Carmel, CA recommendations?

[taffers]

We're planning a trip to Carmel (like this month!), and I haven't been there in forever! We are thinking of taking our dog because we have a dog travel book, and it says that Carmel is the most dog-friendly town in the country!

We want to stay somewhere nice, but not super expensive. I've found one hotel that looks up to par, but it's $400/night, and I'd like to spend less than that if possible.

Any restaurant ideas or fun things to do would be much appreciated as well!

Thanks! :)

[laura]

Which hotel do you speak of? (That would help gauge the kind of hotel you want.)

[LRL]

Definitely go to Little Napoli for lunch or dinner. It's a small family owned Italian restaurant that is SO good! It is on Dolores between Ocean Ave & 7th in Carmel.

YUM. Now I think we need to go! :)

[taffers]

I can't remember the name of it, and I left my book at home! I think that the grounds looked like it had an Asian theme (if I'm not mixing it up with one of the other 20 hotel websites I looked at last night)...not that that probably helps very much. The rooms were a little more modern, rather than the wicker furniture/flowery decor that it looked like a lot of the other hotels had. Not that I wouldn't stay at a place with that decor. ;)

I'll take any recommendations though...I'm open to try new things!

[taffers]

Definitely go to Little Napoli for lunch or dinner. It's a small family owned Italian restaurant that is SO good! It is on Dolores between Ocean Ave & 7th in Carmel.

YUM. Now I think we need to go! :)

Mmm, that sounds good...thanks!

[taffers]

One other thing...even if you don't have a specific hotel recommendation, is there a certain part of town or certain streets that we should stay on? They always give the cross streets, but that means nothing to me since I have no idea where they are in relation to anything else!

[laura]

Well it depends on if the point is to stay on the ocean or not. If it is not, then I would recommend staying downtown or within walking distance to downtown - b/c the downtown is cute, and also it is a PITA to find parking there. ;)

We stayed in Monterey, not in Carmel, though. We had a really delicious dinner at Roy's in Carmel (technically Pebble Beach, but right there), which I know is a chain, but it was significantly better there than at others I have been to (in Hawaii).

We went a couple of years ago, or maybe last year, I really do not remember. What I do remember is being pretty frustrated trying to find accommodations that were mid-range. It seemed like everything was either pretty cheap or $500+/night in both Monterey and Carmel. For swanky, the Inn at Spanish Bay and The Lodge at Pebble Beach are both supposed to be very nice.

[taffers]

Thanks laura! I think you may be right...I can't find anything mid-range...the less expensive hotels just don't seem like our style.

Good call on staying in town- it would be nice to be able to walk instead of trying to find parking.

[LRL]

I agree with Laura, (from another Laura ;) ). The downtown area is small, and everywhere is within distance to the ocean. I am not even sure if there are hotels/B&B's farther out from the downtown area. Although, the parking seems to be an issue wherever you are, unless you are there during the week when there are mostly locals around. $400/night does not seem too bad since it sounds like they are nice accomodations. Oh yes, and the Inn at Spanish Bay is wonderful!

[Amuse Bouche]

My parents went up in November with their dog and stayed at the Cypress Inn -- owned by Doris Day and they're very pet friendly and they were pleased. Cypress has doggie babysitters if you want to leave your dog at home, but a lot of the restaurants in Carmel are also very dog friendly. If you decide to leave poochie at home, I'd also check out the Cobblestone Inn -- it's run by the Four Sisters Inns and we've been very happy with their properties (we recently (as in 2 weeks ago) stayed at the Gosby House Inn in Pacific Grove)). Downtown is small and easy to navigate -- I'd recommend lunch or dinner at Casanova which has an absolutely gorgeous patio, and lunch at Porta Bella on Ocean -- a great little Carmel restaurant (we had terrific salads and amazing crab bisque for lunch when we were there a few weeks ago). Be sure to poke into all the art galleries, though my favorite is the Carmel Art Association, which is a block off of Ocean, and has a lot of local artists.

If you have a car, do the 17 mile drive and have a drink at the Lodge at Pebble Beach or the Inn at Spanish Bay, and I'd recommend dinner at Passionfish in Pacific Grove -- it's all sustainably harvested seafood and their wine list is priced at just above retail.

ETA: The Cobblestone might not be your style either -- Gosby House wasn't ours, but it was clean and comfortable and all the 4 sisters inns serve great breakfasts and afternoon wine and hors d'oeuvres which is nice.

[meatpie]

I've stayed out of the downtown area in Carmel at Quail Lodge Resort and Golf Club. really, really nice and we had a great time. But you do need a car.

You might also look into Pacific Grove hotels.

A good source are the Fodors.com message boards. You'll find a ton of good information there.

[taffers]

I've stayed out of the downtown area in Carmel at Quail Lodge Resort and Golf Club. really, really nice and we had a great time. But you do need a car.

You might also look into Pacific Grove hotels.

A good source are the Fodors.com message boards. You'll find a ton of good information there.

Thank you!

[justHB]

Last year my mom came to visit and on our drive down to LA, we wanted to stop for the night in Carmel. I looked high and low and the cheapest hotel rooms I could find within walking distance of the downtown area were all $299+/night. Since DH and I would need one room and my mom another, we decided to stay in Carmel Valley instead. We used Hotwire and got a 3.5 star room for $69/night/each at the Best Western Carmel Mission Inn. Yes it's a BW, but we were really happy given what we paid. The whole place had just been remodeled. The courtyard w/pool was very cute and even thought it was a BW property, the rooms were as nice or nicer than rooms I've stayed in at Marriott and Hyatt properties (not all mind you, but some). Parking was free and we were right across the street from a cute shopping center w/grocery store and restaurants on one side, and then a very quaint shopping village on the other side where we had dinner. I had really wanted to stay in town, but for the price, the hotel and location could not be beat.

[taffers]

Ok, somehow I missed some of the posts in the middle! But thank you so much everyone! We are SO lagging on booking the trip...I hope last minute reservations are ok. ;)

[framboise]

Taffers, my DH & I honeymooned in Carmel last summer! We stayed at the Carmel Valley Ranch & I wouldn't exactly recommend it. It was decent enough & we enjoyed the fireplace, balcony, private jacuzzi & private entrance, but many aspects of the room could have used a renovation and we wished that we had chosen something in town. So I hope someone else can lead you to the right hotel choice!

As far as what to do, we picked up a map like this (http://www.carmelfun.com/c_map/dt_map.html) that was available in several stores & restaurants. We used that as our primary day-to-day map because it showed specifically where various stores & restaurants were located. We also spent time in Monterey & Pacific Grove since they were easily accessible. We picked up the same type of map in each of those cities as well. I have been looking around for the name of the map company this morning & can't find anything more informative than the link above.

Also, if you're looking for restaurants, Food Network has done a number of shows in that area & repeats are on all the time. We watched a couple of episodes before we went & whenever we notice new ones now we like to watch to see what we missed or might want to catch the next time!

I hope you have a great time!

[justHB]

My ILs sometimes stay at the Highlands Inn in Carmel which is actually a couple of miles form downtown, but right on the water and very beautiful. I'm not sure what it runs since they only go when they get some sort of special.