Vendange Carmel Inn & Suites

Stayed here for a weekend in January. It was cozy, cute and quiet. Close to Big Sur!!! And decent continental breakfast included. Our room was wine themed and had a view of a beautiful garden and fire pits. Perfect place for a 2 day stay.

The owners and employees are amazing! We had a very late check in and they were able to accommodate us anyways. The beds are amazing and our room was very quaint. We got a room right next to the lobby so it was a little noisey. But we didn’t mind. But just a heads up if you are light sleepers get the room furthest away! I will definitely return.

We’ve been to Carmel a few times and stumbled upon this hotel when deciding to make a trip up and down the coast. We stopped here for two nights and it was such a wonderful little stay. Like many of the inns here, they have snacks in the lobby upon arrival and for breakfast, with cozy accommodations. While the rooms were smaller than expected, it was a nice stay for a couples retreat. Worth checking out if you can find a good deal.

1. Check in was easy and we were early. It was odd to be billed the full three days at check in, but I guess they might have problems with folks not being happy at the end of their stay.
2. Room faces a very busy street was lots of noise and we are right above the reception/​check in area, so added noise from that as well.
3. They advertise themselves as being partnered with some local wineries and also offer those wines for sale in the room. They have a wine reception in the afternoon that you would think would have some of the local wine they are selling to entice us to buy. Sadly not the case, what they did have was some of the cheapest wine from the grocery store. Fox Brook, Berenger and Crane Lake. We came back from town to enjoy some nice wine, went to our room and opened some of what we brought.
4. I went down the first morning to get some coffee and fruit for breakfast and it was a small selection but nice. Breakfast breads, bowl of chopped fruit, yogurt & granola.
5. Had a conversation with the receptionist regarding the noise in our room from both the street and the office area downstairs. She said she could move me but it would be a smaller room and still facing the street???
6. Thought about having a conversation with the owner, but after seeing the interaction he’s had with previous guests I decided not to waste my time.
So in conclusion I would say not a horrible experience but would not stay there again as there are many choices to book a room in Carmel.

DO NOT STAY HERE! Their customer service is extremely unprofessional and horrible! The owner Brian is worse than the customer service! He is argumentative and will hang up on you and will talk over you. He does not want to spend any money on his rooms for upkeep. Many of the heaters are broken in the rooms as I am finding out now. The pictures on their website do not match the rooms. We rented the cottage in unit 19 for 4 nights. On the 3^rd and 4^th night there was no heat in the room as the heater broke. We were freezing and ended up getting ill. When calling the emergency number, you get the lazy half asleep manager, Brian who could care less. He said he would deal with it the next day. We were advised they fixed the heat. Got back to our room the 4^th day/​night and had no heat. Called front desk and Tom came to the room to fix the pilot light per manager twice. I asked for compensation for the 2 nights. He said talk to Rosie in the morning who will speak with the manager, Brian. I see her this morning when checking out. She says for me to call tomorrow morning and talk to Brian myself. Horrible experience and will never stay here again. If you like to be cold, book here. Further more, I called the hotel the next day and got the lazy owner, Brian who said he would not compensate me at all. This is terrible and a horrible way to treat customers. They are way overpriced and the rooms are crappy. Noises and many trucks stopping off the hwy 1.

Beautiful grounds. Noisy main street. Couldn’t stay upstairs like we were told over the phone the day before we checked in, because the heater is broke. Was shown a smaller room off the main street, but couldn’t move into it bc I had sat on the bed to see if I could sleep with all the road noise, and he said the room was used and was not an option anymore. I also booked the suite because there was a fireplace, which come to find out is only decorative. It does not state that on the website, and we would be in a quiet room as we speak if they would have disclosed that. Unfortunately won’t stay here again.

We were visiting for 2 days. Beautiful Hotel, great service, great wine and peaceful night sleep. The only complain is location but it didn’t stop us from walking to Ocean street and back. Actually staying off the main street makes you want to explore more. I had a blast exploring Carmel on my 6 mile run. Next time I want to run 17 mile drive. We enjoyed our stay and we will be back. I also appreciated the fact that it’s adults only place.
Ps our room didn’t have a fridge or coffee pot but it was ok with us. Nice coffee at the lobby and Tom was very nice to let me use his microwave.
Many people complained about noise … I say bring some earplugs :)

My boyfriend and I booked a room here during our trip along the PCH.
After driving (and touring) around the PCH for the day, by boyfriend and I finally arrived at Vendange. As I waited to check in, there was someone else talking to the gentleman at the front desk, asking about restaurants and such in the area. As it was clear I was waiting to check in, the other guest soon ended their conversation, which the gentleman, who never mentioned his name, seemed annoyed about, hurried me through my check-​in. I’ll admit, I was looking forward to the cheese plate, and either there wasn’t any, or it was never offered to us. He did give us some food suggestions… but seemed annoyed when I told him I wasn’t going to decide on the spot. Maybe he was just having an off day…
As for the actual room, it was cozy, small, but very nicely done and clean. The location was perfect, the bed so comfortable. The price, especially compared to everything else in the area, was amazing. The grounds itself, while small and boutiquey, feel like you’re in a little garden.
The next morning, breakfast was delicious. Coffee! fruit, quiche! bagels and other associated items. The woman who checked us out was WAY more friendly, asked about our stay, if she could help with anything before we left, etc. ‘
I’d definitely recommend staying here if you’re in Carmel.

We stayed at the Vendange carmel inn and suite in the cottage. It was really beautiful. The staff was great. The owner was great and very helpful.

How does one know if the negative comments of reviewers are correct? If most of the reviews cite the same problems, that’s a good indication that they are.
I was going to give the Vendange three stars; it’s an average hotel. But after a run-​in with the owner, I downgraded my rating to one (or preferably zero).
The positives about the Vendange:
Comfortable bed
Pretty garden area
Clean room
The negatives:
As others have noted, the Vendange is situated on a busy main street.
Traffic noise is loud, even in our room which faced the courtyard.
There is no ventilation. The room was hot. There is no fan nor a/​c. Opening the tiny bathroom window did not create a cross-​draft and only increased the street noise. You can open the sliding glass balcony door, but you have to keep the blackout curtains closed because you can’t turn off the bright balcony lights, so there is still no cross-​ventilation.
The walls are thin. We could hear every word of the next door guest’s conversations.
Breakfast is average: Decent coffee, two cold quiches, hard-​boiled eggs, yogurt, bagels, angel food cake. During our three day stay, the breakfast was identical each day.
The bed-​side lamps have super-​white cold-​colored compact fluorescent bulbs, giving the room the aura of a kitchen.
One bath towel per person.
So if you don’t mind loud traffic noise, paper-​thin walls where you can hear your neighbors, no ventilation and kitchen-​like lighting, you may like the Vendange.
On the other hand, if you have a run-​in with the owner, as we did, you may wish you had never given the Vendange one penny of your money.
We are two professional people in our 60s. Returning to our room the first night, we heard raucous noise in the garden. Opening the sliding door, we saw four VERY drunk people in their 30s carrying on around the fire pit. Our first impulse was to complain to the desk clerk. But the four saw us and yelled for us to join them. Thinking we’d have a better chance of getting them to quiet down if they met us, we did.
We chatted with them for about 30 minutes, and they continued to be extremely boisterous and rude. The desk clerk came out, said someone had complained. One of the four said «we have our rights.» They all refused to quiet down.
A few minutes later, the clerk came back and turned off the fire pit. He told them if they didn’t quiet down «There would be consequences.» Realizing that this situation was going downhill fast, my wife and I went back to our rooms.
A few minutes later, we peered out onto our deck. They were still yelling. Someone down below pointed to my wife and said «you’re part of that group, aren’t you?» My wife told him he didn’t know what he was talking about.
The four people at the fire pit continued to carry on. The police were called, one person was arrested and the four were appropriately kicked out.
A truly bizarre evening.
The next evening, that same person who had called out to my wife, who we now understood worked at the hotel, approached my wife and demanded to talk to her. He said in a threatening voice «I’m warning you that if there’s any trouble, you will have to leave.» My wife continually tried to explain herself but he wouldn’t let her talk. My wife told him multiple times that we were not part of that group and that we had left them.
This guy kept on accusing my wife of being part of the problem. A few minutes later I went down to join them. I asked him who he was.
«You don’t need to know who I am,» he said, which was ridiculous. After continuously asking, he admitted he was the owner. It took several more questions to find out his name: Brian. He eventually gave us a begrudging apology.
Over the course of the next few minutes Brian said:
1. So many guests lie to him about having to leave early for a medical emergency and he then finds them in another hotel down the street, that «guests are guilty until they’re proven innocent.»
2. The only way he would give a guest a refund for leaving in an emergency is if they produced a hospital note.
3. If we didn’t like staying there, we should leave and he didn’t want us to come back.
I told him he had falsely accused us when we were completely innocent of any wrong doing, and he should instead apologize and ask us how he could make it up to us.
He said «Oh, so you want a discount.»
I told him that was ridiculous, I didn’t say that, and that had never entered my mind. He said «but that’s what you implied.»
I asked him why if he didn’t want unhappy people to come back, did he always answer negative Trip Advisor reviews with «we hope you’ll stay with us again.»
He said, «My PR guy writes those replies.» (Does the owner even read the reviews?)
At this point we were very upset and angry. We explained that we had been planning this trip for six weeks, and that we were under a great deal of stress due to a very ill family member which might make us leave in an emergency.
«But you came anyway,» he said.

My hubby and I stayed here for one night on our west coast tour.
We were greeted by Tom at the front desk.
He was so lovely offered us a coffee and told us all about the place. He recommended some local restaurants and offered to book for us…
The inn looked lovely the reception was small, clean and welcoming
Tom brought us to our suite which was when we opened the door we were greeted with a distasteful musky smell this is the only negative I have as the room was SPOTLESSLY CLEAN
For what we paid est $ 260 per night and for what the inn looks like smells are so important
This is my only critique for the inn… Open your windows get some fresh air in and maybe put some candles in the room

Stayed in the galante room! Bed was so comfortable and good pillows! Balcony and very clean! Beautiful grounds, fire pit and breakfast in lobby with quiche, fruit, bagels, oj, coffee! Fabulous, romantic and a moderate walk to downtown. Up hill on the return walk.

My wife and I stayed at this charming Inn a couple of weeks ago Like all Carmel Inns, it’s not cheap but if you are looking to stay somewhere on a budget, you are looking in the wrong town.
We were warmly greeted by Tom upon check-​in and given the «lay of the land». We both like to have our luggage on racks but since most rooms only come with one, I asked Tom if we could get another. Not a problem — it was in our room within an hour.
Be sure and take advantage of the wine and cheese (and more) in the evenings. It’s a great appetizer before dinner. Of course when making a dinner reservation, do so a bit later in the evening as you don’t want to miss out on the spread at Vendange.
As for breakfast, again a nice set-​up. We were more than satisfied with the offering and you’ll be set until lunch time. My only compliant was that the coffee was a bit week but then, I like my coffee strong.
Location wise, it’s about a 15 – 20 minute walk from the downtown shops and restaurants. Walking from the Inn to the downtown was fine as it was still light out but once it gets dark after dinner, it get’s VERY dark. There are no streetlights. So be sure and either pack a flashlight or power up your iPhones because you are going to need the flashlight app. We called a cab after dinner one evening but they are coming from Monterey (15 minutes away) so we decided to just get some more Fitbit points instead.
My only real complaint about Vendange was that the walls are paper thin. I mean I could hear the quietest of conversations in the room next to us. Had our neighbors been newlyweds… well lets just say that I wouldn’t have slept very well. Bring earplugs!

To be fair, my boyfriend and I had a lovely time here when we went for our Valentine’s Day weekend. It’s on a busy street so you get a lot of street noise, but we booked late and took what was available.
Check in was easy, and the staff friendly. Tom greeted us and offered us complimentary wine, meats, and cheese. All in all okay weekend.
Jump to a MONTH later, I notice a $ 100 charge on my cc’d from them. I call to inquire and again, speak with Tom. He told me that my card was being charged because housekeeping had noted that we burned a duvet cover while ironing after our stay. I was shocked because I didn’t recall even see this duvet in the room let alone burning one. Also, the fact that it had been a month since we were there. How is this being charge now?!
Look, I’m not trying to be cheap, if this was our fault I’m happy to pay the price, but since it’s been so long since we’ve stayed there, how can they justify charging us?
Tom said they had photo proof, and implied that they still had the burnt duvet that he would dig up, which seems odd. A lot of things were just not adding up.
1. If this was discovered by housekeeping after we left, why wasn’t I charged the day after we checked out? How do you justify waiting a month?
how can you be sure it was us?
2. I was not notified by the inn about the additional charge and probably won’t have been unless I noticed it on my cc’d statement. I am a personal assistant and book a lot of travel for my job and any time an additional room charges occurs, the hotel always notifies us right away.
3. Why would the hotel keep the burnt duvet? Kinda sounds like a scam regardless.
4. Why, and I state this again because it’s so perplexing to me, why wait a month to charge me and not notify me?
When I spoke with Tom he said he would call me back the next day to further discuss since he was closing for the evening. I guess we will have to see how the outcome of the conversation goes before following up on this review.
It’s a shame to have such a bad taste after a nice weekend, especially since we go to Carmel 3 – 4 times a year and people are always asking for recommendations. As of now, would highly recommend all potential visitors stay away!
Follow up:
Tom called the next day, I appreciate his follow through. He told me that they are certain it was my fault and that because I sighed the room agreement form that I was on the hook for the charge and, to quote, «This is going to be the end of this».
Always a pleasure doing business with people like this.

Great little inn, VERY close to downtown Carmel-​by-​the-​sea which is hard. Try one of the hotel websites to get a great price like us. Room was small, but very clean and adequate. TV was actual cable with a TV guide which is nice when you unwind after a long day of exploring. Also, the breakfast was delicious, everything was very fresh. Save yourself some money and take advantage of it! Staff was also very nice, even escorted us to our room.

What a surprise this hotel !
It’s very hard to find a nice and cheap hotel in Carmel.
This one has everything for a couple.
The room was small but nicely decorate (the owner is a wine-​liver) and had a balcony.
It was very quiet (the road near is small).
We really LOVED the free wine and cheese tasting the night and the breakfast included in the price was awesome (home made quiche, eggs-​sandwich …).
They also have a fire-​pit outside :).

Tom the host is amazing and provided great customer service. The rooms however need immediate attention. Walls are paper thin as you can hear every conversation, footstep, door opening and closing as well as people getting in and out of bed. The room we stayed in smelled of mildew and was, poorly ventilated. All in all if you are planning a romantic getaway or are in need of a good nights sleep in a quiet ventilated room… this is not the inn for you. go somewhere else.

Yesssss!
Praise God for some place FINALLY doing things correctly. Vendange, congrats. You’ve sold us for life.
Don’t mind the fact that we’re still here now, haha, I knew we were at home simply from the drive up. Tom, at the front desk is nothing short of amazing and what if any, negative commentary can be derived from a location serving wine, cheese and select salamis each evening from 5−7pm?
From what I gather the place was recently remodeled or updated and while I’m not certain of how things were before OMGod is it all amazing now!!! The bathroom’s wall to ceiling marble sold me and the bed… (Sighs) Good God! Sleep like this is next to sex. Seriously.
(…wait, that was supposed to be in my head).
The overall ambiance seemed to embody that of your Grandmother’s lavish cabin retreat. Kind of like a new age hip Granny, lol. From flat screens to wifi to fire pits. Actually the fire pit outside was quite relaxing although we still found ourselves showering once we made it back to the room simply to thaw out altogether!
The only buzz kill here would be the fact that ice needs to be obtained from the front desk. Bearing in mind that they close at 10pm, we were compelled to do without.
Wait. Did I mention the bed???
Oahhh… Come to think of it, I think I’m going to make this our hideout EVERY Christmas! Some people head «home» for the holidays. Gosh… that’s so primitive. We’ve learned to adapt; Vendange is officially our home away from home.

«Come for the Wine, stay for the backyard»
I love this place. My partner and I were cruising to Santa Cruz from Bug Sur and decided the traffic was way too heavy to continue. We found this little gem on
Little did we know, it’s a wine themed inn. Each room is sponsored by a local winery who designed and decorated the rooms.
It’s clean, quaint, and the gardens are lovely. The service is warm and friendly, Tom was quite charming and helpful in checking us in. and the breakfast was wonderful, not your average hotel breakfast.
We stayed in the Blair room and absolutely loved it. But to our surprise it had a quaint little sitting area in the backyard which made me want to stay.
InnJoy!

What a lovely place !!! We just came back from the Vendange with my husband. We spent 2 nights there and we really enjoyed it. The staff is professional, helpful and do his best to make our trip a success.
For sure, we’ll come back !

Our stay at Vendange was an enjoyable experience all around.
Notes:
We had our infant with us so had brought her pack-​n-​play. It fit nicely against the wall under the TV with enough room for a wide walk-​way between that and the bed. However, there really wasn’t any other place to put it. The room was fairly compact but not cramped.
The man at the front desk was very professional and friendly. He explained just about everything that you could think of so I left having asked no questions, which is rare.
Prior to booking I read through Unilocal reviews and noticed a few mentioned chemical smells in the rooms. It was a risk we were willing to take. Unfortunately, our room (Dawn’s Dream) did smell of chemicals but we opened the windows and let it air out for a few hours while we went downtown and by the time we got back the smell was much better (though not all the way gone).
Very comfortable bed, cute décor. Beautiful bathroom (no bathtub, only standing shower).
Short drive/​walk to downtown.
Some of the rooms are on the main road (Carpenter) so if you are a light sleeper you may have issues with the traffic though after about 10 on Friday there really isn’t too much noise from passing cars.
There are nice sitting areas around the property, one even had a fire pit. Cute touch.
The breakfast in the morning is pastries and yogurt so we opted to go out to Katy’s Place (yum!) instead.
Complimentary wine in the lobby from 5 – 7 PM. Wine bottles in the room are NOT FREE (that was made clear to us upon checking in).
The office/​lobby is only staffed from 8AM-​10PM so if you have any issues/​concerns there will not be a person to go to. However, they provide a phone number for a night manager who you can call. You aren’t able to check in/​out outside of those hours since nobody is there to help you. It wasn’t an issue for us.