Hotel Carmel

The staff a d close proximity to downtown

The bill for a recent Saturday/Sunday stay here was $1472. Without a doubt this lodging is the most overpriced relative to quality of any place we’ve ever stayed anywhere in more than 50 years of travel. From reviews on their own and various independent web sites, you’d think you were going to a charming, sophisticated, lovely little boutique hotel in Carmel, worth the hefty price. Well, you are not. It is an old motel-type place now with an added outside fire-pit and jacuzzi. The staff is nice and you get a small but adequate continental breakfast included. But you have nice staff most places in resort towns and the breakfast is expected. The issue here is that despite the high price the basic accommodation is substandard. You get a small room tarted up with louvered shutters, a gas fireplace (decent enough) and a decent bed. But any airport express hotel from any chain offers an infinitely better bathroom, this one is particularly poor since there is a large opening to the bedroom, no separating door (other than to the tiny toilet) and very bright and non-dimmable lighting, making use at night difficult if there is another person with you. To boot, the HVAC didn’t work, and it was cold! We didn’t stay for the second night of our booking. At another and much better lodging we met someone by chance who used to work here who mentioned that the lack of investment by the current owners in the Hotel Carmel is well-known in the local hospitality industry, but you wouldn’t know it from the website or the reviews. There are many places to stay in and around Carmel, for just a couple hundred dollars more you could stay at the Auberge or Bernardus, both top-class places. In the local market, about 300/night would be the most this place is worth, and there are I am quite sure better options at that price point.

Great location

Our stay was fine, we think the price does not match the hotel. We paid about $500 a night at the end of September for a clean room, nothing to write home about. It’s definitely walkable but the complimentary “breakfast” was laughable. Fruit flies, croissants and a few stale bagels that was about it.

Staff and location were great. Nice breakfast and comfortable bed.

Unfortunately, the walls were very thin and we had a loud family next to us:(

For the price we paid, I would say it rated at a 2-3. Check in was a little of an issue as was check out.

Hotel Carmel was so convenient to all the restaurants to shops. Friendly staff and good size rooms. I would definitely recommend this hotel.

I enjoyed it being very central to downtown Carmel, making it easy to walk and get to where we need to go

I’m a little surprised at the price given that the room accommodations we had and the size would suggest perhaps a lower price. We didn’t have a lot of opportunities to utilize the breakfast options the hotel offered but I think we could’ve done without. Parking is first come first serve and there’s very limited parking given the 2 hour street parking limit everyday. Overall, it’s a quaint and nice stay.