Key
to Fun - South Monterey Bay
Convenient,
scenic lodging along the Monterey Bay
There are a tremendous number of rooms in the Monterey Bay, but they fill up during peak season. Check local calendars for events like the Monterey Jazz Festival or Laguna Seca races to make sure rooms are available. If you are attending those events, expect to pay a premium.
Rooms near the beach and in "wow" places, obviously cost more than those a little further inland. Look for off-season rates, packages or just save up for those special places.
The Monterey Plaza Hotel is one of those places, right on the ocean on Cannery Row, as are the Monterey Bay Inn and Spindrift Inn. These hotels all offer ocean views, proximity to Monterey attractions and beautiful rooms. View rooms start around $200, but expect to be spoiled for it with fireplaces, nightly turn down and other luxuries. The Double Tree Inn is close to Cannery Row, downtown Monterey and the Aquarium. Many rooms have ocean view in this full-service hotel, which includes a heated pool, fitness center, day spa and restaurant
For something a little different, check out the Monterey Hotel in downtown Monterey. Old World elegance and beautiful rooms complement this three-story European hotel built in 1904 in the heart of town.
Not quite as elegant as the Cannery Row establishments, but full of its own charm right on the beach sits the Monterey Beach Hotel. This Best Western Hotel is a bit away from it all, but has privacy on the Bay.
Other hotels in the Monterey area include the Embassy Suites, Casa Munras Garden Hotel, Hyatt, Holiday and Marriott hotels.
Away from
Cannery Row and surrounded by stunning coastline,
Pacific
Grove offers village charm.
The Centrella Inn has cozy rooms with a historical Victorian ambience.
It’s close to Lover’s Point and shopping and dining in Pacific
Grove.
But the village atmosphere can’t be beat in Carmel. Bastion of art galleries, cafes and elegant shops, Carmel also offers many fine rooms to match. A favorite spot is Svendsgaard Inn. The Swedish-country style inn, built in the 1950s, has a pool, garden and spacious rooms, many with fireplaces. It is on the edge of the village, but within walking distance to everything you may need. Some rooms come with mirrored white-tiled spas with a remote control TV at the head of the tub. A picnic-basket breakfast and paper are delivered each morning.
Close by is the Dolphin Inn. A sister to the Svendsgaard Inn, this accommodation is also spacious and full of the little niceties that are a trademark of Inns By the Sea, which owns five inns in Carmel. Those niceties include in-room refrigerators, fireplaces, Jacuzzi tubs, breakfasts — the kind of things, which earn the elegant Carriage House Inn a four-star rating and means that the Wayside Inn extends its hospitality to pets.
La Playa Carmel offers an ocean view with its accommodations. The Mediterranean villa was built in 1904 on the hills overlooking the sea. The resort is close to shopping and other Carmel attractions and is a bit of a tradition.
While images of ocean-drenched rocky cliffs come to mind when thinking of Big Sur, only a couple of lodges — Ventana and Post Ranch — offer views at a premium. Most lodging is tucked away in the redwood forests. The Big Sur River Inn is a tradition. Established in 1888, it has rustic rooms overlooking the Big Sur River. Country cuisine, live entertainment and pool complete the picture of country get-away. A general store offers hiking and picnic supplies and a gift shop offers an original selection of crafts, jewelry and musical instruments.
Also
deep in the redwoods is the Big
Sur Lodge. Located in Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park, the cottage-style
rooms have decks or porches and are close to hiking trails and rivers.
