Capri Hotel gets Amalfi Coast

29.05.2024 - 13:03 / traveldailynews.com / Vicky Karantzavelou

The Capri Hotel in Ojai, reimagined by Manola Studio and operated by Kenny Osehan, blends mid-century modern charm with Amalfi Coast elegance, offering a unique California coastal retreat.

Designed by Manola Studio and owned and operated by Kenny Osehan of Shelter Social Club, Capri Hotel, a 1963 mid-century modern resort, is a true California-meets-Amalfi Coast gem. This hotel is at the forefront of a California coastal revival of roadside hospitality and the reimagination of the vintage motel. The touches that recall Capri and the Amalfi Coast add an eccentric identity that nonetheless creates an environment of elegance, sophistication, and relaxation.

The Capri Hotel is a historic 1963 mid-century modern retreat in Ojai, California owned and operated by Kenny Osehan of Shelter Social Club.. At the forefront of the California coastal roadside hospitality revival, its original design and identity is a relic along the California coast. With the property’s roots as a gorgeous vintage hotel designed in the true Amalfi Coast style, Manola Studio was commissioned to reimagine the hotel while preserving its identity and namesake. Manola Studio’s role was to execute the interior and overall design for the entirety of this unique and stunning hotel property inside and out: reimagining the rooms, the lobby, the pool, and the exterior.

With this modern take on a historic tradition of roadside stopovers for chic California roadtrippers, Manola Studio & Osehan saw an opportunity to appeal to style-conscious, young, lifestyle, and leisure-seeking millennial travelers of today, as well as cater to traveling families and creatives. The overall design concept was to lean into the mid-century California resort bones of the hotel, while emphasizing the nod to the Italian Riviera through a series of carefully crafted aesthetic decisions. Chief among these moves is a palette composed of the unmistakably Italian sun-bleached hues like cream, dusty pink, sage, beige, and burnt orange that recall salty and sunny beach days. Pops of indigo and lavender give character to the environment and brighten the composition. 

The lobby is a precious centerpiece to the hotel’s design: a warm, inviting, and buzzing space. It has stunning mid-century original features, including an A-frame roof of white wooden beams juxtaposing an exposed stone lodge-style wall with an open fireplace at its center. These elements are uniquely emphasized by the burnt orange velvet couches and the mid-century metal-framed auburn leather chairs, both nods to a fun 1960s/70s Italian modernism. Outside, the grounds are decorated with beautiful strings of orange pendant lights which illuminate the sprawling green lawns under the Californian palm trees at