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Cubicle Dreamin': Ojai Resort and Jimmy's

Where: 905 Country Club Road [map], Ojai, CA, United States, 93023

[Ed. Note: We can't get enough of Cubicle Dreamin', so we're bringin back Hotel Maven Picky Chick to tell us where she likes to getaway, if only for the weekend.]

One of my all time favorite spots to relax is the Ojai Valley Inn and Spa. Located just north of Los Angeles (about 35 mins south of Santa Barbara), Ojai offers the best of everything.  The spa is fabulous, the golf course is impeccable and best of all...their food is outrageously fantastic.

You don't have to go very far to eat well during your stay at Ojai because all your edible desires can be fulfilled right on the property.  The more formal restaurant, Maravilla, offers crispy stuffed sea bass or a rack of lamb.  Or, maybe devouring a Kobe beef pot roast at the Oak Grill is more your thing, but I actually prefer the totally discreet Jimmy's Pub.  

Named after the Inn's most famous golfer, Jimmy Demaret, Jimmy's offers dark wood molding, flat screen plasmas and large, comfy chairs making you feel as if you've somehow sneaked your way into a private, members only club. Here you can grub on wood-burning oven pizzas, hand-cut potato wedges, charred beef tacos or delicious salads. Not to forget a much-needed and well poured glass of beer.  Jimmy's is simply the perfect spot post spa, golf or just about anything at Ojai.

Related Stories:
· Ojai Valley Inn & Spa [Yelp]
· Personal Ojai Adventure [Naked Authors]

Saugerties Hotel Reviews / Weekend Getaway Hotels / → All Tags

The Villas at Saugerties :: The Anti-Hamptons Alternative

Where: 159 Fawn Rd. [map], Saugerties, ny, United States, 12477

Not long ago, the mainstream media declared that the Catskills are the new Hamptons, where over-it New Yorkers go to ditch Times Square for fresh air and where they can switch out the horribly hollow "supermodels in Bungalow 8" for "supermodels in shabby chic farm house" scenario.

But the truth is: you get more square feet for the dollar, the Hudson Valley wineries are nearby and not bad. The farm produce is excellent (as is the artisanal goat cheese), and you're in close proximity to the crib of the new Governor, Elliot Spitzer.

Up here, Saugerties is the lesser-known little sister to the first-born funky town of Woodstock, the East Coast's answer to San Francisco's Haight-Ashbury. Yea, you'll get a lot of coffee houses, Grateful Deadheads, Birkenstock-wearing Yasgur's Farmers and maybe even some wise old twenty-somethings making a pilgrimage to see what inspired the Beatles, Joni Mitchell, CSNY and a whole generation of afros, bellbottoms, free love, and counter culture.

But when the party's over, you can head back to Saugerties and splay out on comfy bed in your stylish room at The Villa at Saugerties, run by NYC "ex-pats" Aimee Szparaga (formerly an editor at Playgirl and Time Out New York) and her boyfriend, artist Richard Nocera. A B&B with a pronounced Manhattan chic, its five rooms - each with its own name and attendant sensibility - comes with its own a/c, wi-fi hook-up, satellite tv, and "350 thread-count Egyptian cotton sheets."  

The prices are reasonable by New York City standards: as low as $135 off season. But check the fine print on the "Rates" page of the website. Certain stretches during 2007 will require a four-day minimum.

Since it's a B&B, you'll get a hot fresh breakfast in the morning but it's also got a stylish hotel with a good looking pool (wait for summer, please!) Ski bunnies can access nearby Hunter, while during the summer there's farmer's markets.

And there's no shortage of yoga, spas, and even a Buddhist monastery. Perfect for the Richard Gere in all of us.

Related Stories:
· The Villa at Saugerties reviews [HotelChatter]