Carmel Valley Ranch - A Joie de Vivre Hotel, Carmel-by-The-Sea

The setting is wonderful. We saw a great blue heron, wild turkeys and deer outside of our window. We also had a tremendous view out over the Carmel Valley. We didn't try the spa or golf course and there was construction all over the place (it is supposed to be finished in Summer 2010). But the staff was friendly and helpful, it was uncrowded and it was lovely walking the grounds.

The experience was incredibly bad. You will not get what they promise you, at least we didn't. Food was good though, suggest chef move elsewhere because this hotel is going to take him down.

Well, For Starters My Wife And I Booked Our Reservations Dispite The Dated Reviews On This Site And We Couldnt Have Been More Pleased With Ourselves... Aparently We Arrived At The Perfect Time Because The Resort Had Just A Week Prior To Our Arrival, Managed To Finally Complete The Nearly Two Year Long Renovations Of Thier Main Lodge And Highly Recomended New Resturant Named Citronelle... And It Was Worth The Wait To Say The LEAST... The Rooms Came Equipped With iHome MP3 Docks Which I Thought Was Really Cool Because Ive Never Stayed At A Hotell Which Came With MP3 Player Sound Docks In It. I Definitely Would Recomend The Trip To My Friends And Family Inb A Heartbeat... And Both Of Cant Wait To Return...

DO NOT STAY HERE…unless you want to pay 4-star hotel prices for a Motel 6-like experience. DO NOT BE FOOLED by the beautiful surroundings and grounds and the wildlife (deer and wild turkey) of this so-called resort. After you check in, the ‘fun’ truly begins… We stayed at CVR for 5 nights through Labor Day weekend. Our stay was from Friday through Tuesday nights and the rate range for this time period was $270-$420 depending on the day. It was a good amount of time to form an idea of the hotel. We were a little taken aback upon check-in when they made us sign a 72-hour notification to change checkout. Nothing about this was mentioned when our reservation was made on their website 2 months in advance of arrival. Also, we were not told the room was a handicap accessible room upon making the reservation. Upon opening the door to our 1100 sq. ft. suite, our noses were assaulted horribly with the smell of a very large build-up of creosote from the two fireplaces in the room, which undoubtedly was due to an architectural flaw with the rooms. We believe this to be a health hazard for most people, especially any one who may have asthma or other similar breathing problems, We had to call maintenance to deal with the leaky, crumbling, malfunctioning, dirty hot tub that continued to run throughout the night. No thought was given to the fact that chain saw tree pruning took place at 7:30 a.m. both weekdays we were there. The rooms were very dated and the mattress was the bouncy old style—nothing like a Westin mattress or higher end hotel mattress. As tired and weary travelers, we decided to have dinner at the hotel the first night. Big mistake. The service was substandard, in contrast to the food, which was wonderful. We made reservations and the waiter took a substantial amount of time before taking our drink orders. After another long wait, with no wine arriving, he returned to take our dinner order so we just cancelled the wine and went ahead and ordered dinner. From sit down to food arrival, a period of one hour passed before being served any food at all. The fitness facility is a joke…located at the other end of the property, it is relatively small for a ‘four star’ hotel, jammed with equipment (most of it dated), and quite dirty (no way to clean the machines after use). The wireless internet connection requires daily payment that is supposed to allow access until noon the next day. Upon signing in ‘the next day’ well before noon, it required payment for another day’s service. A few other items of interest: (1) bathroom sinks that drained very slowly and, (2) the sliding screen door to the outside deck had a slash in it and would close only with a lot of effort We were out pretty much all day on our stays, and our room would never get cleaned until 4:30 and then it was not done well. Admittedly, this hotel is ‘under construction’ in parts. However, the section of the property we were in was not ‘under construction’, but it could sure use it. The golf course winds throughout the property and it was recently open to significant fanfare. We did not golf, as, after night one, we felt no compunction to provide additional revenue to these folks. The owners of the property are making a big deal about the hotel-condo units they are building for sale. Our advice would be simple when it comes to those units: Since they will ‘benefit’ from the services and attention to detail of the resort, don’t bother unless you would like to own a hotel-condo tied to a Motel 6 quality ‘resort’. We would like to thank the Carmel Valley Ranch for making our experience memorable, though not in the manner we expected.

I have stayed at Carmel Valley Ranch several times in the past, but my October 2006 visit will be my last. I've learned to expect the extra $25/day "resort" fee, purportedly to cover staff gratuities (but only covers bellhops, housekeeping and concierge). However, the Ranch's glory days appear to be behind it. The litter we saw on the grounds when we checked in, was still there 3 days later when we checked out. The in-room hot water did not work. Dryrot was evident almost everywhere. Charges were made by the hotel to my credit card without my knowledge or consent. The "high speed" internet is only available for an extra fee. In a hotel where staff is rewarded for good service by tips, staff excells. Here, where staff is rewarded by a mandated "resort" fee without regard for performance, staff strives for mediocrity. Housekeeping staff let themselves into the room at 9:30 p.m., long after we had already gone to bed after an exhausting day of travel. No one was ever able to explain to us what housekeeping's interest was at 9:30 p.m. and the housekeeper did not. The in-room directory told us to contact the concierge for internet access. Her response was to tell us to go to a coffee shop about a mile away where she said they had internet access. (The coffee shop did not.) When I asked the concierge for the address of the nearest library, she took a full 20 minutes to provide a simple address, looking hugely inconvenienced by our request the entire time. There are better choices in Carmel area, especially for the 4 star price of the Ranch.

We made reservations to stay at the Veranda Suite: an 1,100 square foot suite with separate sitting area, 2 fireplaces and 2 vanities in the bathroom. As soon as we drove past the entry gate, we saw mounds of dirt and no golf course. While checking in, we find out that they were re-doing the golf course. This was never mentioned to me while making the reservations with Dave. The minute we walk into our Suite, we both knew that the room was NOT 1,100 square feet. Both my husband and I are in the field of architecture. We measured the room and it was approximately 725 square feet. And the bathroom had only 1 vanity. The staff at the front desk mentioned that the decks were included in the overall square footage. This is ridiculous, and false advertising. Decks are not labeled as 'liveable space' therefore cannot be counted on the square footage. On our second day around 2:30pm, I spoke with Christine at the concierge to inquire about availability for massage treatments at the spa. She called back within minutes to let us know that she had scheduled 2 in-room massages at 5:30pm. We only asked for availability at that time of day. We had dinner plans at 6pm, and had to cancel. But before I could thank her for taking the extra step to schedule the massages, Christine HUNG UP ON ME. I have never been treated this way, much less at a resort that was highly recommended to us by friends. Your management should require all staff to attend hospitality lessons. Never again will I, my family or friends stay at your resort.

My family stayed at the ranch for two days last week. I cannot believe it got 4 diamonds from AAA. The rooms were old and tired. They have a huge staff that from what I can tell does nothing but blow the grass cuttings from the driveway. The hot tub at the small overheated pool did not work. I did not eat at the restaurant because it would have been a $350 dinner for four. I do not mind spending the money but I had no faith it would have been any good. The location is good and I paid $179 per night plus $25 service charge per night. {What service?} It is better then a Holiday Inn but not by much.

Huge suites with wood burning fireplaces. Wonderful golf on a Pete Dye course. We'll go back again and again.

This is not your typical hotel. Each room that I've stayed in has had a wood-burning fireplace. It is set back in Carmel Valley and has nice areas to walk and enjoy the scenery. It is very quiet and relaxing!

Nice setting - rooms are very large and nicely appointed. Living room, separate bedroom, fireplaces in both areas. We had a nice deck to go out and relax on and spotted deer in the mornings wandering the grounds. The resort is tucked away in the foothills outside of Carmel and is a short drive into the town of Carmel. We enjoyed our stay here very much. Excellent restaurant.