Location: Ojai, California
Designers: Ramin Shamshiri, Eric Goode, and Jeremy McBride
On Offer: Ojai’s oldest hotel reemerges after a 50-year hiatus with a renewed take on Spanish Revival design and California-Mexican cuisine.
The lobby and adjoining lounges boast fringed leather sofas with a warm patina, woven rugs in deep reds and ochres, and a commanding stone fireplace—a restored relic of the original property—that invites dark drinks and long conversations. Monterey-style furnishings and lived-in details heighten the languid ease, a mood perfectly in step with the sensibilities of partner Eric Goode, co-creator of New York’s Bowery Hotel, and interior designer Ramin Shamshiri.
Outdoors, the gardens echo the Los Padres wilderness, luring guests along winding paths planted with desert botanicals. Bungalows are marked by hand-painted animal tiles, while sculptural chairs, Mediterranean fountains, and tiled corners appear like small discoveries along the way.
Standout Features:
Two Aldabra giant tortoises, Abra and Cadabra, occupy a dedicated sanctuary championed by Goode, offering guests a rare, thoughtful encounter. Beyond a tunnel of bougainvillea, the pool opens to the backdrop of the Topa Topa mountains. Sage-green umbrellas, striped loungers, and towering dragon trees cast shade over the water, channeling midcentury Mexican resorts through a distinctly Ojai lens.
Vibrant California produce and Ojai’s ties to Mexican cuisine shape the menu at Condor Bar, the hotel’s headlining restaurant from chef Brandon Boudet and restaurateur Warner Ebbink, the duo behind Los Angeles mainstay Little Dom’s. Anchored by a wood-fired grill, the kitchen turns out bold, elemental plates: beef cheek suadero vampiro, local tomato and melon dusted with chicatano ants, seabass caught nearby, and a Santa Barbara sea urchin tamal. Denizens and travelers mingle over agave spirits and natural wines in a space that feels at once like a neighborhood fixture and a destination in its own right.
