154 ELLECANADA.COM
TEXT, CARLI WHITWELL; PHOTOGRAPHY, JED TALLO (POOL & TURTLE CONSERVANCY), MARIANA SCHULZE (IN THE FIELD) & LEELA CYD ROSS (CERAMICS)travel
SoCal two ways: from
going all out in L.A. to
taking it slow in Ojai.
CALIFORNIA
LOVE
THOUGH IT’S LOCATED just a 90-minute
drive northwest of Hollywood, dreamy Ojai
feels like it’s on a different plane. The bucolic
inland valley town is home to many L.A.
creatives who are attracted to the region’s
slower pace, budding artistic community and
blissed-out new-age spirituality. If you’re still
saving up for a deposit on a summer home
here (same, same), try the Ojai Valley Inn.
You’ll feel like the only guest at the sprawl-
ing Spanish-style property, which prides itself
on helping guests reconnect with themselves
and with nature without sacrificing any of the
luxury. On offer to help you chill out after
the bumper-to-bumper traffic on the drive up
the 101? Aromatherapy-oil-blending sessions,
Himalayan-stone massages in the on-site spa
and sound-energy therapy, to name a few. If
good food is your ticket to serenity, you’re in
luck. This year, the inn opened the Farmhouse,
a 2,787-square-metre indoor-outdoor event
and food space. Famed chef Nancy Silverton
has dreamed up a roster of activities and expe-
riences, from book signings to master classes.
EDITORS’ TIP: Grab a blanket and a bottle of
wine from one of the countless local winer-
ies and watch the sun set over the Topa Topa
Mountains. The sun hits the mountains in such
a way that it casts a gorgeous rosy glow that
locals call the “pink moment.”Magic Hour
From top: The pool, the spa and the Farmhouse at Ojai Valley Inn