Ojai Rancho Inn

A turquoise-and-adobe 1940s motor lodge on the east end of Ojai, reimagined as a 19-room boutique by the Shelter Social Club crew. The pool is the social center; the cruiser bikes are free to borrow; there's an outdoor fireplace and a sauna. Ojai Rancho is what the Ace Hotel made cool a decade ago, applied to a real motor-court bones rather than a strip-mall conversion.

It is on the budget side of Ojai's lodging spectrum — meaning $295 a night, which in this town is reasonable — and the room you book is not the reason you're here. The pool, the bikes, and the bar are.

The setting

Ojai Avenue runs east-west through town; the inn sits on the east end, near the start of Highway 33's climb up the valley toward Rose Valley and Pine Mountain. Downtown Ojai's Arcade and restaurants are a five-minute drive or a ten-minute bike ride. The Topatopa Mountains form the eastern wall of the valley; afternoon light here is the famous Ojai "pink moment."

The drive from Los Angeles is ninety minutes; from Santa Barbara, forty.

The building

A 1946 motor lodge laid out as a U-shaped court around a central pool — turquoise stucco, adobe accents, tile roofs, exposed beams. The renovation kept the bones, repainted the desert palette, and added the now-mandatory hipster touches without overdoing it. Public spaces include the outdoor pool deck (the actual living room), an indoor lobby and bar called the Chief's Peak, a redwood sauna, and a fire pit. Materials are stone, timber, painted stucco, vintage textiles.

The rooms

Nineteen rooms in a few sizes — kings, queens, a couple of family rooms with bunks. Saltillo-tile floors, vintage Mexican textiles, queen or king beds, simple bathrooms. A few rooms have private patios with their own fire pits. From-rates open around $295. There are no televisions in some rooms by design, on purpose. Wi-Fi is fine.

Food & drink

Chief's Peak Bar, off the lobby, is the cocktail-and-beer program — a small bar, a fire pit, occasional live music, snacks rather than full meals. There's no restaurant. Coffee in the morning. For dinner you take the cruiser bike or drive five minutes to Ojai Avenue: Nocciola, the Ojai Rôtie, and Boccali's are the long-running picks.

On the property

A small heated saltwater pool, a redwood-lined sauna, a fire pit, the bar, and a small lawn. Cruiser bicycles are free to borrow for the ride into town or up the Ojai Valley Trail. There's no gym; the spa kit is the sauna.

• Heated saltwater pool
• Sauna
• Cruiser bikes (free)
• Chief's Peak bar
• Outdoor fire pit
• Open year-round

Who it's for

• Couples doing Ojai for the first time who want the design-forward version
• Cyclists doing the Ojai Valley Trail
• Travelers in their 30s and 40s who want a vibe that doesn't condescend
• Anyone for whom "no TV in the room" is a feature

Who it's not for

• Travelers who want full-service luxury or a restaurant on-site
• Light sleepers — pool-deck noise carries late on weekends
• Pet owners (some rooms are dog-friendly; verify on booking)

Nearby

Bart's Books — the open-air used bookstore at Matilija and Canada — is a five-minute drive. The Ojai Valley Trail starts in town and runs nine miles to Foster Park; cruiser bikes get you onto it directly. Lake Casitas is fifteen minutes south for paddling. Meditation Mount, on the east side of the valley above the inn, has the best free sunset over the Topatopa range. For dinner: Nocciola or the Ojai Rôtie on Ojai Avenue.