Casa Ojai Inn | Downtown Ojai Hotel — Hotel in Ojai

This was our first family vacation since COVID, and I was looking forward to having a great time. I thought that the price was steep for a motel-like setting with limited amenities, but was happy to support a local business.

The first issue was the shower. We walked in and the water was full-on running (not dripping) from the shower faucet. I literally had to move the shower handle for a minute or so to get the water to turn off. That is abhorrent especially since CA is in drought. Even then, I didn't report it to the front desk because I just wanted to relax, and have a great time. I took my son to the pool, and when we got back to shower realized that there was only either cold water or SCALDING HOT water due to the faulty shower lever. I managed to shower my son at that point. When I went to the front desk to ask them to repair it, they TRIED to gaslight the problem, as if it was user error. There were no apologies, nothing. I asked to be moved, but they were unwilling to move us to a room with one bed and a roll-away, even though I specifically paid for a room with two queen beds. The manager came in to fix the shower, so we decided to eat our dinner at our outdoor patio so we can socially distance. He was there for almost 30 minutes! There was no sign from management to give us a discount for their failure on the most basic level.

That first night, as we unfurled our duvets to prepare to sleep, I noticed blood splatter on not one, but both duvets! It was after the front desk closed, so we couldn't get new ones without it being a big hassle. So we slept under thin sheets that, at that point, we were unsure were clean. The very next morning, I walked the duvets to the front desk where the attendant agreed that it was disgusting. She asked housekeeping to get us new ones, which they did. I waited for them to make it right by offering us a discount on our room. NOTHING.

The morning we were checking out, I finally addressed the problem with the front desk person. The manager subjected me to my SECOND experience of gaslighting by saying that it was impossible that there was blood splattered on the duvets because he inspects the rooms himself. I showed him the pictures I took, thank goodness. At that point, he proceeded to ask us if the problem was resolved. I said yes, eventually. Then he asked if it affected our stay negatively. I said yes, because we were cold that very first night. Then he proceeded to offer me only a discount of $25 for only the first night. He said that I was already getting a discounted rate, so he couldn't give me a better offer.

FYI, I paid $150 and $180 for the nights we stayed. That is hardly a discounted rate for a glorified MOTEL. At most, this establishment is only worth $90. I have stayed at better chain motels, with a little less...

To be honest, our two queen bed room was clean, quiet, and had a decent number of amenities (refrigerator, iron, coffee machine, TV, desk), but that was about it. ||The room charge included a breakfast, which was not available due to Covid. I was directed instead to the nearby restaurants, which were fully open without any restrictions. One wonders why Covid affects this hotel but nothing else in the entire town of Ojai. To me this sounded like a cheap excuse to get away with as little service as possible, which still charging full price.||My room description included a balcony, which was non existent, unless you count the 2nd floor walkway to the room entries as a balcony. Our digital lock for the room was apparently broken, since it required new room keys twice, and then still worked only sporadically. An additional blanket was promised by the lady at the front desk, but never arrived. ||I have seen other hotels accommodate my wish for a regular 115V outlet to plug in my hybrid, which was not possible at the Casa Ojai Inn. Instead I was informed that "the town has charging stations". Yes, there is one 0.6 miles away, which was permanently occupied. Ideally, you could walk from the charging station to the hotel in 20 minutes, if you were lucky enough to find the station available.||For the price of close to $600 for two nights I would expect some service from the hotel other than the "sorry, not here" response.||All in all, if you just need a place to spend the night, OK, but plan to find a nice place to sit after returning from a hike or sightseeing...

We arrived to Casa Ojai at 3pm check in time. Upon arrival, front desk manager asks us to wait as she is sorting out what appears to be a room assignment situation with another guest. We wait a few minutes, and then we are handed our room keys and location of our room. We haul our luggage up the stairs to the second floor to find that our room is open and is currently being cleaned by housekeeping. I ask the worker how long it will be before she is done and she responds with “I just started.” I return to the front desk to inform them about the situation. It appeared as if this situation occurs often as the manager was not phased by it. I read reviews after the fact and now see it has occurred to other guests. To make up for the situation, we were not charged the pet fee ($25). Which, I appreciate but also just would have preferred to have room ready upon arrival, considering we drove from far with a two year old.

The room was finally ready at about 3:55pm and once we settled in there was no toilet paper. The bedroom itself was fine however the building shook quite a bit every time I walked from the front door the bathroom, which is unusual. The pool area was fine and had lots of seating. If you do decide to book, I’d call an hour upon arrival to confirm that your room that you paid for is...