Carmel River Inn, Carmel-by-The-Sea

We never saw the cottages...we were given a room in the hotel. They may be rennovated but the smell of the varnish on the new furniture is awful. We could hear the person next door snoring in the middle of the night! The people were not friendly and the office didn't even open in the morning when it was suppose to. We got this on a half price deal through TravelZoo. I would have NEVER paid full price for that. We wanted to leave but there was a 3 day cancellation policy. Nope, we won't go back.

We will no longer stay at Carmel River Inn in Carmel California. As they no longer will allow us to stay in any of the NEW Renovated cottages with our clean well behaved beloved pet. It's obvious to me they are slowly ending dogs allowed after they're done renovating the rest of the cottages on the property. For those that don't realize this, Carmel is rated one of the BEST dog friendly cities in the country. Even Doris Day lives near by and has her own dog hotel. So to find this happening is frankly shocking to say the least. However, it's not just about dogs especially to those that are happy they won't be allowing dogs in the future. Please Beware. Not only has the communication and friendly service gone down, and that's bad enough, the noise is still there. They are Renovating All Cottages and other areas and will be for Years! It seems every time we went it was Noisy from the workers renovation work. We ignored this because we could stay in such a beautiful setting and wonderful renovated cottage. But now they no longer allow dogs in the nice cottages only the very dumpy ones that are still waiting for renovation so we are no longer going. Again Beware. They will be renovating for Years. Not just the cottages. We understand they are also going to build a large conference center on the property and I assume this work will still happen, don't know. And completely renovating or tearing down and starting over the main building. When we stayed their last it was very noisy. So some tips if you do decide to go. Don't expect friendly service next time you go, it's gone. And your best bet is to only stay on weekends and then maybe and only maybe you'll be safe from noise. If you do end up with noise ask for a discount. Ask about the noise before before making a reservation there. And hopefully they'll be honest with you. Good luck... So sad. Good Bye Carmel River Inn.

We loved our romantic getaway to the Carmel River Inn. We stayed in one of the older cottages and just loved it. The property is so quiet and serene. You can hear the wind start at one end of the property and rustle through the many trees to the other end of the property. There are gardens and pathways and the hammocks in the trees are the best! My husband and I really were are able to get away from it all at this place...

I spent 200 dollars a night there, thinking it would be really nice get away for me and my boy friend. But I hated the room it was old not even wroth the money I wish i would of went some where else after i got there. not a good place to go.

The Carmel River Inn does not receive enough recognition! At first I was not sure, because of the pictures that are presented online of the place. However, when we arrived there I was amazed on how clean and cute the whole area is. The hotel rooms looked old, but the cottages were sooooo perfect! The cottages were very clean and great for a couple or even a family. You were able to drive right up to the cottages and park outside. The cottages are handicap accessible, which I think is great! The cottage was up-to-date with flat screen tvs, and a nice propane fireplace. The linens were clean and the bathroom was huge! You really felt at home in the cottages. Also, I want to note that cottage felt very clean; unlike most hotel rooms. What more could you ask for. Thanks for the great stay!

It wasn't cheap and the people were not overly friendly. I did not like anything about it! The rooms were spartan for the price you paid. The front desk had accidentally cancelled our 2 night reservation while we were there so we only stayed one night. We had to frantically find another place in Carmel to stay the next few days. We booked the whale watching package and could not go to the tour because we were too busy looking for another place to stay. The front desk stated they were not going to refund me the amount for the whale watching tickets and that I could call the company and reschedule for another time. I had to call the company! Gimme a break! The place was tiny with no fireplace and heater. Since it accepted dogs, I guess the best thing about our ONE night there was we didn't get any fleas! Stay away, bad service, spartan rooms!

We really enjoyed our stay at the inn. When we drove up my husband thought I'd made a terrible mistake. When we checked the room out and found it spotless we decided to stay. We ended up loving it! It was consitantly clean, clean, clean. That's all I ask for sometimes....CLEAN! The coffee beans and coffee grinder coffee maker was a huge bonus. Paper every morning and outstanding flowers that are maintained by an individual irrigation system....just beautiful. Don't be deterred by the first look....it's an older place but if it's clean it's all worth it! Disliked the closeness of the rooms at the inn, could hear every sound next door.

While the inn was a bit hard for us to find the entrance to, our stay sure was great in every way! Nestled in the trees, with a flowing creek behind our room, the inn is a nice get-away. Our room was comfortable, somewhat "rustic", which added to the natural appeal. Service at the front desk was awesome. Everyone was so friendly! We took our pooch and by the end of the weekend, our miniature schnauzer thought she owned the place. We had a great time and can't wait to go back!

We had a $135 night cottage set in lovely gardens with birds singing and an owl hooting at night -idyllic. I was told later that the updated price was $185 after they had quoted me the lower price and I told them I wouldn't have paid the higher price. As it turned out it wasn't worth more than the lower price. It is right near the highway but quiet but we almost got hit turning left onto Highway 1 because the view left is partly hidden by bushes. The rug could have been cleaner and our kitchenette had microwave, regular refrig. & coffee maker. There was no can opener, no mixing bowl and we went to the store and bought plastic bowls so we could cook in the microwave, make salad, store food, etc.

The main building is a dump and I have pictures to prove it. It was dirty, not kept up, and noisy. Staying here for one night spoiled our trip to Carmel. Email to the owner about dissatisfaction was ignored.