Ojai Inn Proposes $16-Million Revamp

The historic Ojai Valley Inn has proposed a $16-million renovation aimed at drawing more women and visitors from around Southern California, General Manager Peter Henry said Tuesday.

An upscale resort that has traditionally drawn out-of-state groups and male golfers, the inn wants to attract more female customers by building a new state-of-the-art health spa with a beauty salon, aerobics studios and massage rooms, Henry said.

In addition, he said, the inn will embark on a promotional campaign designed to lure more visitors from throughout the region.

“We’re changing our marketing emphasis to more Southern Californian and less emphasis on national advertisements and marketing,” Henry said.

The resort opened in the 1920s, and is nationally known for its FHP Classic golf tournament on the Senior Men’s PGA Tour. In 1988, the resort added several new buildings in a renovation project that cost more than $30 million.

The proposed renovation includes a $3-million arrival center to greet and check in guests, an improved golf course, refurbished pool facilities and some remodeled guest rooms. A 22,000-square-foot area will be converted for the multipurpose spa.

Henry said he hopes to start the renovation by next summer and have it completed by February, 1996.

The Ojai Planning Commission is scheduled to review the renovation plans this evening.

As part of the project, Henry also wants to build 20 to 60 more rooms. Construction of the rooms would start in October, 1996, and finish by February, 1997, he said.

Bill Prince, city planning and building director, said Tuesday the renovation appears to meet zoning laws, but added that the proposal for 20 to 60 additional guest rooms could generate too much traffic on California 33.

Prince said the city will study potential traffic congestion that could clog up a busy stretch of the highway as it cuts through Casitas Springs. In 1988, the city of Ojai and Ventura County studied that area and concluded that there should be no additional traffic during rush hours.

Prince said the additional rooms could bring “at least one peak-hour traveler with each additional room.”

He said if the expansion generates more traffic, the inn must find an alternative means of transporting staff or visitors. Or he said the resort could scrap the additional rooms so that its other plans are not held up.

“What we’re going to say is if you couldn’t have the 20 to 60 rooms, would you still do it,” Prince said. “Don’t muddy up the waters.”

Henry said he wants to see the results of the city’s traffic study before deciding what to do.

“We’re permitted to have 220 rooms here,” he said, noting that the resort has 207 guest rooms. “It just makes sense to look at the traffic study now,”

Henry, who became the inn’s manager in May, said he expects the renovation and promotion efforts to increase the resort’s average occupancy rate by 10%, boosting it to more than 70%. Henry said he thinks more travelers are staying closer to home and taking shorter trips, and he wants to tap into that market.

Henry said the architecture of the inn’s renovated areas and new arrival center will mirror the old-California style typical of Ojai.

“That’s what people expect when they come here, that’s what we’re going to give to them,” Henry said Tuesday. “Ojai and the Ojai Valley Inn should be synonymous in look and feel and taste.”