Page 183 - WDT Magazine Egypt

The Ojai Valley Inn now holds 330 rooms and architects Frank Mead and Richard Requa, both of
suites, most with fireplaces, patios and gorgeous whom designed extensively throughout San Diego
views across the golf course to the mountains. The and all of Southern California, to design the Arcade.
property stretches over 220 acres and also in- Today, Ojai’s Arcade is the center of the town’s
cludes a sumptuous spa, seven restaurants and cafes, shopping area, and is filled with art galleries, unique
and more activities than I could fit into my short stay. shops and cafes, where I spent my first afternoon
Just strolling the property itself, where several Spanish looking for handmade keepsakes and soaking up the
Colonial buildings give each compound of rooms an sun-drenched atmosphere.
intimate atmosphere, was a treasure hunt for colorful If you have ever ogled at the jewelry in a Sundance
tile-lined stairways and lovely hidden gardens. catalog, you’ll find jeweler Jess MaHarry’s single shop
A few blocks away lies the downtown village of Ojai, in Ojai’s Arcade; she lives on a ranch in Ojai. Across
a town of just about 9,000 people. Its centerpiece the street from the Arcade, I found Fig, a “curated liv-
is the Spanish Colonial Arcade, an arched walkway ing” shop that was an eclectic feast for my eyes and
of shops that Edward Libbey started in 1917. He hired my home. Fig’s new sister shop, Bungalow, around the

Casa Blanca, where my room was
at Ojai Valley Inn.

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