If you’ve ever stayed at Auberge - get ready to be super disappointed! Huge noise in our room all Sunday night presumably from restaurant below. Outdated, old, rooms. We couldn’t get a breakfast on Sunday before 7;30am. We paid extra for a togo breakfast to our room with gas station low quality coffee and yougurt, three sips of orange juice, and a motel style pastry with an unripe apple! Lastly, they weren’t able to find our car key and took a while till they discovered were it was after asking us if we had it ourselves. Unprofessional, disappointing, poor quality hotel.
We loved Carmel-by-the-Sea! What a charming and quaint seaside town. We loved l’Auberge and how well maintained it was considering it was built in 1929! They have kept up the heritage beauty of the hotel and matched the decor accordingly. The staff were wonderful and accommodating. We were immediately upgraded and our room was quite large as well as a very large bathroom. The bed was in excellent condition and very comfortable. Location is perfect and we loved the fresh plums in the room and turn down service delicious cookies. We wouldn’t hesitate to stay again or highly recommend this property. Thanks again, Jessica and Aubey
Spent 4 nights at L'Auberge and would definitely return. A short walk to the centre of town and beach. 40min loop along the beach front past the cute original houses (gingerbread style) as well as an excellent example of Frank Lloyd Wright. Also recommend Big Sur Adventure's e-bike tours and rentals for access to Point Lobos, also not far away. One piece of advise is to check bill at check out, otherwise a delightful stay and excellent service.
My stay at L’Auberge was less than satisfactory. When I booked, the only room available was a courtyard view, which was okay. After check-in, I quickly learned that about 2 feet from the main window of the room were the dining tables for the restaurant. The single pane glass did not block any of the noise and it was like being a guest at the table. I could hear the entire conversation, the laughter, and clinging glasses well into the night. I went to bed about 10pm but the party continued for hours. The next morning, I asked the front desk for a different room, and none were available. I told them because of the noise I needed to check out. I fully expected to pay for the one-night stay but was totally surprised I was charged for an extra night for breaking my multi-night reservation. It cost almost $1,900 for the miserable noisy night. I have always had wonderful rooms and experiences at Relais & Chateaux properties around the world. In addition to the noise, the room needed an upgrade from the 1990’s bath and décor. This property does not live up to the Relais & Chateaux standards. …
Pretentious and arrogant are the only words that describes this hotel accurately. The room is moderate in size but we had no way of knowing that there is no air conditioning in the rooms. The rooms are stuffy with no moving air. They provide you what appears to be a $20 fan to move the stuffy air around. This for $1,000 a night. I spent 4 nights there and had the 4 worst night sleep I have had in years. The rooms overlook a courtyard that is used for their Michelin star restaurant so you either need to keep your windows closed and suffocate or keep them open and hear the conversation of the diners. The floors are old with no carpet so I am awakened each morning far too early by the people right above us. Breakfast is provided but other than basic eggs everything is a la cart. The small bar is very nice but a glass of wine starts at $25. Again, for $1,000 a night it makes no sense to nickel and dime people. I can afford it but it offends me to be taken advantage of. The vibe is all about the restaurant and it's Michelin star and the rooms appear to be a necessary afterthought. Oh. They also add a 20% gratuity on the ridiculous bar prices and add $35 a night for gratuities. When I complained and asked to speak with the manager, I heard from no one until we had left. She then called and got very aggressive with me. Wow. Go elsewhere.…
If you make a reservation for this property, and you enjoy fine dining, first make a reservation for dinner with their Michelin-starred chef. Their reservation staff apparently has not been trained to tell or ASK guests about a dinner reservation. We stayed 3 nights and could not get a dinner reservation. The staff are very pleasant and helpful as they should be for the extra $35 per night for staff gratuities that are to be added to your bill, about which the check-in person informs you. I don’t recall reading or hearing anything about that extra charge when we made our hotel reservation. The accommodations are only slightly better than average and all rooms require moderate to extensive steps, with no elevators. We didn’t see any help for guests who might be physically challenged. The included breakfast was adequate but nothing special, except for its being served in the lovely courtyard, weather permitting. The courtyard has a bit of a “European” feel to it. The hotel’s location is good, with walks of two to a few blocks to some available restaurants, and lots of art galleries. All in all, we may be just a tad generous with the “four of five” rating.…
Hotel rooms are small about 200 sqft. Antique furniture and facilities are the standard with broken locks, worn carpet and no modern electric support. Comon area is the courtyard where cold breakfast is served. Keep in mind one is kicked out every evening from the courtyard for dinner service. Aubergine the fancy restaurant holds dinner service on the garden furniture. Rather unusual for such an expensive set menu. Wine list is admirable but keep in mind one can not order from the list unless eating at the restaurant. I did however see the owner pull a bottle from the cellar to take to dinner so ownership has it's exceptions. That said I suspect the wine growers at DRC might have an issue of supplying to a restaurant where the owner picks and guest do not have access.
The noise level is absurdly loud. Noise from the street, anyone climbing the stairs, loud and not so loud voices. You hear EVERYTHING. no a/c so you have to keep windows open so you hear conversations of people walking by, motorcycles, cars. Not the $1100+ a night experience you expect.
Overall the experience was very negative, and not what we expected to get from this type of hotel paying as much as we did: — Grandma who came with us, can barely walk. We found out there is NO elevator and no other room available on 1st floor or any other solution. That is outrageous. There is no information that there is no elevator on website or otherwise. — No A/C. We understand that usually the weather is comfortable. Labor Day weekend happened to be extremely hot and we would expect a hotel of this caliber to have A/C. No real solution offered (open the window, offered a fan) — ‘Open a window’? Well, the restaurant tables are JUST OUTSIDE the window. That is ridiculous. — Included breakfast also extremely disappointing. Its a bare bone breakfast and all additions are at a charge. So not really ‘included’. Also, given a Michelin star restaurant on property, we expected an elevated experience — it was not — Finally, I attempted to call the property and talk to a manager. I tried several times unsuccessfully, the 3rd time I left a detailed message. I never got a call back. Very disappointing. — Service overall is mediocre at best. Slow, not attentive. Lack some basics, for example, when we asked for a bottle of water from valet getting in the car we were told to have a glass of tap water as they don’t have bottles. Not what I expect when paying $~1,000 a night …
This was our third stay at L’Auberge Carmel and while a lot has changed, it’s still as charming and idyllic as we had remembered. The staff is top notch, the breakfasts and turndown cookies as delicious as you would expect from Michelin starred Aubergine, located in the middle of anywhere you need to walk to (and if where you are going is just a bit too far or you don’t feel like walking, the house Mercedes and Volvo can take you). We miss you already. ‘Til next we meet…
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