I used to stay here as a child with my family in the 70's and 80's - this was my first time back to the newly renovated La Playa, and it was lovely. The rooms are clean and modern, but still have some old spanish charm about them - we had four rooms for a wedding party, so got to see a variety. Definitely better to get an ocean view or patio room. We had the Poolside King - a big room with fireplace and large bathroom, sofa and coffee tables. We got married in this room with a minister and 8 guests, and it was PERFECT, intimate and beautiful. The hotel sent down some complimentary champagne and extra chocolate.

The complimentary breakfast was also excellent - waffle and omelette chef, great croissants, fruit, bread pudding, etc. Helps offset the slightly pricey rooms.

This hotel is two short blocks down the hill to Carmel Beach, making it the perfect location if that is why you are in Carmel.

The renovated hotel is comfortable and elegant without being pretentious. I was very impressed with both the room and public spaces. The breakfast is surprisingly high quality. BUT....all this is countered by the absurd prices at the hotel bar. I was charged $19.50 for a scotch. In a span of 15 minutes I heard 3 other guests complain....One gentleman frustrated enough to say he will never return again after years of loyal patronage. If the hotel ownership and management do not choose to address this, then they are essentially saying: "we are going to stick you for the cost of our renovations...." Not a good business model.

We stayed for three nights just before Christmas. The staff were all warm and gracious without being intrusive. Their book of local restaurant menu's is great - and our bar waitress even made our dinner reservations for us (a pleasant surprise service). Taking their shuttle downtown to dinner each night was a great service!
The rooms are a bit small, but that is not unusual for a hotel of this age - what is great is the new, clean amenities. Breakfast is still a work in progress, but I know they will get this done right soon. And the garden - it is absolutely gorgous... even in the pouring rain.
Given the great location, the nice rooms and public areas and the fantastic service, I would recommend this to anyone.

This hotel is in a wonderful location about four blocks from the centre of Carmel and about three from the beach. The hotel itself is quite charming with a warm inviting lobby and beautiful gardens in which there is a small pool. There is no gym which was a surprise for a hotel of this size.

Our room, which was small but nicely furnished, faced the street with the window at ground level about one metre from the sidewalk which made privacy an issue.

Check in was quick and efficient but it seemed as though the reception staff had patter they had been taught to say whether the customer wanted to hear it or not.

Our room seemed clean but when we checked the glasses left in the bathroom they were dirty which indicated they had not been changed. The bathroom itself was okay although the hot water was only just warm.

Breakfast was served in a delightful sunny room on the second floor. Unfortunately the room is not set up as a restaurant nor as a lounge but something in between that servies neither purpose well. About half the room is taken up by a sofa and chairs and a large table on which some of the breakfast offerings are placed.

The sunny room was full when we arrived and so we had to choose between going outside or into the adjoining bar area which is dark and uninviting. It was a cold morning so we sat at a table in the bar area. No sooner had we sat down than the staff decided to place three large used coffee urns on the table by our side. Not a big deal but an indication of the lack of thought and/or training which typified the breakfast service.

Because we went into the bar area we failed to notice that there was an omelette station located out of sight in the outside area. Perhaps there is some reason why the omelette station has to be located outside away from the main food table, but why out of sight? It would make much more sense to have all the food options located in the same general area. The selection of food was adequate but not more than that.

On the second day we found the omelette station but the experience was not good. The "chef" seemed to have no real idea of how to cook omelettes quickly. We ordered two omelettes and were told "to come back in ten minutes". I returned in about ten minutes to find one omelette ready but the other one not started so another "come back in ten minutes". This was another indication of lack of training and/or management. The omelette itself was not well made.

The other very strange thing about the set up for breakfast is that there is a set of double doors between the sunroom and the veranda. The doors have strong return springs on them so it takes a strong push to open them and that's not easy when you're carrying plates of food or glases. When you open the door you are confronted by a small set of steps and a guide rail set up in the centre of the steps between the two double doors. The guide rail prevents you walking down the centre of the steps which is the natural thing to do when you go through double doors. It was quite funny to watch people with their hands full with plates. etc making the effort to push open the door and then navigate around the guide rail. It's a small thing but, to me, it indicated a lack of thought in the whole breakfast set up.

In summary, I do not think this hotel justifies the relatively steep price and I will not return.