Southern California’s 303-room Ojai Valley Inn has broken ground on The Farmhouse, a multi-use events venue and “epicurean showplace” set to debut in late 2018. The new facility will add 30,000 square feet of meeting space—including the 8,500-square-foot Great Room and a 16,000-square-foot event lawn—to the resort’s existing 20,000 square feet of indoor space.
The design of the center is both rustic and upscale, emphasizing natural materials and featuring redwood siding, 25-foot ceilings, and exposed wooden trusses. In addition to the ballroom and lawn, The Farmhouse campus features smaller meeting spaces and The Kitchen, designed for demonstration cooking, allowing up to 80 guests to see the chefs in action. The outdoor areas include a garden of native olive trees and lavender, an organic vegetable and herb garden, and a 100-year-old oak tree.
The 220-acre property 70 miles north of Los Angeles has an 18-hole golf course, tennis courts, three pools, and a 31,000-square-foot spa. Existing meeting space includes the Hacienda Ballroom (6,000 square feet) and the Anacapa Ballroom (4,800 square feet), and many smaller meeting spaces, terraces, and lawns.