L'Auberge Carmel

I booked L’Auberge based on their review of having Luxurious rooms. We checked in around 3pm on April 28th and booked the best room which is King with an Ocean View. First, you enter by climbing very small narrow stairs that smell and look old. You enter thru a rickety door which doesn’t completely close. Light will beam thru all night. The room is musty, old furnishing ( they call it European). There is NO air conditioning. Ocean Virw is seen through the trees and you can only see the water. Hence the view. Windows open but you get the street noise. Sometimes so loud that you can hear even a conversation between people in addition to cars, motorcycles etc. I would NOT recommend this hotel unless you are good with old, broken window treatments, no air conditioning and close quarters. Not what I wanted for a romantic get away. Prior to this stay, we were at The Ritz Carlton in Half Moon Bay. That is the luxury we left expecting L’Auberge to be similar inside their rooms. They don’t care that you are not comfortable. No refunds will be issued if you leave early. They will charge you for the agreed number of nights no matter what!! Buyer Be Aware before Booking!

My room was small but adorable. The outdoor facilities are solid 3-star European hotel caliber. Needs maintenance. The hotel is rambly and there are elevators that lead to stairwells and more stairwells. You need a bellman. It is not quaint when there is no bell staff on call 24/7. The food situation is weird. Make sure you pre-order all your meals. Make sure you know what time they are serving. Carmel has a vibe and the vibe is not super service oriented. I was a little exhausted after my stay.

Room could use some help, sparse, missing artwork on walls etc. Dorm room style fridge sits on floor in the open. No air conditioning. Made a dinner reservation for the wrong night and we were checking out. Restaurant is closed on Mon. And Tues. for Dinner, not sure how you do that while operating a hotel..so at checkout the woman was very content with warning me if she pressed cancel for Dinner we would automatically be charged a $200.00 fee because it was not cancelled within 24 hours. We cancelled 8 hours ahead.. nice checkout after staying 2 nights. So, we won’t stay here next visit. A shame, the Breakfast was good. No hospitality here….if the Dinner is as good as the award, they should have no problem filling our dinner space.

The hotel was clean and full of character, the staff was attentive and thorough, the room was clean and comfortable and the bathroom was large and updated. The courtyard was a great place to meet and visit and the proximity to the main streets, restaurants and wine tasting was great. We walked to everything except the Clint Eastwood Mission Restaurant for which the hotel driver brought us there and back. We are already talking about our next visit there.

My wife and I with another couple enjoyed our 3 nights at L'Auberge Carmel. The hotel is conveniently located and the rooms were clean and comfortable. The staff was exceptional throughout our stay and we especially enjoyed Madisen's friendly and attentive table service during our morning breakfast daily. Our group unanimously agreed that we will stay at L'Auberge again if we have the opportunity.