We (family of 5) stayed here 2 nights and I am totally baffled by the bad reviews. If you want a luxury resort, stay at a luxury resort. If you want a cute, local inn with tons of warmth and charm this is the place. Customer service was very personal and welcoming. Super cute areas in the lobby and upstairs to sit and enjoy. We stayed in a room near the pool which was perfect. Rooms weren't huge but sufficed and all the rooms (at least on the 2nd floor) have charming antique furniture and a cute porch area to sit with coffee or a cocktail and read/relax. If I'm in the area I will definitely stay here again.

My girlfriend and I were i'n ojai and were debating where to stay we checked out a couple hotels and decided on chantico because it was the best deal and the rooms were nice. The service was great; they had free wine, a jacuzzi, and excellent customer service. I would most definitely recommend this place to anyone visiting the town and the location was great also right by the main street.

Our two-night adventure began with the management giving our room away, and not honoring the specifics of our reservation which was made weeks earlier and confirmed on the phone a few days before our arrival. The first night we stayed in a smaller room, the second night was in the room we had originally requested. They did offer us a reduced rate to compensate, which was appreciated, but no excuse.

It was revealed to us that the owner himself gave our room away, and did not honor our reservation. He never made any attempt to offer an apology. Upon inquiry, we found out that the owner is a notorious landlord who at one time had over 800 building code violations cited against him on multiple properties... Ironically he chose jail time rather than house arrest inside one of his own disgusting apartments, per the Santa Barbara Independent Newspaper.

This motel is in a good location for walking distance to downtown Ojai, but there is very little pride of ownership. We had multiple plumbing problems which included a running toilet, a faucet that did not work, and a spa tub that had issues. The bed spread was torn in several places, the pillows were stained and frumpy, short black hair was on the sheets (maybe from a dog?). The shampoo bottle was not sealed... made us not want to use it from reading other disgusting posts. Tile grout was totally missing in many spots on the floors and walls.

Furniture in the rooms was a mix of some attractive antiques and some completely broken pieces that weren't even thrift store quality. Wi-Fi in the room was very spotty.

I have two words for the owner... DRYWALL PATCH. Both rooms we stayed in had many holes in the walls from changing towel bars and shelves. A little bit of spackle and touch-up paint would do wonders.

The pool area was in need of maintenance as well. The hot tub was okay, but the pool was freezing. Both the pool and the hot tub had dirty tile, and stained plaster. The patio furniture was very frumpy, and looked like it came from a garage sale. The gate to the pool area does not lock, thus a drowning hazard to any small children in the area.

The building exterior is in need of some stucco patching and paint. One of the outside stairways has a broken step, creating a tripping hazard. No ice machine on the premises, and no vending machines... however there is an ice bucket in every room. They do have two ice trays hidden in the lobby if you ask.

The continental breakfast offered some bags of oatmeal, a waffle maker, one pot of regular coffee, one pot of hot water for a few tea bags, packaged danish (the cheap kind you might find in a Seven Eleven), and the "juice" was Tang. That's all... no fruit, and no protien.

On a high note, the lobby is staffed by some very friendly individuals, who seemed genuinely sorry for the room mix up. The place has a lot of potential, but is lacking in so many areas which could be easily fixed if the owner would only apply a little TLC. In the meantime, we will not stay there again until it's in better shape. We roll through Ojai frequently, and we'll be watching and hoping the Chantico will turn around.

Where do I start? 1. First night - When we checked in they overcharged 22.00 more than our reservation from them stated. Went to get that credited back and they charged and additional 22.00 before the clerk figured out how to refund us the full 44.00..2. CHEEZY room. Stunk like "old public swimming pool locker room". The bed was too small for the gargantuan frame. So there was a 6" gap between bed and frame on one side you could easily have your foot fall into or trip and break your neck on the hard, COLD tile floor. Lawsuit waiting to happen. Filthy blankets. Sheets too small for the bed. Decorations I can only call "Early Halloween". 3. 7 AM the pipes started knocking so hard it was impossible to sleep. 4. Horrible housekeeping. The maid's idea of "cleaning" was pulling the comforter over the bed in a very sloppy manner and leaving tissues and other stuff UNDER it. No clean sheets. II had eaten lunch on the patio and some food spilled on the floor, which they left. 5. Came back to hotel that evening and there was NO parking anywhere. Had to park by the trash cans and hoped not to be towed. 6. Second night there, we returned from a function at 1:00 AM and neither of our key cards worked on the door. Had to call someone to come let us in and it was very cold outside. Got inside and the room smelled like a sewer. 7. Again in the early morning the merciless BANG BANG BANG of the pipes knocking, and you could hear everything that was going on upstairs. Sounded like they were bowling with lead shoes on. IMPOSSIBLE to sleep through all of this STOMP, STOMP, STOMP, BANG, BOOM, etc. 8. No one told us about any amenities whatsoever when we checked in. We did get a 10% discount on our key card for a sandwich place that charged us 18.50 for a sub and 2 bags of chips.... DO NOT STAY HERE. Camping outside would be better. We stayed 2 nights and it felt like we hadn't slept in a week.