Thanks to their spectacular natural surroundings, nearly any hotel in the vicinity of Carmel can suffice for a romantic getaway. Still, some seem particularly suited for those looking for quality time with their cutie. Without further ado, here are our picks for the best Carmel hotels for romance, selected by our editors. We’re pretty sure that they, along with your sweetheart, merit a splurge.
Featured photo: Courtesy of the Getaway (now Le Petit Pali)
Stilwell Hotel
Stilwell Hotel occupies a full charming block in downtown Carmel-by-the-Sea’s European-inspired, free- spirited community, and is home to the award-winning fine dining destination, Foray. The day starts with a a complimentary, curated small plates breakfast spread that changes daily and showcases local ingredients, complimentary picnic baskets, yoga mats, and ample golf club storage.
HIGHLIGHT: Staying in the winter and wanting to stay warm? Book a hotel room with a fireplace and cozy up next to it in one of the plush bath robes that are provided for guests.
Cypress Inn
Long co-owned by actress and animal activist Doris Day, Cypress Inn has been popular for even longer as a stylish boutique hotel in central Carmel. But during her tenure, it has blossomed with Old Hollywood-meets-Morocco flair and has become the pet-friendliest of all Carmel’s famous pet-friendly hotels. Layouts of its 44 rooms and suites (some with courtyard entrances) vary greatly, but many have fireplaces and all include delicious buffet breakfast in Terry’s Lounge, a compellingly casbah-inspired enclave all of its own.
HIGHLIGHT: In a pleasantly bustling part of Carmel, this isn’t where you go to lie in bed all day, but it makes a super retreat at night, after you’re done exploring, including complimentary cream sherry, fruit and nuts in your room and cocktails and dinner at Terry’s Lounge. The plush robes and bed linens beckon after that, with a special blanket and bowl for your pooch, if you couldn’t bear to part from your pet for the night. Book the two-story Tower Suite and enjoy ocean views from its romantic turret.
L'Auberge Carmel
Right in the center of quaint Carmel, boutique L’Auberge Carmel was built in 1929 as an elegant chateau blended with a cozy cottage. Today, the hotel attracts many couples with its romantic aesthetic, featuring antique furnishings (some 18th century), wrought-iron canopy beds and deep standing bathtubs, which have been enhanced with modern amenities like heated bathroom floors and walk-in showers. With only 20 rooms, guests receive plenty of individual attention, including the perks of valet parking, made-to-order hot breakfast and room service (from Michelin-starred Aubergine), twice-daily housekeeping and in-town Volvo car service.
HIGHLIGHT: Let L’Auberge set the mood in your room by delivering fresh flowers and a cheese or charcuterie plate or opt for the Romantic Turndown Service — bath service with rose petals, chocolate-covered strawberries and a bottle of bubbly.
Tally Ho Inn
Built as a cottage for another Carmel hotel, then remodeled in 1945 into a fairy-tale mansion with an English garden, the Tally Ho Inn became an inn again in 1952, to the delight of couples ever since. Updated in more recent years, the 12 rooms — a number with dazzling ocean views and private decks — have maintained their charm while adding modern must-haves like pillow-top mattresses, large flat-screen TVs and marble bathrooms with whirlpool tubs. And since it’s a bed-and-breakfast, you can enjoy a leisurely start to your day.
HIGHLIGHT: Il Fornaio, across the street at the Pine Inn (Tally Ho’s sister hotel), supplies breakfast during the week, with an expanded continental breakfast in Tally Ho’s lobby on weekends. Lots of wine tasting rooms are within walking distance, but save time to sip a complimentary brandy in the courtyard garden by the fireplace. The bright white interior and exterior walls add a touch of Greece, especially with the blue ocean in view.
Le Petit Pali (formerly the Getaway + Hideaway)
The first foray of San Francisco’s tony PlumpJack Group into Carmel produced the Hideaway, a casual-chic transformation of one of many modest motels in the village (its second project produced the Getaway, one of our best vetted value hotels and another great option for romance). Handsome leather club chairs and wood-paneled headboards and fireplaces add warmth to the 24 light-filled rooms and suites, many with fireplaces and sitting areas. Modern tiled bathrooms may feature walk-in showers or tubs with showers, but all come with comfy robes. Enjoy your complimentary continental breakfast in bed or in the inviting brick-and-stone courtyard (formerly a parking lot).
HIGHLIGHT: Like breakfast, a nightly wine reception and the use of beach cruiser bikes are complimentary. Down bedding on Denver Mattress Company mattresses ensure a good night’s sleep. The hotel’s quiet location is nevertheless just two blocks from Ocean Avenue, with easy access to shops and restaurants.
Bernardus Lodge
The sun-kissed resort is barely two decades old, but like a swath of European countryside, feels like it’s been there for centuries. More than 70 villas, suites and guest rooms echo that style but provide state-of-the-art technology—not to mention romantic touches ranging from couples’ soaking tubs and fireplaces to king-sized featherbeds with goose down comforters and Italian linens. Its Lucia restaurant is considered one of the best between Santa Cruz and Santa Barbara, with an emphasis on hyper-local cuisine, and couples can even book an intimate dinner for two in one of the unique private dining spaces. All told, it’s a poetic expression of Carmel Valley.
HIGHLIGHT: Enhance your romantic getaway with a couples’ massage at the spa, a dip in the adults-only warming pool or infinity hot tub, and a session in the eucalyptus steam room and dry sauna.
Tickle Pink Inn
You could say Tickle Pink enjoys a sweet spot — a ticklish spot? — as it captivates guests with the almost-stupid splendor of the Big Sur coast, while still on the cusp of Carmel. The iconic spot with the return rate to prove its popularity has been around for 60 years, piling up awards for hospitality and romance that starts with a welcoming bottle of chilled sparkling wine paired with a (yes) pink rose. (Many won’t immediately notice because they’re hypnotized by the view.) Amplifying the romance quotient, some rooms feature in-room spas and wood burning fireplaces, and all have ocean-view balconies. This place earns slots on the likes of Travel+Leisure’s “Top 500 Hotels in the World” for a reason. Make that many reasons.
HIGHLIGHT: Couples also love this inn for its nightly wine and cheese receptions; in-room terrycloth robes and slippers; outdoor hot tub tucked into the hillside; and complimentary breakfast buffet, enjoyed fireside in the lounge or outside on the cliffside deck overlooking the Pacific.
Hyatt Carmel Highlands
A hillside compound in Carmel Highlands, just south of the spectacular Point Lobos State Natural Reserve and only a 10-minute drive to Carmel-by-the-Sea, Hyatt Carmel Highlands has had several incarnations since it opened in 1917. Today its 48 luxurious guestrooms, scattered across rustic buildings, include 11 suites, 32 ocean-view rooms and five garden-view rooms with modern Mission-inspired furnishings; some have full kitchens as part of the onsite Hyatt Residence Club (which goes by the resort’s original moniker, Highlands Inn.) Couples celebrating a special occasion gravitate toward the Big Sur, Point Lobos and Sunset suites for their panoramic ocean views and outdoor patios. Toast togetherness in the glass-enclosed Sunset Lounge overlooking the Carmel coastline, and dine at the highly esteemed, California-inspired Pacific Edge restaurant, which also provides a sweeping view of the striking shoreline, just across Highway 1.
HIGHLIGHT: Book a couples’ massage at Spa Adeline, and don’t miss taking a dip in the hotel’s heated pool and three hot tubs during your stay.
La Playa Carmel
Designed by noted landscape painter Chris Jorgenson for his wife, a member of the noted Ghirardelli family, La Playa Carmel melds the Spanish colonial style of the California missions with European Old-World elegance that leaves couples swooning and longing to return. Growing from its 1905 origins to a sprawling complex set amidst colorful gardens, La Playa perches above Carmel’s village streets and sparkling white beach like the Grande Dame she is. Every room oozes romance: Choose an ocean room to gaze out at the deep blue waters or a garden room with a sunny tiled patio. Best of all, however, are the poolside casitas with their carved wooden fireplaces. A $3.5-million restoration completed in 2012 buffed the historic hotel to a high shine, and it has continued to modernize, becoming a favorite of those seeking a romantic getaway with easy access to Carmel’s walkable downtown and its 90-plus galleries.
HIGHLIGHT: There’s even more for couples to love here, including the sumptuous Champagne Breakfast Buffet, and historic, intimate wood-paneled lounge, Bud’s, serving classic cocktails and comfort fare.
Carmel Valley Ranch
Want to try your hand at archery? Falconry? Beekeeping? Or maybe you just want to play a round of golf on a par-70 Pete Dye-designed course and take a dip in one of three different swimming pools. Spread across 500 acres in the foothills of the Santa Lucia Mountains, Carmel Valley Ranch has so many things for active couples to do together. The almost overwhelming activity menu also might include cooking classes, foraging hikes, or yoga in a hilltop pavilion, and an extensive fitness program includes barre, circuit training and water yoga. Among the resort’s 181 rooms are a variety of accommodation styles and levels, many featuring fireplaces, private decks or both for a true hideaway vibe. The most romantic choice, however, might just be the Vineyard Oak Studios, which include an outdoor stone soaking tub for two, an indoor/outdoor fireplace and a love seat swing or picnic table in the expansive outdoor sitting area.
HIGHLIGHT: The extensive menu at Spa Aiyana features 10 different types of massage, including couples’ massage. Couples will also appreciate spending time together at the resort’s “quiet pool,” featuring cabanas for more privacy and full wait service from Valley Kitchen, as well as the infinity hot tub with views of the valley.
Quail Lodge & Golf Club
Share a love of golf with your loved one? If so, the Quail Lodge & Golf Club is an ideal choice for a getaway, with its Robert Muir Graves-designed and Todd Eckenrode refined golf course, which is annually awarded “Best Playing Conditions” for all of Central California—not to mention the lodge’s idyllic setting. A Carmel classic since 1964, Quail Lodge features 93 ranch-style bungalows set amidst 850 acres of verdant valley that was once a working dairy. It was closed in 2009 after 45 years of operation but reopened in 2013 following a ground-up renovation and redesign by Barry Design Associates, the design team behind the Beverly Wilshire and Mauna Kea Beach Hotel. Vaulted ceilings and tall windows nod to Eichler, framing spacious rooms with plenty of living space ranging in size from 395 to 650 feet, and several rooms feature private outdoor patios—a lovely spot to share a romantic evening toast.
HIGHLIGHT: There are several different couples massage options to choose from at the on-site Spa Adeline, as well as a therapeutic couples’ tub soak in a candlelit rom. End the day by dining lakeside at Covey Grill.
Hofsas House
With its traditional European country décor, family-owned Hofsas House evokes a bygone era of Old-World charm and romance in a convenient Carmel-by-the-Sea location that is easy walking distance to restaurants, shops and the beach. The inn is a favorite getaway for couples: Each of the 37 rooms are uniquely decorated, and some have ocean views, fireplaces, private balconies, wet bars or kitchens. Two dry saunas feel delicious post-swim.
HIGHLIGHT: The complimentary continental breakfast includes French press coffee and pastries from a local bakery. Watch the sunset with your sweetie with a glass of wine from the fourth-floor viewing deck.
Tradewinds Carmel
A relaxing getaway is surely in the cards for you and your someone special at Tradewinds Carmel, where guests are immediately transported into a Zen-inspired environment upon entering the tranquil private courtyard and meditation garden, with its trickling fountain, lush landscaping and a flickering fire pit. Originally built in 1959 and extensively renovated, the boutique hotel features a blend of Japanese, Balinese and Chinese design in its 28 rooms, which feature custom and antique furniture. Date night is easy, too, as Tradewinds is located steps away from Carmel’s many outstanding eateries, shops and galleries, as well as the beach.
HIGHLIGHT: Set the mood by booking a room with a jetted tub, fireplace and private patio overlooking the ocean — sure to impress your sweetie. All are stocked with luxurious kimono robes that were custom-made for Tradewinds in Bali.
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