Carmel River Inn

Carmel-ized

Our first night was less than wonderful..we requested a cottage. It was quaint and inviting...but...the heating unit in the place was banging all night..no sleep. We changed to a room in the main building and it was much better, nice room and view. location was very good..restaurants to try: Rio Grill (dinner) and From Scratch ( great breakfast!) in shopping centers across highway. Hotel staff was pretty good, but took a few tries to get our room situation resolved. Good deal for the price. worth the initial inconvenience.

flew into San Jose from Phila. big mistake. Coming to Carmel, should fly into Monterey.

Nice friendly hotel

We stayed in one of the cottages. The cottage was amid a private garden with our own set of humming birds. The linnen was very nice and the place was clean.

Always happy with my stay

This is our home-away-from-home when we are on the Peninsula. Could not ask for better service, cleanliness, etc. Return as often as we can.

Carmel River Inn

Very friendly, cosy hotel. Very well priced.

not bad, but nothing super special either

room was ok. bit dated. grounds were very nice. pool could have been warmer.

Great getaway with the pups!

The property that the hotel is on felt like we were in the woods. Perfect for walks with your 4-legged friends. Our pommy babies loved it, from the welcome basket that greeted them in the room, with treats, dog/water bowl/toys, to the swing and hammack to laze around in all afternoon. We love it, and plan to come back.

Traveler's tip

Perfect for families with dogs. We saw all kinds in all shapes and sizes.

super water pressure in shower!

had a great time. the location was ideal for visiting the carmel mission and not too far from the aquarium. didn’t have any trouble finding the hotel, as its right off the highway. the room was in the main building. we requested and got a first floor room away from the office. in fact, you couldn’t get any farther away; the room was the last one on the opposite end. room was clean and had plenty of room to walk around beds, etc. nice patio and trail just out the sliding glass door. however, the sliding glass door and its screen were both pretty sticky and hard to lock; would have bothered me if i’d wanted to keep open (but it was too cold). couldn’t hear the folks next to us but definitely heard the ones above us. still, no problem sleeping, comfy bed, and love that shower! next time i hope to stay in one of the numerous cottages on the property.

Pretty hotel

Lovely little hotel but difficult to find the entrance as even the navigator has you going in the wrong entrance. However hotel is so gorgeous and staff very helpful. Cold drink on arrival with biscuits - nice touch. We enjoyed our stay and would have stayed longer had we not previously booked next night.

Correct

Rooms in the main building are correct : big, but very standard, no charm. Wi-fi not very good. Quite far from downtown. Bungalows might be better/cosier.

Lovely stay

Beautiful location and grounds. Room was very nice and the pool was one of the nicest I have seen in a very long time.

rustic in Carmel.

pay attention to the directions,hotel is difficult to find. combination of motel type rooms and numerous cabins of varying sizes.rooms are clean. staff was very helpful and very courteous.great place for families and groups. close to crossroads and barnyard shopping areas. within three miles of central Carmel.

very nice for the price....

Service at front desk was wonderful.. very helpful with suggestions etc.

Good budget choice

For my purposes, it was a great motel. Friendly staff, great location, restaurants nearby, pool, clean rooms. Not a very elegant hotel, but if you are seeking a clean upgrade over a typical budget motel, this is it.

Traveler's tip

To reach the hotel, go past the intersection and make the first right after the light. The road curves around and the first road sign will not bring you to the motel.

Great place to stay!

As usual ... our stay at Carmel River Inn was above-average. Always clean, quiet and great service.

Better than the Pictures

If you would like a place that is off the beaten track of hotels this is the place! Our room looked out on woods and there were flowers everywhere. The staff was very helpful in making suggestions of places to eat. It is near two shopping areas with anything you would want! Five stars!

Traveler's tip

Ask how to get to the entrance before arriving. It is a little tricky!

Can’t wait to back but stay longer next time.

beautiful and Cozy In very interesting place or location.

Very cute

Great decor and perfect location!

Will return again!

I was planning a weekend getaway with my daughter and grandaughter. My daughter could only stay one day so I was looking for something inexpensive for the next day. We chose the Carmel River Inn. I have to say after reading the reviews I wasn’t sure what the Inn would be like but decided to go for it! One of the reviews was awful and 2 others were very good. When we got to the Inn we found we had been upgraded to a cottage. It was one of the older ones but it was so comfortable and really clean. We loved the grounds of the Inn and had a really relaxing day and evening. The staff was very caring, calling to see if we needed anything. I don’t know if they are renovating or we were upgraded because I have arthritis and asked (on line in special requests) to be given a ground floor room. I will definitely return and check out the rooms in the motel section.

Great Place for a Fair Price

We frequently stay on the Monterey Peninsula and have become attached to these little cabins. The employees are always very friendly, the grounds impeccably maintained, the rooms clean and comfortable, and the location is also great. Located right on Hwy 1, yet back off the street enough that it is quiet. For cabins, they are very comfortable. Overall, we are always happy with our stay here!

Traveler's tip on dining

Lots of great dining places across the street in the Barnyard shopping Center.

High Quality Motel

I had a great stay in January. The woman at the front desk was very friendly and helped me to find somewhere good to eat. The motel rooms are nice, the rates are low, and they allow pets, so making this the perfect place to stay for a weekend getaway to Monterey, Carmel, or Big Sur. I didn’t stay in a cottage and I didn’t try the pool (too cold in January), so I can’t speak to those, but everything else was great.

A little chilly, but cute!

We thought we had booked a motel room, but when we arrived found that we were assigned to a free-standing cabin. Cabins are very cute and rustic but it’s a bit like camping out. Walls are only 1-board thick and you can see some slivers of daylight through the edges. The first night, we hadn’t completely figured out the space heater (our fault, not theirs) and it was pretty chilly! And watch out for the unheated bathroom. Brrr... Overall though, it was a super cute place. Each cabin has it’s own driveway. TV, coffeemaker, nice squishy bed.

Carmel Valley, CA

Having stayed in Carmel by the Sea for several past trips I was looking for a less expensive, yet suitable alternative. I found this inn to be just what I wanted. I travel to the area frequently in bringing my son to and from school so I was familiar with the area. It is a little off the beaten path but if you don’t mind taking a car to eat, shop, etc. this is a good alternative.

Traveler's tip on shopping

Across Hwy 101 business men will find the "best clothier on earth" (my opinion). The establishment is Pacific Tweed and is located in the shopping plaza there. Also the Rio Grill is a great place for lunch or dinner. Why do I con tinue to return to the East Coast???

Filthy Rooms at Carmel River Inn

We shopped around quite a bit to find a decent priced place to stay in Carmel. The prices were very competitive so we decided to give Carmel River Inn a try. There were several problems with our room, most of them were related to the cleanliness of the room. Our sheets weren’t changed at all for the first three days that we stayed there. The shower had mold growing all the way around the ceiling. The carpets were so filthy that we actually had to lay towels down to walk on, because the carpets were damp and sticky! There were lots of spiders and bugs in the room. The curtains did not close all the way, so people could see into our room. The frame of the sliding door was coming unhinged from the wall, and the screen door outside the sliding door did not close properly, so we couldn’t leave the sliding door open to get some fresh air. This was the dirtiest room we have ever stayed in, and we we’re forced to endure this stay, because we couldn’t find other hotels in Carmel due to high demand and high prices. After our complaints the mold was removed, and the sheets were changed, but nothing was done to resolve all of the other problems, including the filthy carpets!

Traveler's tip on getting the most out of your stay

Visit Carmel but Avoid Carmel River Inn!

Pretty but loud

The hotel was initially hard to find even though we were traveling with a GPS system. I guess there was a road block that involved going around and trying to find a turn off of the main road. Definitely wish that there was some warning about that, because we were running late as is and didn’t need the extra delay. The staff was super nice and friendly. My biggest problem was with the noise of the hotel. If you stand on your pretty back patio, you hear the noise of the nearby busy road. In the morning we were waken up by people outside or near us. The walls offered no sound buffer whatsoever. The beds were one of the most uncomfortable, not to mention we were stuck in a room with two small double beds when we requested a king. It was a pretty inn and everyone was nice, but I did not sleep very well.

Quite and affortable

It was nice and quite and afforatble and overall our experience was a nice one but we were grossed out by the mold growing in the bathroom cealing and no Air conditioning available. It was humid.