Oh Hi – My 35th Birthday Weekend at the Ojai Valley Inn

Hi Friends! I’m officially in my mid thirties and I’m not mad about it one bit. My angel of a husband is the master of planning surprises, grand gestures and spoiling me rotten. He truly outdid himself this weekend and managed to organize a group of many of my favorite peeps to join us for some portion of the festivities. We did it all: dinners, golf, lounging by the pool and getting pampered at the spa. I felt very loved and appreciate the effort people made to come out. I tried to document it all, but I was pretty lousy at getting any pics of the whole gang on Saturday.

We live in Southern California about an hour north of Los Angeles. 20 minutes away from our house is a gem of a city called Ojai, pronounced oh-hi. If you’re a hipster living in CA there’s no doubt you’ve been there or at least heard of it. You may run into celebrities who come up here to get away from city life. But mostly you’ll rub elbows with the wealthy, old school hippies, Ventura and Santa Barbara county locals and tourists from all over checking out this city known for pixie tangerines, lavender and the “Pink Moment” (google it!).

The Ojai Valley Inn is one of my favorite hotels in socal and has become our special occasion celebration spot the last few years. It feels like you’re far from home without the travel time to a far away place. It is not cheap, but its worth saving up for. In all our travels it’s been rare that I have had better service, amenities, ambience and a options for activities onsite. It’s humongous at 220 acres, but don’t fret, there are golf carts to shuttle you wherever you want to go if walking isn’t your jam. There’s a top notch golf course, a relaxing spa, restaurants and bars, a coffee/snack shop, several boutiques, several pools, special event facilities and even a freaking bee yard where you can hang with the beekeeper and honey taste. They’re adding onto the property all the time so who knows what’s next. We pretty much made use of the whole place with the exception of the bee farm (that just sounds weird haha)!

Dining: There are 7 options on site if you count the coffee shop and the pool restaurants. We personally went to Jimmy’s Pub (truffle potato chips anyone?!?!), The Oak for an al fresco dinner overlooking the oak trees and golf course, ordered poolside at the Pixie Pool, got fancy Italian fare at Olivella & grabbed our morning coffee and bagel at Libby’s. You can see more details on their dining options HERE.

Pools: There are a handful of pools onsite, but the only one that allows children is the Pixie Pool. There are comfy pool chairs, pool toys, cabana rentals (starting at $200) and full service bar and restaurant. They bring around various complimentary treats throughout the day as well.

Spa Ojai: This spa does not disappoint. If you’re in the mood to treat yo’ self, make a day of it with a treatment, a dip in the pool, a sweat in the sauna or steam room, or a workout class. They offer a plethora of options and I’ve enjoyed every treatment I’ve ever had. My favorite thing about this spa besides the relaxing ambience is the lavender shortbread cookies (pictured below) and the lavender lemonade. Both can be found in the treatment waiting area upstairs. I’m not lying when I say I have a million each time I go….hey, I’m treating myself, don’t judge!

Golf: I am not a golfer for many reasons. The biggest reason is I suck at it and I’ll be damned if I’m gonna spend a ton of money and waste 3/4 of a day doing something that is going to just frustrate the crap outta me. However, all of the folks I know who are golfers love this challenging and well groomed course. That’s the handsome hubs below practicing his putting skills before their round started.

For my Local peeps or those wanting to travel, they have a Groupon right now for a round of golf, a bucket of balls and a beer on a weekday or weekends after noon for $91. Click HERE for the link to the Groupon. I’ll be getting a few of these for the hubs for his birthday this year as a matter of fact! They also run weeknight and off season hotel stay specials you can check out HERE.

Have you been to the Inn and have something to add or maybe you haven’t been and you have some questions? Comment below and I’ll get back to you!

Happy travels,

H