Hotel El Roblar — Hotel in Ojai

We love Ojai and were excited to check out the new Hotel El Roblar. But being among the early guests meant experiencing some growing pains, and the consensus among our group was that the hotel wasn’t quite ready for full operation yet.||The front exterior is beautiful—especially with the festive pumpkin display on the steps. Once inside, the atmosphere becomes almost uncomfortably dark. My husband even joked that he felt sleepy every time we passed through the lobby. That said, the fire in the hearth and the vintage photos and memorabilia are a nice homage to the property’s historic roots.||The back portion of the hotel was my favorite area. The lush bougainvillea, vibrant landscaping, and inviting outdoor furnishings give it a relaxed, resort-like feel. The saltwater pool is lovely, with plenty of loungers and poolside service available.|The restaurant in the back, where the complimentary European breakfast is served, is charming. With another cozy fire, a cute bar, and both indoor and outdoor seating, it’s a pleasant way to start the day. The breakfast spread included pastries, yogurt, fruit, granola, hard-boiled eggs, quiche, and coffee—simple but satisfying. Guests can also order additional items for a fee.||Our guest room was small but comfortable. Unfortunately, the noise level was a major issue. Every footstep from the room above was loud, and when someone spoke in the hallway, it sounded as though they were inside our room. For a hotel starting at $500 per night, the lack of soundproofing is a serious drawback. The hotel was not at capacity while we were there - I could not imagine how loud it would be with a full house. ||Service was hit-or-miss but generally very slow. We had to request ice four times before it finally arrived, and our poolside lunch took nearly an hour. On the bright side, every staff member we interacted with was friendly and eager to help.|Bar Condor, however, was a disappointment. The atmosphere felt more like a dimly lit diner than a stylish bar. It took nearly 20 minutes to receive menus, water, and a greeting, and our dinner stretched from 6:15 to nearly 9:00 p.m. The chicken with plantains was decent, but the chicken fat beans with chicharron lacked seasoning entirely. The corn soft-serve dessert was so off-putting I had to send it back.||Despite the hiccups, there were some lovely touches—complimentary bottled water, cookies at turndown, daily housekeeping, plush robes, and sunscreen by the pool. It’s a great location in town and we enjoyed walking everywhere (they also have bikes available). With more refinement, Hotel El Roblar has...

I really hate to write this review because I had such high hopes for this hotel. My husband and I stayed for 2 nights during the week to celebrate our anniversary, and we also brought our dog (FYI: the pet fee is $250!).

Before arriving, we let the hotel know it was our anniversary. They emailed us saying they were excited to have us and even offered a complimentary dessert if we dined at their restaurant. We agreed and ordered drinks and appetizers, but instead of dessert we were given two cheap glasses of champagne we never asked for. While we were still grateful, it felt misleading.

Our room itself was spacious but underwhelming. The bed was stiff and uncomfortable, and to make matters worse, we found ants crawling all over the bathroom floor and shower. The next morning, ants had completely invaded my dog’s food, toys, and bowls—absolutely disgusting.

When we raised the issue with the front desk, we were told the problem was because we weren’t in a “pet-friendly” room… yet they still charged us $250 for bringing our dog and knowingly placed us there. Their solution was to offer us a limited free lunch, which we declined. They did take some charges off our bill, but not much. Only after we said we might cut our trip short did they finally agree to move us—but not before telling us we had 1.5 hours to pack up and leave, even though we had another night booked.

We ended up leaving early, extremely disappointed. The manager seemed apologetic, but that didn’t change the situation. Since leaving, I’ve emailed twice requesting a final statement of our stay and have received no response.

Overall, between the ants, the poor handling of our concerns, and the lack of follow-through, this was a very frustrating experience. Definitely not what we expected for our...

All in all, the hotel has promise and once they build up some experience with the staff, it very may well be great. But that said, when you're paying this much for a room, you expect things to be great and as it currently functions, it most certainly is not.

Our stay here was mired with minor inconveniences and staff who were kind but inexperienced.

The wifi didn't work for our entire stay. We alerted them multiple times and while they were apologetic, they were unable to make fix it. It's worth noting that the wifi is also completely insecure and open to the public. Definitely make sure this is corrected before considering a business trip. I missed several important video conferences as a result of this.

The grounds are nice, as is the pool area. The rooms are small and cramped, but well renovated otherwise and do have nice outside terraces.

We also had a reservation for dinner at the Condor Bar. It was mostly empty but we still weren't seated until well after our reservation. The drink orders came out wrong twice and we spent 25 minutes between a salad course and a single taco.

The clientele at both the bar and hotel was also exceptionally plastic and had I not been booked, the type of crowd that would have me turn around and find...