North or South after Half Moon Bay stay at the Ritz-Carlton
 

We're thinking of celebrating our 50th at the Ritz-Carlton in Half Moon Bay (2 or 3 nights) next May and then heading either N. or S. for a couple days. We'll fly in and out of SJC and rent a car. We visited Monterey two years ago and we've "done" San Francisco.

Which direction would you take? We're not hikers or bikers but enjoy different types of scenery.

Maybe Mendocino to the north or Carmel Valley to the south?

Mendocino is bit too far away for our short trip (1 wk). We visited Monterey & Carmel 2 yrs ago but didn't see everything we wanted to.

How about a 2 nights in Santa Cruz area and then a couple nights in Carmel area? Then back to SJC for the flt home. Reasonable?

How about the Ventana Inn in big Sur?

Too far south. Using Marriott pts for the Ritz. Need to use some before they devalue even more. :)

Las Alcobas, Napa Valley?

It's a SPG Luxury Collection, so you can use your Marriott points.

Thanks, I'll look at that. Beautiful area.

I don't think there are any really nice hotels in Santa Cruz. The Beach Boardwalk is a day trip if you like old style amusement parks. Carmel Valley is mostly for resorts, it's not at all like Carmel itself. There are a few area parks with pleasant day hikes.

Thanks. We did drive into Carmel Valley also. Stopped at a few wine tasting spots. Any particular resorts that you've stayed at and would recommend?
Probably won't stay at Marriott/SPG every night.

The highest rated Carmel Valley hotel I think is Bernardus Lodge. Have never stayed there. Somewhat below that are Carmel Valley Ranch and Quail Lodge. I've stayed at the latter long ago and it was OK back then.

If you go to Carmel Valley, the Robert Talbott Outlet, the only one they have, is hidden in a random mall along the main road. Robert Talbott makes high quality clothes. I am not into shopping but have still always found this to be worth a stop.