Hotel and restaurant in Monterey/Carmel?

Any suggestions for a nice place to stay and a really good place to eat? Also fun things to do besides wale watching and the Aquarium?


Though we are debating going whale watching but I am wondering if it will be too cold and if the whales will be staying at their families for Christmas and not traveling much.


THANKS for any ideas!

Most of the whale watching places have links that talk about what sort of whales are in the area at any given point in time and some also have daily logs you can look at where they'll say what they saw when the boats went out on recent trips. I think there are at least a few whales around most of the year, although if it's cold or rainy when you're down there, being out on a boat might not be the most fun thing ever!

17 Mile Drive is also nice (although you have to pay for it!), lots of places to stop and get nice views of the ocean (and golf courses if you like that sort of thing). And there's a park just an exit or two south (I think) of Carmel called Point Lobos which is along the coast and is very beautiful. And I think there's a monarch butterfly sanctuary in Pacific Grove and now's the time of year that they'd be hanging out there.

Ummmm Nursery Hopping!!

Here's the list I promised a bit ago (I will add these to the 'Go Gardening' section as soon as I can.

This one was closed but I was able to drool through the gate. It's a small one but looked like it had very cool things!!!
Drought Resistant Nursery
812 Park Ave
Monterey, CA 93940
(831) 375-2120

Here are the Nurseries I did get to

Cypress Garden Nursery Inc
590 Perry LN
Monterey, CA 93940
(831) 373-1625
This is where I found the variegated Rhododendron that was so cool! (Mr. Roosevelt? I think that was the name)

Valley Hills Nursery (had BEAUTIFUL phormiums and this incredible GREEN flowering Kangaroo Paw)
7440 Carmel Valley Rd
Carmel, CA 93923
(831) 624-3482
Had a great selection and worth wandering through. Here's a link to the photos I took there. http://flickr.com/photos/begonias-photos/sets/72157594420045490/

Not far past Valley Hills is
Griggs Nursery
9220 Carmel Valley Rd
Carmel, CA 93923
(831) 626-0680

Lots of nice things but I didn't buy any thing.

This was in a shopping center and not where I expected to find it but they had a great gift shop and lots of very lovely succulents and cacti. Many were from Lone Pine but some were not. I did buy some things here!!! Worth a quick stop.

Succulent Gardens & Gifts
3672 The Barnyard
Carmel, CA 93923
(831) 624-0426


Of course in Seaside there is a HD and OSH. I hit the very poorly stocked HD -my visit lasted all of 3 minutes it was that bad. But I never made it to the OSH.

This message was edited Dec 14, 2006 8:24 AM

Thanks Liz. We did do 17 mile drive once before and it was good. We may do it again. I saw that there are a few wineries there. We may do that too. My 24 year old loves wine.

Oh Lali, I wish I could go to a few nurseries. Never happen. Tom goes deaf when I say STOP, A NURSERY!

I highly recommend the shop in The Barnyard....great succulents.

And the Highlands Inn is always a dream!

17 mile drive too

Funny, I tried Highland Inn and it is booked. We had eaten there in the past when we stayed at the Tickle Pink Inn.

Well progress, I made reservations at L'Auberge Carmel. And I am hearing great things about Grasing's Coastal Cuisine so we may go there too.

My husband wants to go whale watching. BRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!

Two years ago we worked on a project that took over two years to design and build so I was in the area alot.

One of my favorite places to stay is Asilomar.
I tried to stay in one of the older buildings that was designed by Julia Morgan.
The rooms in her buildings are small but comfortable and each building has its own central living room with lots of board games, comfortable couches and chairs and a big fireplace.
It is located adjacent to the sand dunes + beach and you access the ocean by walking down the elevated boardwalk .

The second place that is top on my list is The Old St. Angela Inn. It is a few blocks up from Monterey Bay and within close walking distance to Cannery Row.
The Inn owners always make a wonderful homemade breakfast and there are afternoon cocktails and teas in the front sitting room.

If you have the budget and there is an opening try the Post Ranch . Now we are talking a whole different league here " $$$" . The grounds are impeccible and the views unsurpassable. If Post Ranch does not have any openings then the next best choice is Ventana Inn.
Even if you can't get a room at Ventana you can have cocktails out on their open air courtyard and they also serve dinner, though I have only had lunch there.

Of course if you are going down that far you might as well have lunch , dinner and or cocktails on the deck at Nepenthe's.
This has been a favorite place of mine for the past 25 years. A trip down the coast is never complete until I have an Irish coffee on the deck.

As far as places to eat in Monterey and Carmel, there are tons of great places and half the fun of being down there is exploring the various eateries.

It sounds cliche but for a sit down lunch or dinner when in downtown Carmel I enjoy the Hogs Breath Inn Restaurant.
Another great place is the Italian deli on the corner next to the small central park. You can't beat their take our sandwiches and salads and then walk 4 blocks down to the beach for an inexpensive picnic.
( if you stay at Asilomar there is a Trader Joes near by and that is a great place to grab inexpensive well made salads, crackers, cheese and a bottle of wine and head to the beach )
And of course there is the wharf with several good italian and seafood restaurants.

As far as things to do there is no shortage of entertainment, from easy going walks along the Pacific Grove trail + beach to to hikes into the Ventana wilderness and kayack and bike rentals down on the beach near the Cannery.

If you do go whale watching, most of the boats have an inside area where you can stay out of the wind and be a lot warmer (although if you get seasick easily you may need to brave the cold...they advise you not to sit in the inside part if you're feeling queasy but instead sit outside towards the back part of the boat)

Kell, You have an D mail re: Monterey.
Linda

This message was edited Dec 15, 2006 11:39 PM

This message was edited Dec 15, 2006 11:40 PM

I recommend the Colonial Terrace Inn at San Antonio and 13 st.

Hogs Breath

Tide pools just to the south of town

Nepenthe

Window shopping on Ocean Ave

Listening to the monks early morning chant at the mission.

I haven't been to Carmel in a number of years so anything new going on there has escaped me. Its one of my favorite places on the planet.

Used to see Kim Novak modeling on the beach in a bikini. She lived in the house to the far left as you're facing the ocean, on the point.

Our favorite place to stay is Seven Gables Inn at Pacific Grove. It's centrally located....about one mile from the Monterey Bay Aquarium. The Inn is fabulous and so is the food. It's right on the ocean and you can watch the whales go by.

I have gotten sidetracked. Well all your suggestions are just great. I need to stay for along time to enjoy staying in all the great places. THANKS. I am getting an Aquarium pass for the year so we will be back. Unless we freeze to death when we go whale watching. In spring I would love to stay at Seven Gables Inn. It is so pretty and on the water!!

Well Deviant Dancer, I am not sure I can pony up to the Post Ranch bar. LOL. WOW what a place!!! I may spring for 1 night on our next anniversary but we wouldn't leave the room at all or sleep even to get our money's worth. LOL

We will have to go to Nepenthe it is so highly thought of by so many. I booked in a place in Monterey only because they had 2 rooms available close by each other. So many places were booked. I am trying to remember the name. When I look up the name I will post it here. Supposed to be a 4 star hotel but not all the feedback was great. It will have to do. We will be spending more for our dinner at L'Auberge than we will for our room for 1 night. LOL


This message was edited Dec 22, 2006 4:18 PM

Oh Greatswede, I just went thru the rooms at Seven Gables Inn and fell in love with the views. My husband even liked it. And it is so full of charm. Shoot. And it is so reasonable. More so than where we are staying. I may book a room for next month. I have decided we are taking overnight trips once a month. Next month I was thinking of going to Sausalito but if all goes great maybe we will come back to the Monterey area. That is what is so great about the Bay area, we are central to so many fun places to visit.