I'm looking for recommendations for hotels/B&B's and restaurants for a weekend in Carmel or Monterey. It will be my first time in that area. I have already gleaned a couple of ideas from 2-3 year old FT threads, but was wondering if anyone had any recent experiences...

Thanks!

Edited to add: Our budget is anywhere up to about $175/nt for the room (which seems to be about what most B&B's run in the summer). Restaurant can be anything that allows business casual dress.

[This message has been edited by pinniped (edited 07-28-2003).]

I like the Rio Grill and Tarpy's for their food. The restaurant in the Highland Inn (Pacific Edge, I think) has great views and is highly regarded; I was not overwhelmed by the food, but the chef has changed since I was there.

The Green Gables Inn is a beautiful B&B in Pacific Grove. It's right across the street from the beach. We spent our honeymoon there.
Our favorite restaurant in Monterey is Fresh Cream.
Make sure you go to the Aquarium.
Have a great time.

Off to see the pinnipeds?

Send me an e-mail. Address is in profile.

If you're lucky you can save some money and Priceline your way into the Hyatt in Monterey for a $50 bid on a 3* in that area.
Tarpy's is great for dinner--the grilled artichoke appetizer is excellent. Passionfish has great seafood in Pacific Grove along with the most reasonably priced wine list in the area. If it's not foggy you can drive down to Big Sur and have dinner at Ventana or Nepenthe along with some awesome views of the Pacific.

The suggestions you have received are all excellent. One place I might suggest to visit is the Richard MacDonald Gallery in Carmel or Richard's studio in Monterey Valley if you are interested in art. We have collected his works for a number of years and enjoy just browsing in his gallery. His model is also an artist (Paige Bradley) a bit more reasonable than Richard yet follows his forms. Her castings and patinas are very similar to his and thats a technique that really sets one artist apart from another.
Richard did the statue at the Atlanta Olympics, the commerative statue at Pebble Beach for the 100th US Open and the Cirque d'Solie (sp?) pieces. He is acknowledged to be one of the top artists in his field. Pretty neat way to spend a few minutes in Carmel.

I highly recommend lunch at Ventana. There aren't many places with a setting as spectacular, and the food is quite good as well. Also recommend Pacific Edge at the Highlands Inn for dinner (now a Park Hyatt), but it is definitely expensive.

For a less expensive, more casual meal, try the Grill on Ocean Ave in Carmel. Lunch or dinner.

If you go to the Aquarium, be prepared for crowds.

Be a true tourist and take the 17-mile drive. IMO it's worth the $8.50. Stop in at the Lodge in Pebble Beach and the Inn at Spanish Bay, but bypass the restaurants. A drink at sunset can be pretty spectacular at either one.

Thanks for the recommendations!

Anyone have any experience with any of these:
- the Sea View Inn in Carmel
- the Inn at 213 17-Mile Drive in Pacific Grove
- the Sandpiper Inn in Carmel
- the Gosby House in Pacific Grove

Absolutely!!

We are more interested in viewing pinnipeds in the wild up and down the CA coast than we are in seeing the ones at the aquarium. (Do they even have pinnipeds at the aquarium? I mean...why bother? ) Still, we may go to the aquarium since it's such a "Must See" for Monterey. Ordinarily, we avoid those kinds of places on weekends.

I've stayed at the Gosby House many times. It's one of the Three or Four (I forget how many) Sisters inns, of which there are a few in that area. It's a lovely place and the breakfast and staff are very good. We did have one experience though where we stayed out in one of the cottages and the street sweeper or garbage truck woke us up really early. If you stay there I'd ask for one of the back rooms that doesn't get street noise.

I'll also second the recommendations for the Green Gables Inn and dinner at Fresh Cream.

When are you going to be in Monterey?

At the moment there appears to be an unusual influx of sea lions in Monterey this year. Check out the Coast Guard pier and the Fishermans Wharf boat ramp and docks.

Plenty of harbor seals on the rocks between the two.

and of course Ano Nueve has the largest breeding population of Elephant seals in the world - North of Monterey. You will need a permit to see them:

http://www.parks.ca.gov/default.asp?page_id=523

But why do I suspect you already know all this

The aquarium is a "must do" despite the lack of pinnipeds. I may be of assistance here

If you're going to travel down the Big Sur coast a little, lunch is always fun at Nepenthe--New Age place in the trees up on the cliffs looking out over the pacific.

Also, I would kill for the french fried artichoke hearts at Jack London's. Have some for me for lunch.

Djlawman

We will be there Aug 22-24.

Ano Nuevo is one of my favorite places in the world to visit, especially in Jan-Feb. We plan on going there on the 24th, even though this isn't "prime" elephant seal season.

FWIW, we booked the Sandpiper Inn in Carmel: $155/nt. for a king bed and partial ocean view.

OK! I HAVE to tell you my great deal! We're planning a trip to Monterey & I'd been looking & looking for an inexpensive priced nice hotel. Well, I thought I'd check out priceline.com.......I got the Hyatt Regency Monterey (a 3 star hotel) for $50 a night! I am so excited. It's close to the beach, Cannery Row, the Aquarium, etc. The Hyatt web page says the lowest price for a room there is $161. So I think I got a great deal.