The Spa Solution : Relief for the stressed-out, from low-cost to luxury : In Ojai, a No-Frills Spa That’s Also a Bargain

It doesn’t provide breakfast and massages in bed like the posh Golden Door Spa in Escondido, or boast the sprawling tennis and golf facilities of Carlsbad’s La Costa. But this small health resort is one of the best spa bargains in the United States. And it’s a mere 1 1/2-hour drive from Los Angeles.

Housed in a two-story 1920s hotel, The Oaks at Ojai offers a blend of solid fitness programs, pampering and friendliness in artsy Ojai, backdropped by wild, oak-tangled hillsides rising to hazy mountains. The Ojai Valley has, of course, been extolled by everyone from the philosopher Krishnamurti to filmmaker Frank Capra for its dry, clean air, the special quality of the light and something that might be called good vibrations.

But visitors to The Oaks at Ojai spa are more likely to be panting at their sweaty reflections in the mirrored gym than gazing at the hazy valley and its magical mountains. And when they do see some peaks, they’ll be huffing their way to the top for more than just a view.

Every hike, every aerobics class, every stretch and bend brings them closer to the spa-goer’s vision of heaven-on-earth: better bods.

For little more than the cost of a day at ritzier retreats, you can spend a three-day weekend here. Dieting big time? Stay for a month--and some guests do--for the price of a week at other spas.

For $119 a day, double occupancy, including all tips and taxes, you’ll get simple but serviceable quarters in the main lodge (roomier bungalows around the pool cost $155 per day double); three low-fat meals; a choice of 16 exercise classes, and use of the spa’s pool, saunas and small selection of exercise machines. A 50-minute massage or facial costs $42 here (they’re $60 or more at many resorts); a one-hour loofah body-scrub runs $50 ($65 elsewhere).

Or make it a day trip. For $80 you get three meals, exercise classes and use of all spa facilities. You won’t get a room, but showers, lockers and a changing area are available in the gym. You can arrive as early as 7 a.m.--in time for the morning hike into the foothills of Los Padres National Forest. Stay as late as you like, perhaps for the evening program, which might be a lecture on reducing stress, a makeup demonstration or a bingo game--with air-popped popcorn.

The Oaks is the 14-year-old creation of Sheila Cluff, one of the aerobics fitness movement’s original gurus. At 54 and as trim and fit as a sleek teen-ager, Cluff’s a walking testament to her business. She frequently can be seen circulating in the dining room, welcoming guests “to my place” or leading the eight-mile morning mountain hike, with guests two decades younger hustling to keep up.

The 80-guest resort, with its Spanish mission-style design, is landscaped with palms, rosebushes and orange trees that were heavy with ripe fruit during my visit last November. Many of the rooms in the main building facing Ojai Avenue get a lot of traffic noise, but the cottages in the back around the pool are quiet enough.

The Oaks is informal and friendly--leave any attitude at the freeway exit. The place draws an eclectic crowd; at any given moment, you might find a gaggle of grandmas playing cards in the lounge, a numerologist plying her trade by the pool and some fitness fanatics working overtime on the treadmill. There were only a handful of men in attendance the five days that I was there. Men are welcome, but there are no exercise classes specifically geared to men. Life is simple here: a choice of two exercise classes an hour (bigger resorts, by contrast, offer as many as five or six) and little choice at meals. Breakfast, taken in the airy lounge called the Winner’s Circle, is a bran muffin, fruit and vitamins. Lunch in the dining room or around the pool consists of a bit of protein and a lot of complex carbohydrates, all doled out in precise proportions with no salt or sugar. Dinner in the dining room has more fanfare but not more substance.

You can request an extra baked potato here, a scoop of cottage cheese there, if you absolutely must exceed the 1,000-calorie daily allotment--but don’t ask for seconds. When I timidly requested more food at lunch one day, the waiter smiled at me and replied, “No problem, come back at dinner.” Vegetarians and those with food allergies can get special meals with a note from the nurse.

The Winner’s Circle is the place to be for the 4 p.m. “Veggie Break.” A giant platter of raw zucchini, carrots and mushrooms is set out for the guests, who descend upon it like vultures, washing all the roughage down with decaf coffee and herb tea. Don’t look for Sweet’n Low-- real dieters take their liquids straight up. If you smuggle in your own artificial sweetener--or, God forbid, some high-test instant coffee--be prepared for a lecture on chemical pollutants.

For a break, head into town-- past the Ojai Ice Cream Parlor, a tantalizing four houses down--and browse the tony boutiques, fine art galleries and knickknack shops along Ojai Avenue. The splendid 1917 Mission Revival post office with its 65-foot stucco and tile clock tower is at 201 E. Ojai Ave.

Bart’s Books, a few blocks northwest on Matilija Street, has more than 100,000 used volumes in stock and an oak tree growing through the roof. Shelves of books remain outside overnight for literary insomniacs to peruse. A notice tacked near the entrance requests that after-hour payments be made through a slot in the door.

The Artist and the Outlaw Gallery (320 Ojai Ave.) showcases the generally above-average work of local craftspeople, including the ceramics of 98-year-old potter Beatrice Wood, whose studio is just outside town on Route 150.

Just across the street from the spa is oak-studded Libbey Park, with public tennis courts, a playground, an outdoor amphitheater where the popular Ojai Music Festival is held every spring, and a jogging and cycling path separated from an equestrian trail by a rustic pine fence.

Follow the footpath and you’ll wind up near The Oaks’ swank neighbor, the Ojai Valley Inn and Country Club. A haven for the rich and famous, the 200-acre resort has a championship golf course, tennis center, health spa and gorgeous landscaping, with giant sycamores lining the expansive approach. Rooms there start at $180 per night and go up to $760 for a three-bedroom suite. It’s fun just to stroll the grounds and sit over a drink at the romantic patio restaurant.

Near sunset--now this is a judgment call, since you might miss the Oaks’ happy hour of fruit “cocktails”--take the 10-minute drive east on Route 150, past poppy fields, avocado farms and citrus groves, to Meditation Mount. The peak is the perfect vantage point for watching Ojai’s famous “pink moment,” when the valley, the sky and the 6,000-foot Topa Topa bluffs are bathed in pink and violet light as the air cools into night. New Agers from around the world come to the sky-lighted Tibetan-style retreat here to celebrate full moons and meditate for world peace. On my visit last November, I snapped a photo of a big orange pumpkin carved with the yoga mantra “om.”

After the sunset show, it’s back to the spa for a Spartan dinner (no, you can’t have just a small scoop of raspberry chocolate rum truffle at the Ojai Ice Cream Parlor first).

Guests turn in early. But you don’t have to go to sleep hungry. At 8:15 p.m. in the Winner’s Circle there’s a bedtime snack of one 25-calorie cookie.

GUIDEBOOK: Ojai and Environs

Getting there: The Oaks at Ojai, 122 E. Ojai Ave., Ojai 93023, telephone (805) 646-5573, is 80 miles northwest of Los Angeles. Take the Ventura Freeway (U.S. 101) north to California 33, continue north about 10 miles to California 150, then east five miles to Ojai. The spa offers seasonal discounts for long-term stays. Periodic themed weeks include a spa cuisine cooking week Sept. 8-14, hike and bike week Oct. 4-10, and stress management week Oct. 20-24.

Upcoming Ojai events:

--Bowlful of Blues Festival, Sept. 7: This annual all-day event (2-10 p.m.) is held in Libbey Park’s outdoor amphitheater. The crowds come to hear blues of all styles, ranging from traditional country blues to electric Chicago style to funky zydeco. Picnicking on blankets. Open admission (there are no assigned seats), $20. Contact the festival office at (805) 646-7230.

--Ojai Studio Artists Tour, Oct. 26-27. Visitors follow a set schedule that routes them through the studios of painters, sculptors, woodworkers and other artists, including potter Beatrice Wood. The $10 fee includes a champagne reception Oct. 26 at the Ojai Center for the Arts. For reservations, make checks payable to Ohio Studio Artists and mail to Margaret Westrom, Ojai Chamber of Commerce, 338 E. Ojai Ave., P.O. Box 1134, Ojai, Calif. 93024.

Adventures further afield:

--Wheeler Hot Springs, Route 36, Ojai 93024, (800) 646-8131. About six miles west of downtown Ojai, this rustic spa is set creekside and has a spring-fed swimming pool. There are sky-lit rooms with hot and cold tubs, massage rooms and a great restaurant with nouvelle food. A half-hour hot-and-cold soak in one of the four private rooms costs $10 per person; an hour massage is $46. Open every day except Tuesday, 10 a.m.-9 p.m.

The big draw here are the romantic meal-and-hot-tub packages for two. A Saturday or Sunday champagne brunch (10 a.m.-2 p.m.), plus a half-hour soak, costs $40 per couple; dinner Thursday or Friday (5:30-9:30 p.m.) and a half-hour float costs $68 per couple. On cold days there’s a blazing fire in the wood-burning stove. Restaurant closed Mondays and Wednesdays.

--Channel Island boat trips: Island Packers, 1867 Spinnaker Drive, Ventura 93001, (805) 642-1393, runs day trips by boat out of Ventura, just 14 miles southwest of Ojai, to the Channel Islands. I took the trip to Anacapa Island, about a 1 1/2-hour channel crossing. A park ranger gave our boatload of 20 a walking tour of the sparse landscape, past dramatic cliff edges. Prices: $34 for adults, $18 for children; higher after mid-July.