Carmel Valley Ranch

Excellent facilities! Clean, friendly staff, spacious rooms, and great amenities! If you are looking g for a relaxing experience, this venue delivers!!

Do your homework on what makes people love this place and who loves it - we likely wouldn’t have stayed here if we had. But even so, and in spite of the kind staff and their interest in making it right, CVR didn’t live up to the “luxury” mark. This is clearly a golf-and-family resort and we wish its online presence made that clear particularly during the summer months. For example, we made a naive assumption that “Vineyard Oak” meant that would be our view from our suite — but that would have been wrong. And despite the reservation specifying “vineyard view”, the primary view is golf course. From a different angle, you can see more vineyard, but this is misleading. We didn’t do our homework, otherwise we would have managed our expectations. Here’s what we liked: our massages therapists (Emily and Bernadette were both spectacular); our Garden to Glass experience with (Izzie & Sophia); our server at Saturday breakfast (Jose); some great garden advice including a visit with the chickens. And the s’mores on the deck watching the sunset over the valley was stunning. The stuff we should have known: from March through September, this is a family getaway and weddings, weddings, weddings. While you can have moments of adult-hood, we had hoped for enough separation to have our romantic getaway. And we couldn’t make that happen on this trip to CVR. Here’s what made us regret the experience: * Wedding receptions both nights of our stay had loud amplified music on the lawn. We had paid a premium to have the suite with the tub on the deck hoping for relaxing or even romantic evenings — but we would have had to wait until after 10pm for the music to cut off to enjoy our deck. We asked after the first night (reception on the Vineyard Lawn) if there was going to be amplified music again, as we would have switched rooms (only rooms up the Bluff Suites have tubs we were told, and those are the ones that face the lawn). We were told by Jeff, the front desk manager, that there would definitely not be anything amplified that night. And he was wrong - there was a reception on the Harvest Landing, with even louder/closer music. Even thought the parties were hundreds of yards away, the valley carries the noise and we could clearly hear the songs and DJs and cheers. Had Jeff double-checked with Event staff, he would have known to move us to a quieter suite, we might have a different story to tell. * With only one restaurant on the property, we hoped it would have a spectacular dinner and top notch service. We asked our server to course out our meal, and she didn’t - appetizer and salads arrived at the same time. And then my trout came out so overcooked that our server could see it just by looking at it. We didn’t wait for them to have a do-over, as it was so loud and unromantic - watching a wedding party go back and forth through the hallway - that we just wanted to go back to our room and enjoy some quiet. (Which we couldn’t — see above.) * We had to get a do-over on our arrival - our initial check-in with a trainee didn’t include an orientation to the property, not give us our check-in bag. We expected to be given suggestions to make sure we made the best of our visit; we had hoped for an early check-in. The 2nd check-in (when our room was ready) with Tessa was far better. We returned for a 3rd check-in upon realizing we didn’t have a true vineyard view, thinking we had been put in the wrong room type. We learned otherwise, and it seemed to be a real challenge to find us an option that didn’t face the golf course; in hindsight, we wish they had said “Hey, here’s a couple trying to have a romantic getaway. Let’s send them to the bar and treat them to an appetizer while we figure out an option.” Instead, we watched them struggle and decided we would just stay in the room we had been assigned rather than delay starting our getaway any longer. * With the price point for the spa, we expect the little stuff to be up to par - the towel I pulled for my shower looked like it was ready for the rag pile; and the outdoor furniture for the women’s locker room had bird guano stains and rips in the cushions. * Our room had numerous issues too. Taking a shower upon arrival, we had a slow drain and I was standing 1/2” deep in water after a 5 minutes shower (this was fixed very quickly, thankfully). We actually ended up taking more showers at the locker rooms because the water pressure in our room left a lot to be desired. We also noted significant scuffing on the dresser, and lots of rust/peeling paint on the railing on the deck. And the cushions on the “comfy” chairs on the deck need to be replaced immediately. The bathroom floor has a massive crack in the tile. * Using the shuttle service via text was inconsistent and it seemed they were overwhelmed with the amount of wedding activity that weekend (3 weddings). If this is such a popular destination for weddings, we don’t want to get a lesser experience for not being with a wedding party. We had a non-response to a text requesting a shuttle; then after finishing our Garden to Glass event, we ended up getting a ride with Allison, Director of Events, and her Assistant Director, back up to the lodge as no shuttles were to be found. While it was sweet of them, that’s not actually their job! * Our room never had housekeeping on Saturday. In our pre-arrival preferences, I indicated afternoon housekeeping, and we were gone 1-5 and turned on our “service” light outside the door. We would have appreciated fresh towels, and a resupply of coffee. * We didn’t have robes in our room on arrival. (This was quickly fixed when we messaged the front desk.) * The cost of EV charging is absurd. For the premium cost of the resort, we didn’t expect the rate to be double what it would be in town. $4.50/hr is too high. We spoke to various staff along the way, but after a point, we just felt like we were carping and it was taking away from us actually having a good time. Most of this stuff is small but these things add up. We greatly appreciate the efforts of the staff to make things right (a credit for the restaurant, and points for another stay to have a do-over), as they did try. There just wasn’t much in their power to do so. We did get one consistent message: that if we wanted a couple’s getaway, we should have booked Ventana. Which is about twice as expensive as CVR. Given that this was a splurge for us to begin with, I can’t imagine us trusting Hyatt in the future with an even bigger splurge. What we needed to hear were ideas for enjoying the trip we were on! We have no clue what staff could have done in the moment to have us leave the resort feeling like we’d have the getaway weekend we dreamed off. We would have asked for it. But it just didn’t seem like it was in their power (giving us a quieter room), or it wasn’t something that could get fixed during our stay (water pressure). When we check out we spoke to Rebecah, the housekeeping manager who was at the front deck; she offered us credit for one night to come back to CVR; and while the gesture is appreciated, we don’t think CVR is where we would choose to come back. A few ideas for the future: * notify guests on check-in if something will be amplified on the lawn during their stay - you might even consider volume testing, and working with DJs to bring down the volume a lot of after 9pm. * Please change any room description with the word “vineyard” in it; it’s just deceptive. * If you want to attract couples on a getaway, be more thoughtful about how you create adult-only experiences or even educate your staff on how to help couples find the best of it during their stay. But for others considering this resort, do your homework…. The happiest folks are those coming with small children. And we can see why!

A beautiful location in Carmel Valley with exquisite activities and hiking areas and trails sprawled over the 500 acres. Pet friendly and accommodating . Excellent restaurants, services from concierge, to receptionist , valet, service workers and waiters made the experience very enjoyable and comfortable . A must go back location to spend more time to enjoy all that they have to offer! We were celebrating my husband's 70th birthday,

The entry level suites are awful. Dark, dirty looking and beds are horribly soft. The resort is pretty but it wasn’t a comfortable stay.

My husband and I went on a late honeymoon! The staff was absolutely amazing, and all the experiences made our stay so memorable. We cannot wait to plan our next visit!