SPA OJAI -- THE UNIQUE SPA VILLAGE
New Artist's Cottage introduces classes in the Fiber Arts, Pottery and Papermaking. New Apothecary Teaches Guests to Blend Their Own Personalized Spa Products.
OJAI, CA (April 2006) - Award-winning Spa Ojai is known by consumers and industry experts as a benchmark facility for its architecture and design, its art program, its unique mud treatment inspired by indigenous traditions, and its seasonal body scrubs that use locally grown ingredients. And this spring, the spa will debut a dedicated art studio for an expanded arts program, with a separate work space for blending fresh herbs and essential oils to create customized creams, scrubs and lotions.
The Artist's Cottage and Apothecary
Spa Ojai's newest addition is a 1,200-square foot cottage with an Artist's Cottage where our guests will learn from resident artists to work creatively in a variety of media: pottery, painting, drawing, wreath-making, and paper making. The new Artist's Cottage will have a kiln, looms for various fiber art classes including batik prints, and tons of raw materials to work with: string, charcoal, paper, plant materials, buttons, and fabric. Throughout the week, classes in batik printing, paper making, watercolor and collage provide ways for our guests to unleash their creativity and have fun with paints, colored pencils or pastels.
The Apothecary at the Artist's Cottage is a working "lab" where guests will blend fresh herbs and essential oils into cream and lotion bases to create their own personalized spa products they can take home with them.
The Kuyam
Spa Ojai honors the sacred traditions of the Chumash Indians, the Ojai Valley's first inhabitants.
The signature mud treatment at Spa Ojai is the Kuyam (koo-yahm), a Chumash word meaning "a place to rest together." Taking its inspiration from traditional healing methods of many cultures, the Kuyam combines mud therapy, wet and dry heat therapy, inhalation therapy and a guided meditation for groups of up to eight men or women, and is the first of its kind to be offered in the United States.
The Elderberry & Ginger Detoxification Wrap draws its inspiration from the Chumash tradition of using elderberries to hydrate the skin. Petals, a signature body treatment, uses rose powder to exfoliate and sensuous rose oil to nourish the skin and is based on a Chumash practice of using the dried petals of wild roses to smooth on their babies.
"Edible" Ingredients
A number of our spa treatments use the bounty of Ojai's farms, orchards and ranches. Pure organic honey from local orange blossoms is used in the Ojai Honey Body Masque and the Ojai Orange Scrub. Our seasonal body treatments contain organic ingredients from local farms: Pixie Tangerine Body Scrub in the spring, Avocado Oat Body Mask in the summer, Pumpkin Melon Body Scrub for autumn and Peppermint Nutmeg Leg & Foot Scrub during the winter months.
Fitness Classes and Activities
Because the natural beauty of the Ojai Valley is so inspiring, we encourage our guests to spend as much time as possible outdoors. They can gather fresh herbs in the garden for a wreath making class, join a morning hike, or embark on a meditative walk in the Labyrinth. Golf, tennis, horseback riding, bird watching, water aerobic classes and biking are also an important part of the experience. T'ai Chi classes are often held on the lawn, while art studio classes move outdoors for plein air painting classes. Indoors, the 1,600-square-foot Mind/Body Gym includes a fully equipped weight room, cardiovascular workout area plus a studio for classes in Tai Chi, yoga, dance, traditional aerobics and meditation.
Architecture and Design
Designed in the Andalusian Spanish style of architecture, Spa Ojai, the Ojai Valley Inn's 31,000-square foot spa, has the charm and ambience of a thriving Mediterranean village. Curving outdoor staircases, trickling fountains, terraces and loggias surprise and delight at every turn. A bell tower rises 50 feet over the Courtyard, the gathering place for guests in this unique village. The Spa Village Boutique, Salon, and Cafe surround this area. The elegant interiors found in Spa Ojai reflect the Moorish influence on Spanish Colonial architecture. Sculpted and plastered Andalusian ceilings are complimented by custom-designed tile floors and mosaics of hand-painted tile. All of the twenty-eight treatment areas feature decorative tile and hand-stenciled walls painted in warm shades, and the massage rooms have corner fireplaces.
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