This cottage was adorable and bed was comfortable and warm. Fridge and coffee maker was a plus but the cottage lacked a table. The basket of creamer, sugar, napkins, and stirrers was set on top of an awkward tray (which was set on top of the fridge) and it was constantly wobbling. At one point the basket fell over and everything spilled. I love the amenities of the cottages but it's just too cramped. I would recommend staying here but pay extra for a larger cottage and maybe the cramped feeling wouldn't be an issue.
Service seemed great. It rained the night we stayed there and because of the lack of insulation of these cottages the rain was really loud and woke us up. I'm not complaining because I love waking up to the sound of rain but I needed to note that the walls are thin. Heater worked super well, which is good because it was cold that day.
I would highly recommend staying in this out of the way area!

We recently came to the Carmel river inn for a girls weekend in early November 2012, we had a GREAT stay! We were in the "big" cabin #26 with 2 bedrooms, large living area with wood fireplace, large kitchen and great front yard with table and chairs. There were 6 girls total 2 stayed in the hotel portion and the rest of us had the cabin. Although we called many times to acquire about our room the staff never quite explained the size of our room as all 6 of us could have fit in it! But it was great to have a place for everyone to hang out, play games and drink wine, we even made dinner in our room one night to save some $$$$$$. We really enjoyed the grounds walking around and hanging out in the hammocks and having coffee out front in the mornings.
The 2 girls in the hotel portion said that although their room was comfortable they had a light coming in all night and could hear everyone overhead moving about. When we talked to the hotel staff they switched them to an updated cottage for the next night of our stay. Their updated cottage was great! Clean with a private patio.
Can't wait to come back with my family all of the cottages were so cute and all unique! I think I'll try to stay in #29 next time.

My only complaint is that their website is HORRIBLE!!! It gives NO INFORMATION whats-so-ever on the cottages and options that it has! Staff was great, room was clean, they even replenished our wood each night. Great option for a family or girls weekend!

We just returned from another wonderful week in "Our Cabin," which is actually one of two we love. These are the small, older cabins that have not been upgraded and remodeled.--they still have small kitchens with full size fridge, microwave, toaster, hot plate, and dining table. We love the convenience of preparing our own breakfasts and some dinners--and being able to reheat leftovers from all the yummy meals in Carmel. The private patio and garden areas for each cabin give us private space and the illusion that the whole 11 acres of gardens is ours alone--esp. after the busy weekend when it gets even quieter and more private. We've been coming here for years--and plan to return at least once a year forever.

Thanks to the reviews on Trip Advisor, I chose the Carmel River Inn as the perfect stopover for our group ride down the Pacific Coast Highway on the weekend of October 19th, 2012.

I was very excited about staying in one of their cabins. However, out of our group of 12, only 3 of us actually chose a cabin to stay in. Everyone else stayed in the standard rooms.

I and another couple were in the Castro cabin (in separate rooms) at the very end of the property. For us, the cabin experience was exceptional. There was a fireplace in the room, wine glasses and plates presented in a picnic basket and a patio to hang out on. It was absolutely perfect and I recommend that experience for anyone looking for a very different and (and possibly) romantic experience.

Those staying in the regular hotel rooms were not as happy.

Stories I heard ranged from hearing a couple fornecating next door to someone upstairs moving furniture around all night long. In fact, if you are the person in the upstairs room who was moving furniture around all night long -- shame on you for keeping everyone awake all night.

So, very thin walls to have to deal with.

There is also no air conditioning in the rooms, though at night it does get cool.

The front desk staff were exceptionally kind, and I loved the cat that came in and out of the office.

As a side note...

We booked this as a group, and as such, received a nice discount. I greatly admire the generous discount that was offered and I hope that never changes. It was difficult to arrange the group discount because the woman in charge of the reservations took forever to reply to her emails. It took days to week(s) sometimes to get an answer back from her when questions were asked. That, I hope gets improved upon in the future. On the other hand, when I arrived to my room, there was a nice bottle of wine waiting for me as "thanks" for having our group stay at their hotel. So, I got a very nice feeling that I was dealing with a "classy" organization.

So, bottom line, the cabin experience is exceptional. For a normal hotel stay I would probably pick something else.