Hotel El Roblar, Ojai, CA

In short… Hotel El Roblar feels like the kind of place Old Hollywood might have slipped away to for the weekend: discreet, handsome, and just glamorous enough, with plenty of local character and quirks to make it feel completely its own.

The surroundings… El Roblar sits at the eastern edge of downtown Ojai, just before Ojai Avenue sheds its storefronts and becomes more residential. My Terrace room looked out over the town’s historic main street, with views of the Ojai Post Office bell tower and the Topatopa Mountains beyond. It’s a particularly good position for exploring Ojai on foot. Across the road is the restored Ojai Playhouse, a 1914 single-screen cinema restored after a decade-long closure, showing cinema classics like Blue Velvet alongside independent releases; the cinema also partners with El Roblar on select Wednesday suppers followed by a film across the street. And Rory’s Other Place is worth wandering over to for coffee (or wine), the perfect ham-and-butter ficelle, and their wonderful buffalo-milk soft serve. Other addresses to note are Ojai Rôtie for simple, nourishing rotisserie chicken with Middle Eastern-style sides in a chic and casual garden patio setting; Sanctum, a lovely little shop with a great edit of traditional crafts with a rustic bent; and, while I didn’t make it, Ojai Tortilla House for their oversized burritos wrapped in tortillas pressed to order.

The backstory… Ojai’s longest-standing hotel, El Roblar, was built in 1919 as part of glass magnate Edward Drummond Libbey’s effort to remake the town center in the Spanish Mission Revival style. Later it became The Oaks at Ojai, a much-loved but no-frills wellness retreat that operated for decades before closing after a fire in 2017. El Roblar returned to its original name in 2025 after a six-year restoration led by Eric Goode—co-creator of New York’s Bowery Hotel, the spirit of which is very much felt here—and Ramin Shamshiri, founder of Studio Shamshiri, alongside restaurateur Warner Ebbink and filmmaker Jeremy McBride. Goode’s conservation work makes an appearance too: if you wander to the back of the gardens, you’ll meet Abra and Cadabra, two giant tortoises in residence courtesy of his Turtle Conservancy, the nonprofit he founded to protect turtle and tortoise habitats around the world.

The vibe… There’s a nostalgia to El Roblar that’s very seductive and very well done. In restoring the property, its history has been channeled into a stylish scene that captures an older style of leisure and a more unplugged time. The lobby sets a clubby tone, dimly lit around its stacked-stone fireplace and wrapped in a wonderfully strange mural by 1980s artist Stefano Castronovo, depicting the Ojai Valley through Chumash history, local landmarks, flora and fauna—and a Tyrannosaurus rex, naturally. At the pool, yellow-and-white striped loungers, tasseled umbrellas and bougainvillea spilling from terracotta pots give the scene an old-school California cool. By evening, a touch of low-key glamour kicks in—the place somehow gets dimmer again, the fire is lit, and guests and locals fill the lobby for pre- and post-dinner cocktails.

The rooms… My King Terrace room was bright, spacious and comfortable; crisp white bedding finished with an embroidered Pendleton wool blanket, simple wood furniture with a Mission influence, and plenty of small details that gave the room personality and texture, like a little hand-carved bird perched in an arched niche above my bed. The large landscaped terrace was well used as a place to lounge as the sun set over town. All the details felt right: an old rotary-dial phone, heavy green-striped robes, and a delicious house-baked cookie at turndown (which didn’t last the night).

The food & drink… Condor Bar felt like an old California club crossed with a natural-history cabinet—dark wood, deep booths and curious objects tucked into corners. The menu was more Mexican-leaning during my stay, but has since shifted toward broader California cooking with local produce, seafood and a Santa Maria-style wood-fired grill. Breakfast at La Cocina, overlooking the walled gardens, was an unfussy European-style spread of granola, fruit and yogurt, pastries, a particularly good quiche and drip coffee.

The wellness… A perfunctory but very stylish little gym covers the bare bones: treadmill, bench and some weights; bikes are available to cruise around town with. There’s no on-site spa, though they can refer you over to Ojai Valley Inn & Spa. And there are hiking trails all around. 

Parting words… El Roblar is best enjoyed over two or three nights, giving yourself enough time to settle into its particular sense of escape.

Date of stay… April 1, 2026