The 8 Best Hotels In Carmel-By-The-Sea

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Casey Hatfield-Chiotti, Forbes Contributor

Forbes Vetted

As you stroll through the upscale beach enclave Carmel-by-the-Sea on the Monterey Peninsula, the word storybook might come to mind. The cobble stone streets and Tudor style cottages could be at home within the English countryside. The distinctive architecture will be traced back to the Nineteen Twenties when designer and builder Hugh Comstock built a fairytale cottage for his wife, and plenty of other residents followed suit. Carmel’s downtown is lined with boutique inns, shops and restaurants, however the town’s natural beauty is pure Central California Coast with balmy temperatures, towering cypress trees and an extended swath of white sandy beach accessible at the top of Ocean Avenue.

Hotels are each luxurious and understated and range from an opulent adults only property with a spectacular coastal view to a châteaux reminiscent stay within the village.

Listed here are our the 8 best hotels in Carmel-by-the-Sea.

Best Over-All Luxury Hotel: L’Auberge Carmel

L’Auberge Carmel

Who Will Love It: Foodie travelers who appreciate old world elegance

All-Star Amenities: In-room spa services; romantic turn-down service for an added fee; pre-arrival concierge

What Not To Miss: Dinner and wine pairings on the Michelin star restaurant Aubergine

Location: Carmel Village

If there was an award for probably the most storybook stay in Carmel, it could easily go to L’Auberge Carmel. Inbuilt 1929, the hotel’s stucco façade—complete with green shutters and pretty planter boxes—was patterned after a French château. It also has the excellence of being Carmel’s only Relais and Châteaux property, meaning extra attention is paid to little luxuries and food is top notch. Each of the 20 one-of-a-kind guest rooms are furnished with 18^th, 19^th and 20^th century antiques and cover or tufted beds. The hotel is a couple of blocks from Carmel Beach and shut to Carmel’s best boutique shopping. Guests can dine on chef Justin Cogley’s elegant regionally inspired tasting menus at Aubergine (the group that owns the hotel also operates a country Italian restaurant two blocks away called Cantinetta Luca must you be within the mood for something more casual). The signature breakfast included in your stay features fresh fruit, house-made pastries and eggs to order.

Best Hotel By The Beach: La Playa Carmel

La Playa Carmel

Who Will Love It: Beach lovers and romantics

All-Star Amenities: Pillow-top mattresses; Staycast media streaming; nightly turndown service

What Not To Miss: An ocean-view guest room; Champagne breakfast buffet; 10 minute comfortable hour in Bud’s bar where well drinks are only a dime

Location: Carmel Village

An artist designed a lavish stone mansion with views of Carmel Beach and Pebble Beach for his Ghirardelli descendant wife in 1905. La Playa Carmel has endured as considered one of Carmel’s most romantic and artsy hotels. It was added to over time, however the 75-room hotel stays one of the crucial iconic hotels in Carmel, and the most effective option for quick and quick access to the glittery white sands of Carmel Beach a couple of blocks away. Guest rooms have sophisticated beach house decor with white plantation shutters and jute platform beds. We recommend splurging on an ocean view room or a poolside casita. La Playa Carmel’s Champagne breakfast served within the library and on the terrace each morning is where you’ll find guests devouring fresh pastries, European style cheese boards and fresh fruit-topped waffles.

Best Hotel For Families: Carmel Valley Ranch

Carmel Valley Ranch

Who Will Love It: Equestrians and lively families who enjoy luxury ranch-style living

All-Star Amenities: All-suite property; Pete Dye-designed bentgrass golf course; three swimming pools

What Not To Miss: A healing horse experience like Equines and Wine; a treatment at Spa Aiyana; complimentary s’mores; archery

Location: Carmel Valley

When the coastal fog sets in Carmel, you may almost all the time count on loads of sunshine for those who go inland to Carmel Valley. Within the valley travelers will find twisty oak trees, vineyard covered hillsides, organic farms and a number of other luxury resorts including Carmel Valley Ranch. The sprawling resort on 500 acres within the foothills of the Santa Lucia Mountains focuses on immersive experiences for the entire family. A working ranch, guests can tour the property’s two-acre organic garden and orchard, take a culinary class and even learn tips on how to make cheese. The Ranch also offers unique equine experiences where guests of all ages can take part in programs that help decrease stress and increase energy comparable to Attending to Know the Herd, an introduction to horseplay and personalities. Children may go mountaineering with a goat, learn to lasso and are inclined to the friendly cattle or go swimming within the Junior Olympic-size family swimming pool and run through the Splash Zone on a hot day. One-to-four-bedroom suites with fireplaces and personal decks can accommodate families of all sizes.

Best Pet-Friendly Hotel: Carmel Mission Inn

Carmel Mission Inn

Who Will Love It: Low key travelers searching for good value and classy digs

All-Star Amenities: Sundeck with heated pool and hot tub; EV/Tesla charging stations; private gardens

What Not To Miss: Cocktails by the fireplace pit; dining poolside

Location: Southeast Carmel

Carmel-by-the-Sea is a haven for tourists traveling with dogs. Carmel Beach has an off-leash area (locals like to parade their four-legged relations along the sandy beaches) and there are numerous dog friendly mountaineering trails in Big Sur and Carmel Valley. Restaurants even have pet-friendly sections indoors and out, in addition to special menus. On the recently renovated Carmel Mission Inn just off Pacific Coast Highway 1 in Southeast Carmel, dogs are welcomed with open arms. Pet-friendly designated dog rooms are positioned on the bottom level for straightforward lawn access and have hard floors in order that they’re easy to maintain clean. Dogs are welcome to socialize within the lobby and courtyard and there’s even a walking trail adjoining to the hotel. A multi-million-dollar renovation in 2021 gave the lobby, public areas and guest rooms a more modern feel and look with a color palette peach, soft grey and warm wood and mod furnishings. Shearwater Tavern, the hotel’s California pub, serves attention-grabbing fare like a dry aged tavern burger and roasted Petaluma chicken with chermoula and crispy potatoes.

Best Hotel For Golfers: Quail Lodge And Golf Club

Quail Lodge and Golf Club

Who Will Love It: Resort lovers and golfers who wish to up their game

All-Star Amenities: Guest rooms with patios or decks; heated outdoor swimming pool; tennis and pickleball courts; putting course

What Not To Miss: Private or semi-private golf lesson; Land Rover off-road driving lessons

Location: Carmel Valley

While storied Pebble Beach is simply to the North of Carmel there are also loads of beautifully landscape fairways with gentle slopes just east in Carmel Valley. Adjoining to the serene Carmel River, award-winning Quail Lodge and Golf Club has a par 71 golf course originally designed by Robert Muir Graves in 1964 and updated in 2015. The course’s strategically placed lakes and sunny meadows offer golfers the suitable amount of challenge and lots of scenery. Quail Lodge Golf Academy, led by Katherine Marren, PGA Director of Instruction, offers lessons for golfers of all ages and talents, so guests really can refine their skillset. Lodge-like guest rooms are a comfortable refuge after an lively day of golfing, swimming or playing tennis.

Best For Business Travelers: Hyatt Carmel Highlands, Overlooking Big Sur Coast

Hyatt Carmel Highlands, Overlooking Big Sur Coast

Who Will Love It: Business travelers who still want an escape

All-Star Amenities: StayFit fitness facility; three spa tubs; iHome stereo with iPod docking station

What Not To Miss: Some rooms with wood-burning fireplaces; pre-dinner drink in Sunset Lounge

Location: Carmel Highlands

Travelers with work to do should make a beeline for the Carmel Highlands to a hotel that’s each breezy and business. On a craggy bluff—4 miles from Carmel Village— Hyatt Carmel Highlands has breathtaking views of the Pacific Ocean, 4,800 square feet of meeting space and splendid and hi-tech accommodations including suites, and ocean and garden view guest rooms. Hyatt Carmel Highlands has all of the hotel amenities discerning travelers expect: heated outdoor swimming pool, three spa tubs and a StayFit fitness facility. But what may surprise some is the hotel’s excellent restaurant, California Market at Pacific’s Edge, and what could thoroughly be probably the most stunning lounge within the Central Coast of California. The glass-enclosed lounge, which nearly looks like it’s cantilevering over the Pacific, has cushy armchairs, natural wood flooring and stone tables. While sipping a martini and socializing it shouldn’t be unusual to identify migrating whales and dolphins frolicking within the ocean.

Bernardus Lodge And Spa

Bernardus Lodge And Spa

Who Will Love It: Rest seekers

All-Star Amenities: Yoga; aromatherapy; steam and sauna rooms, a non-public outdoor tub; heated bathroom floors; limestone fireplaces

What Not To Miss: The resort’s wine and honey; Carmel Valley Gold massage using local extra virgin olive oil

Location: Carmel Valley

Carmel Valley’s sunny weather leads to abundant fruits, vegetables, plants and flowers and the Bernardus Lodge employs a garden-to-treatment philosophy in its spa that celebrates rejuvenation and seasonality. Spa treatments are centered on the solstices and equinoxes. For instance, in the course of the Winter Solstice, the Spa at Bernardus Lodge creates an environment focused on tranquility and renewal. Guests can select from an array of rest services including restorative yoga, massages and facials and coverings like a rose-inspired massage and a facial featuring antioxidant-rich cocoa. The 28-acre property produces honey and wine; it looks like a wine country retreat and the 73 guest rooms and suites have soaking tubs large enough for 2, fireplaces, dining tables and king-sized featherbeds.

Best Bed And Breakfast: Vagabond’s House Inn

Vagabond’s House Inn

Who Will Love It: Travelers who like warmth and lots of perks

All-Star Amenities: Gas fireplaces; minifridges; hardwood and heated bathroom floors in some rooms

What Not To Miss: Wine and cheese socials; soaking within the deep tub with a glass of prosecco

Location: Northwest Carmel

This Tudor style bed and breakfast three blocks from Ocean Avenue, Carmel Village’s fundamental thoroughfare, prides itself on being an “upscale” version of the standard B&B. The thirteen rustically chic guest rooms are unique, but all have gas fireplaces and flat-screen televisions. Larger suites have barn-style sliding doors, freestanding trough-like soaking tubs, king beds and heated bathroom floors. Vagabond’s House Inn also has a lounge with a fire and a piano. Loads of complimentary perks are included in your stay like afternoon wine and cheese and continental breakfasts. It’s your selection if you ought to experience it in-room or on the stone patio next to a bubbling fountain.

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About Casey Hatfield-Chiotti, Your Carmel-By-The-Sea Guide

Luxury travel and hotels are my passion. I’ve written and edited travel and lifestyle content for print publications, web sites and types for over a decade. I’ve toured every Palace hotel in Paris, where I lived from 2014 to 2016, and I even have a soft spot for grand historic hotels, boutique design properties, wellness retreats and anything with an elegant, well-worn bar. Not afraid of just a little roughing it, I’ve also summited Kilimanjaro and hiked the W Trek in Patagonia. I really like the West Coast’s natural beauty and access to the outside. Carmel-By-The-Sea, where I make frequent trips, is considered one of my favorite cities. Along with contributing to Forbes Vetted, I also write a monthly travel feature for Marin Living. My writing has also appeared in The Latest York Times, Travel + Leisure, Departures, Robb Report, Afar, Sunset, Modern Luxury and more.