Ojai Retreat & Inn — Hotel in Ojai

My husband and I just got married at the Ojai Retreat and Inn. It could not have been a more perfect experience. The retreat center is beautiful, situated on the hilltop overlooking the Ojai Valley and the Topatopa Mountains for the perfect view of the famous Ojai pink moment. We did a full venue buy-out and had our immediate families stay on the property. It was delightful enjoying the grounds, watching the birds and rabbits, and admiring the stunning views. The retreat center provided us breakfast every morning so we could visit together and enjoy a delicious meal without having to go off property. There were plenty of areas to visit and catch up, from the scenic Mountain View Terrace to the Living Room at night and when it was raining. There are three separate areas we used for our ceremony, cocktail hour, and reception. Each was the perfect location for what we needed it to be. We chose the Pink Terrace Amphitheater for our ceremony, with a stunning view of the mountains. The Waterfall Garden kept our guests surrounded in beauty while my husband and I took pictures in the Meditation Garden during cocktail hour. And the Mountain View Terrace was the perfect place for us to enjoy dinner and dancing under the string lights by the outdoor fireplace. Our guests came from all over the country and kept admiring the view and saying it was God's Country. It was like something out of a fairytale!

And I can't recommend the staff at the Retreat Center highly enough. From Ulrich the founder of the center who first gave us the tour of the property all the way to the housekeeping staff that tidied our rooms throughout the week, everyone was incredible. Oliver worked the front desk and helped us with our tech needs for showing our slideshow on the Retreat TV Monitor. Dana was there the day of our wedding with his kind presence and gifted us a lovely basket for having our wedding there. And Lia the business manager was amazing from start to finish, from the first email with information for booking all the way to leaving us a box of all our guest's lost and found at the end. Her kindness, laid back personality, and the freedom she gave us with our wedding ideas made her a delight to work with. Book the Ojai Retreat for your wedding, and if you're not getting married, just go up for a peaceful, lovely getaway. My husband and I can't recommend the place and the retreat...

Huge disappointment. The grounds are lovely, but the room I stayed in was not lovely. I thought I was booking a room with a view, but it turns out I booked the wrong room. My error. My reservation was for 2 nights. I had spent hours researching the perfect spot to get some writing done and was super excited for this retreat based on the picture of the room I thought I was booking. I was incredibly disappointed when I opened the door to my room and it didn't match the picture with the magical view I was expecting. There was a stain on the floor and it smelled musty even with the window open. Somehow I booked the wrong room. I spoke with the front desk, explained the situation, and asked if they could accommodate me shortening my stay to one night instead of the two planned given my situation. The answer was a hard, no. No exceptions, you booked it, no refunds. The only thing they could offer is another room (still not the room I thought I booked) at double the cost, or to try to "sell" the second night of my room, and if they did "sell" it (seriously? there's a reason it was available on short notice), I would get a "certificate' minus a $20 fee ... The minimal accomodating thing they could do, if they are completely unwilling to refund for the night not being used, would be to give the certificate for another stay as a "we are so sorry, please stay with us again another time." Not we "may" give you a certificate, minus fees, IF we are able to unload your room on someone else. Why bother? If they are able to "sell" the room, why not just give you a refund? Bizarre. The customer service is severely lacking. Not a typical B & B ... no little snacks or bottled water (and the tap water comes out of the faucet "yellow.") The "breakfast" was equivalent to what you would get at a Holiday Inn (continental breakfast) if Holiday Inn had organic options. No little extra touches. And the internet is slug slow in the "cozy" room. My dream of a magical escape to get some writing done was crushed and the lack of empathy to remedy the situation was underwhelming. I would not...

I was not able to spend the two nights I booked here due to a nasty respiratory infection. Currently waiting for my covid test results from a PCR, so can't definitely say it isn't covid. Yes, they are clear about their cancellation policy online, but quite frankly, it's extremely punitive and puts other guests at risk during COVID times. I called two days before my booking to say I was unwell and asked if I could get a credit. Even a discounted credit would have sufficed. Absolutely not under any circumstances unless you cancel during the five day window. The office manager was kind towards me, but was also encouraging me to come up despite being sick. I told her that their policies were both unfair to patrons and put others at risk if they were encouraging actively sick people to come up. They book two weeks out and are constantly full, so I have a hard time believing that giving someone some sort of credit due to illness or emergency would really make their business suffer. I however, lost 365 dollars (I am a freelance creative and making very little money at the moment), so this was a big loss for me. I had to call them multiple times over the two days to see if they'd managed to rent out my room. Only if they manage to rent it out to someone else will they refund you anything. I will not be going back there due to this experience. Honestly, if they had just given me a credit, even partial, I would have had a positive feeling about this place and would have simple...