Ojai Valley Inn & Spa
History
In 1923, Edward Drummond Libbey, a wealthy Ohio glass manufacturer and philanthropist, commissioned California architect Wallace Neff to build the Ojai Country Club in the Spanish Colonial architectural style.� From its earliest days, guests felt the Inn was an escape, a sequestered yet sophisticated getaway that gave them the sense of being on their own private country estate.� And ever since 1937, when Frank Capra used the sweeping mountain vistas of the valley as Shangri-La in his film Lost Horizon, the valley has become synonymous with mystical beauty and hidden enchantment.� A different kind of notoriety distinguished the inn in 1942 when it was transformed into Camp Oak for a military training center for the Army, and later for the U.S. Navy, which used the grounds for a rest and recuperation facility.
Ever since returning to private ownership in 1947, the Ojai Valley Inn & Spa has played host to countless celebrities from nearby Hollywood and an impressive roster of golf pros who return year after year to play the historic course.� In 1999, the acclaimed golf course was restored, which included the return of two "lost" signature holes.� In 2004, an extensive renovation was completed which upgraded every corner of the resort while maintaining the historical integrity of the property.
