Felix Mattei's 1886 stagecoach stop in Los Olivos is reportedly still watched over by a woman in a white gown — and by Mattei himself, whose portrait hangs above the original fireplace
2350 Railway Ave, Los Olivos, CA 93441
Research updated June 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
$$$$
Auberge luxury resort; room rates reflect the property's standing as a high-end Santa Ynez Valley destination. See website for current pricing.
Access
Wheelchair OK
Resort campus on 6.5 acres with multiple free-standing structures connected by landscaped grounds.
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1886 · Pacific Coast Railway History · Santa Ynez Valley Pioneer Structure · Santa Barbara County Landmark · Oldest Wooden Structures in California
Felix Mattei was a Swiss immigrant who recognized the commercial opportunity in Los Olivos before the Pacific Coast Railway arrived. He constructed what he called the Central Hotel at 2350 Railway Avenue in 1886, positioning it to serve the travelers, merchants, and ranch hands who would pass through on the new rail line.
The building served as stagecoach stop, saloon, dining room, inn, and, according to accounts preserved by local historians, a brothel during its earliest decades. Felix's wife Lucy, whose maiden name was Fisher, was reportedly involved with the Women's Christian Temperance Union, a detail noted with some irony by writers who documented the tavern's history, given that alcohol remained available throughout Prohibition.
Among the documented staff was Gin Lung Gin (1871–1947), a Chinese worker employed as the tavern's cook who lived in a room behind the building and became known for preparing duck, geese, deer, and clams from the surrounding land.
The building passed through decades of various operators before being acquired and restored as a luxury resort. The Auberge Resorts Collection opened The Inn at Mattei's Tavern on the original grounds, preserving the 1886 tavern structure as the centerpiece of a 67-room, 6.5-acre property. Felix Mattei's portrait continues to hang above the original fireplace. The tavern is one of the oldest wooden structures in California and has been recognized as a Santa Barbara County Landmark.
Sources
The ghost stories attached to Mattei's Tavern are folded into Santa Ynez Valley regional lore and have circulated alongside the tavern's historical reputation for well over a century of documented occupation. The Alisal Ranch, a neighboring Santa Ynez Valley institution, includes the tavern in its local ghost tour writing.
The most often described figure is a woman in a white gown who keeps watch over the property. The accounts do not agree on who she was during her life — the poisoning-around-1900 narrative that circulates in some online sources has not been traced to a corroborating contemporaneous record, and that specific origin story should be treated as oral tradition rather than documented history. What the accounts consistently describe is a female apparition in period dress who is perceived as protective rather than threatening.
The second tradition centers on Felix Mattei himself, whose portrait hangs above the original fireplace in the tavern's main room. The portrait is frequently cited by staff and guests as a focus of whatever presence is felt in the building, and the sense of Mattei watching over his establishment has the quality of a founding-owner haunting common to property that has been in continuous use since a single proprietor built it.
Documented phenomena include unexplained footsteps and doors opening on their own — both reported by guests and staff over the property's long operational history. The tavern was never marketed primarily as a haunted venue; the ghost stories have accumulated through word of mouth and regional writing rather than deliberate promotion.
Notable Entities
The 67-room Auberge Resorts Collection property occupies the original 1886 stagecoach stop grounds. The historic tavern building with Felix Mattei's portrait above the fireplace is preserved at the heart of the resort. Book through Auberge's reservation system.
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