L’Auberge Carmel

My Hubby and I recently stayed at the Auberge to get some R&R before the arrival of our second kiddo. This was by far the most peaceful and restorative little trip we could have done. The rooms are charming and adequate (not sleek or opulent, but quaint and charming). They do a very nice job of attending to any request and helped us choose hiking areas and restaurants. The complementary breakfast was just enough to tide us over until lunch, and the cookies and milk at turn down were a great touch that were appreciated by this pregnant mom. Complimentary parking/​valet, smaller property with great service, walkability to town and the beach… what more could we have wanted? We will definitely be back and so will friends and relatives. Perfection if you are looking to soak in nature, shop, and relax.

Food superior, though pricy. Service very good. Som was poor. Did not engage in conversation about differences between the reserve & house wine lists. Was messy looking. All that was said seemed canned & rote. Maybe we got the B team on Monday night?

Wheels touched the curb and valet was waiting!
Checked in immediately, with 2 beverages waiting!
Escorted to our courtyard view room. Right outside room 23 is a waterfall with a lovely trickling noise.
Ordered in room dining. We requested blue cheese (not on the menu) for our salad. Emily made sure it was delivered to us, even if the hotel didn’t stock it!
They offered 2 desserts, not to my palette liking but Emily was quick to offer nearby places.
This place is quaint, quiet, relaxing, and everything we needed in a getaway weekend with no kiddos!

This hotel is the BEST! The staff is so thoughtful and welcoming, the rooms are super plush and comfortable and the location is perfect. Stayed here for one night on our honeymoon road trip and out of all the places we booked (big sur, calistoga) this is the only property who made special arrangements or even said congrats for our honeymoon. We had champagne and a congrats card that the whole staff signed waiting for us when we checked into the room. So sweet! It’s all about the small details and making people feel special, and L’Auberge absolutely nails that. I can’t wait to visit this hotel again, highly recommend!

I love going here. My fiancé took me here for our first anniversary and we have been coming ever since. It is beautiful and the staff is great. They greet you warmly in a beautiful lobby with custom beverages to drink while you check in. The rooms are beautiful with complimentary H20 in all the rooms. They always go out of their way to make your stay magical. It is just a short way from a lot of fun places in Monterey like the aquarium and beach. It is absolutely magical during the holidays when they put up lights and a Christmas tree in the courtyard. Amazing breakfast in bed, big bath tubs for bubble baths, heated floors, their chef’s home made caramels, and so much more. We stayed there after we got engaged in December and it was perfect sitting in our window looking out on the Christmas tree. If you want a magical get away this is the place. I would give it 100 stars if I could.

I cannot say enough about this little Carmel hideaway… service, location, comfort, elegance… all spot on — You made my birthday visit one to remember. Thank you!

My husband and I spend a wonderful evening in this very pretty boutique hotel in the heart of Carmel By The Sea. Five star service, five star food. There is no better elegantly appointed hotel in Carmel. The service is understated yet friendly, the food is unbelievable.
Dan and Kimberly Baer

At first I loved this hotel. A handwritten welcome note, cookies at turn down service, but I hate to say that my experience here has somewhat ruined Carmel for me.
They were nice enough to reserve a reservation at an Italian restaurant they owned that was only a few blocks away.
As soon as I returned from dinner, I knew I had food poisoning. Damn you mussels! Never again! I’m not being a drama queen when I say that I got literally maybe 45 minutes of sleep that night. Thank god for the heated floor because I could not be further than a few feet from the toilet. Seriously, the bed was not an option. I’ve never had both explosive diarrhea and nausea at the same time. I spent my time going back and forth between the two.
I called the office and asked if they had an emergency doctor on call. Nope. The nearest hospital was over 10 minutes away. Clearly this was not an option. I don’t think I could make it a whole 3 minutes without throwing up violently or having the runs. My next question was if they had an emergency kit that might include ANYTHING to help me, but all they had was something for heartburn. It was clear to me that I would not be receiving any kind of assistance in procuring anything to help.
Because the hotel owned the restaurant, I obviously thought they would comp us the night. It’s not like I’m a stranger to 5 star hotels, so I felt my request was totally reasonable. Apparently, they didn’t agree. They said they checked with the restaurant and there were no other reports of food poisoning, so it clearly was something else.
I put a pox on this hotel, and their sister restaurant. They clearly didn’t care for my repeat business, and they sure as sh*t aren’t getting it.

The «L» in L’Auberge stands for a lasting memory because that is what it provides… a romantic setting, attentive, warm, & professional team, comfortable rooms and delightfully delicious food. But it is the little things that stand out, the colorful courtyard, the milk & cookies, chilled water, sunken tub and slippers. One cannot help but feel relaxed and invigorated after a stay at L’Auberge.

This hotel should be listed under ‘if you’re going to do it, do it right.’
Just spent two nights here and it was a wonderful experience. The service level is very high, Four Seasons high. Calling it an auberge is right, it’s more of an inn than a hotel with a small restaurant and bar. But that works here in Carmel.
Our room was spacious and comfortable with a sea view and amazingly huge deep tub to soak in after a days activities.
A few blocks from the beach, a charming courtyard to sit and enjoy a glass, valet parking, free (and high quality) breakfast … this place kept on succeeding. I can’t imaging staying anywhere else in Camel.
Highly recommended.

Enjoyed our 2-​day stay. In the heart of Carmel, great complimentary breakfast, and pleasant stay. Very cozy hotel, would definitely stay at the hotel again.

Congrats again on having such a great hotel and restaurant! We enjoyed three spectacular nights! Everyone on your team was spectacular! The room was amazing, but we would give the service seven stars if Unilocal went that high. As a cyclist, your team «valet parked» my bike every morning as I road around 17 mile drive all three mornings before breakfast. It couldn’t have been more perfect.
We also want to single out Dominque in the Dining Room and Laura in Hospitality for exceptional, yet comfortable service. This is a very difficult thing to pull off in what often times come across as stuffy and snobby service. These two young people have the amazing gift of offering perfect service, but doing so in a style that is comfortable, and not painfully formal. All of your staff are amazing, but we wanted to single out these two front line members of your staff as particular favorites of ours.
We can’t wait until our next stay

We came to l’Auberge Carmel after checking in elsewhere, being appalled by the room conditions, then bailing. I didn’t even know if they had rooms available but we showed up and everything went pretty smoothly from there. Anthony, who was very attentive and friendly during our entire stay, let us see all three open rooms before I ultimately decided on the nicest, most expensive one.
The rooms we saw were all different, especially the bathrooms. One had a round tub in the bathroom and the other had a long narrow bathroom but smelled musty. The room I picked had an «ocean view» (read: the ocean was somewhat visible through a window) and a smallish bathroom with a regular tub that was actually the nicest of the three.
The décor here leans heavily towards old and fancy to the point of being kind of tacky. Think dark antique wood and tasteful grandma florals; you wont find anything that looks modern. Not exactly decorated to my taste but overall there is something pretty old school charming about l’Auberge Carmel. One thing i noticed was that it doesn’t seem too ADA friendly with its steep stairs to the upstairs rooms and lack of ramps but there is something French about that too, ha. It has a lovely courtyard in the center of the property where you can see all the French windows and flowers in the window boxes. Very cute and romantic in an upscale B&B kind of way.
They obviously care about the quality of their service and food. I loved the nightly turndown service where they lay out your slippers and give you a bottle of milk and soft house-​baked cookies complete with recipe card. The complimentary caramels? Pretty good. The pain au chocolat we had one morning at the complimentary breakfast was downright fantastic! Definitely some of the best I’ve had outside of France. I was so bummed the next morning when we were served banana bread instead. Had I known, I would have bought a dozen. The scrambled eggs I had each morning were perfectly slow cooked. When we checked in, they sent us a bottle of champagne and note since we were celebrating, which was a nice touch.
One thing you should know: This isnt a «cool» hotel and the clientele here definitely skews towards the older jet set. The other guests were mostly all polite, older Europeans staying at this Relais & Chateaux property minding their own business. We were the youngest by far.
Overall my experience was pleasant and everything I needed after that horrible first hotel we had checked into. French luxury doesn’t come cheap though and our two night stay ran upwards of $ 1,500. Was it worth it? Maybe. Did I enjoy it? Yes, I did. As a Relais & Chateaux property, it means the hotel has met their 5c standards: Character, Courtesy, Calm, Charm, and Cuisine. I definitely think l’Auberge Carmel lived up to these.

L’Auberge Carmel is amazing! We spent a night there on our honeymoon and it was fantastic. The Inn is so beautiful, especially the courtyard. The rooms are nice and comfortable and the service is great. We went out to dinner and came back to milk and cookies in our room with the next day’s forecast. Big Bonus is that breakfast is included, and it was delicious! Amazing place!

They think they’re classy, but they’re not.
I had a most unpleasant experience with the hotel. After a mostly pleasant stay — clean room, french charm — I got my bill.
When I checked in, I was told that the breakfast in Aubergine was included, but apparently that is only for the code-​named «signature breakfast» menu. My bill included a $ 49 breakfast charge. I was surprised and mentioned that I had been told breakfast was included free. The clerk graciously struck the charge. But then I was subsequently informed by email that the charge had been reinstated upon orders from above.
I then got the criminal treatment from Mr. Munoz of Aubergine, who «researched» and discovered that I had signed the breakfast check. He apologized that the server «failed to verify that I understood how to read the menu.» But… still my fault. Silly me, at the Four Seasons the breakfast menu has prices and the charges are struck at the front desk when breakfast is included. Different policy at Aubergine, I guess. But I didn’t expect to be treated like a check-​forger because I signed the breakfast check.
The assistant manager — Ramy — wasn’t much more help — he too researched the situation and apparently my misunderstanding is my problem. So I guess it is. The hotel manager, George, was sorry that I was miffed, but I don’t think he thinks his staff did anything wrong. This place prides itself on its snobbery.
If you’d like to be treated as though you are a boorish American in France, this is definitely the place for you.

From the moment you set foot in Carmel, you’re transported to a fairytale milieu. And within that fairytale, L’Auberge is the prettiest one of em all.
Situated in the heart of Carmel downtown, amidst beautiful shops, galleries and famous restaurants (one of which — Aubergine — is on the first floor of this very building), L’Auberge combines the picture postcard classic architecture of the past with modern amenities like heated bathroom floors. The service from the minute they valet park your car to your way out is exceptional.
Highly recommended.

Couldn’t have been happier, staff was amazing and totally made our stay in Carmel a great one.

I have stayed at so many fancy shmanzy hotels across the world and at the end of the day I think L’Auberge Carmel is my favorite spot for a relaxing get-​away. So first off, a caveat about what you won’t find here… L’Auberge is a small historic property in the center of Carmel By The Sea (great locations BTW) so it isn’t overflowing with space consuming amenities like fitness facilities, business centers or the most mod rooms. What you do get is a whole lot of charm and the very best and friendliest service imaginable.
Rooms are clean and comfortable, bathrooms (with radiant heated floors) feel luxurious and the garden courtyard is a perfect place to sit and enjoy the delicious and bountiful breakfast they offer. Food is really exceptional here too and a meal at the hotel restaurant, Aubergine, should not be missed.
Really though it is the great staff that makes this place — they think of everything to make the stay extra special; to give it a feel somewhere in between the comforts of home and the adventure of being somewhere new. Thank you so so much to all you guys do to bring a little extra sunshine to my stays!!!

It is a very cute hotel in Carmel, but expensive for what you get out of it. I stayed in a deluxe queen and I highly recommend to stay in a larger room. The bathroom tiles were heated, which was nice. The soaking tub was very tiny. They were very accommodating to whatever I wanted, and I did like that they delivered milk and cookies at turndown. I wish I stayed long enough to try the breakfast at Aubergine. Maybe next time. Good walking distance to the beach as well.

POOR SERVICE. DO NOT WASTE YOUR MONEY.
BE AWARE!!!
There is a 24-​hour cancellation policy for the restaurant in hotel. It is $ 50 per person (unless you speak with Maurine then it is $ 100 per person, but she won’t admit to saying that because she has been there FIFTEEN years). Oh and Maurine also let me in on a little secret… depends on your excuse for canceling a reservation; sometimes they will charge you sometimes they will not. So think of a good excuse; apparently being honeymooners was not good enough.
Remember to shower with ALL windows open or else smoke alarm will go off and fire department will show up and come into your room. I believe it is common since front desk person called and immediately asked if someone was showering…
The restaurant is not worth the price. We spent $ 340 for two people (a cheese plate add-​on and ONE beer). Much better restaurants that are far less expensive. If you like good food, dine elsewhere… if you like «the name & the high-​end atmosphere» then dine in hotel’s restaurant, Aubergine. They will not tell you about cancellation policy so please make note ahead of time to call and cancel.
I know this review sounds mean, but I am just telling the truth. If it helps one couple/​family make a better decision on their stay in Carmel then it was worth it. I use these reviews quite often, and think it is only fair I write one for this experience. And may I add. I did try to contact hotel staff and let them make it right and they FAILED big time. I am young, only 23, and do not appreciate businesses or people in general not taking me seriously.
I have only been in the working world/​customer service world a little over a year. But I already know: the paying customer is always right, apologies may not solve everything but they help, never say something that is degrading or suggests the client is a liar, and to make things right when a client has been wronged. I think «one of the best hotels in Carmel» should know these just as well as a 23-​year old does.