugar now back up, we walked approximately one mile to get to the downtown area. Although most shops were closed, the sun was still out and we were able to peek into many of the boutiques and art galleries, as well as the bustling Ojai Ice Cream Shoppe. We arrived at Azu, a Spanish restaurant and tapas bar. After a quick look at the menu, we were sold and were able to get seated almost immediately.  The menu consisted of the traditional tapas offerings, patatas bravas, gambas, and paella (all of which we ordered!!) along with more “Ojai-seeming” dishes to cater to the vegan and health conscious. For drinks, we went for the flight from Ojai Alisal Winery. One of my Sommolier friends had recommended Ojai Alisal and to check it out if we had the chance, so I just had to try it, and lucky for me got a taste of two with my flight – it was excellent. We enjoyed all of the dishes we ordered and had a wonderful experience at Azu.

Waking up the next morning I decided to go for a jog. The Ventura River Trail runs right up along the Ojai Valley Inn & Spa, so that was quite the treat for me. An endless path which leads down to the ocean with scenic views at every turn, such a magical place! After an al fresco breakfast looking out over the giant Oak trees onto the golf course, we went straight to the pool where we spent the rest of the afternoon – it was bliss!

Once we had enough sun, we booked it to the spa where we had some great massages. The spa is beautiful and definitely worth a visit. The facilities felt great and it is definitely a place you can relax at all day.

Before our dinner at Olivella’s, the resort’s upscale valley-to-table restaurant, we just had to take in the Pink Hour.  Since Ojai is lined up with an east-west mountain range, it is one of few towns in the world to have a “Pink Moment” that occurs as the sun is setting. The fading sunlight creates a brilliant shade of pink for several minutes on the Topatopa Bluffs, over 6,000 feet above sea level at the east end of the Ojai Valley. It is certainly a rare and magical moment.

Our dinner at Olivella’s was world-class. The restaurant faces the rear side of the resort making it very intimate and romantic. Since it was a beautiful night with a full moon, we opted to sit outside on the back patio, as did most of the other diners. The dining room was absolutely beautiful, but it was still light out with the sun setting and we just had to be out for it! We split the bucatini all’arrabbiata with Maine lobster, Dungeness crab, and estate basil which was amazing, probably due to the fact all their pastas are made in house. Nick had the short rib, and I had the Mediterranean Branzino along with market vegetables. Everything we had was outstanding. We wished we had another night there to sample even more dishes from the menu!

The next morning we rose with the sun, enjoyed the morning as much as we could until we hit the road back up to San Francisco. After reading up a little on Ojai in our room, I learned that the citrus varietal, Pixies, originated in the valley so now I was on a mission to get some. Luckily on our way out of town, we found the best citrus farm (Friend’s Ranch) where we pulled over and picked up bags of Valencia oranges, grapefruits, and pixies. Couldn’t have found a better souvenir and made a great orange ricotta cake with our finds! Ojai, we WILL be back!