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
I find this to be an unfortunate review. My reasons for this review has less to do with the hotel itself but rather the absolutely awful and despicable management - Monica Munoz - related to a year long issue and promise. Back in the summer of 2021, my wife and I stayed at L’Auberge Carmel - a hotel we’ve stayed at several times throughout the years. This particular stay was riddled with issues ranging from broken phones to being given the incorrect room to horrible construction that was never disclosed upon our reservation. The issues took several days to correct - but despite having reserved and paid for a specific room - we were never moved nor were we given any kind of refund for the difference in price. The phone issues took two days to fix despite several calls to management. Our stay was anything but relaxing and upon our check-out, we reached out to management to express our frustrations asking for some kind of refund for all of our troubles. In an email string, L’Auberge (Monica Munoz) acknowledged the multiple failures during our stay and extended us a 50% discount for our next stay at L’Auberge. Not knowing exactly when or if we would get back to Carmel, we reluctantly agreed. Our emails (all of which we have and can provide) with Monica Munoz - was not becoming of L’Auberge Carmel. She was rude and quite honestly seemed annoyed to have to “deal” with the situation to begin with. By the end of our email string - it approached combative. Fast forward to summer of 2022 - my wife and I found ourselves with the opportunity to get away and decided to use the 50% offer. 4-6 weeks prior to our travels, I called to make sure they would honor the offer extended to us from the year prior (not knowing if Ms. Munoz was still employed at L’Auberge). I spoke to a lovely woman - Brianna - who checked on the issue and confirmed that the offer would be honored. When we finally figured it all out, I called L’Auberge to book the room. Spoke to Brianna again who informed me that there was one room available. I asked her if she could hold the room but since it was the last room available - she couldn’t. However, she confirmed again that the room was ours if we wanted and could take the reservation and apply the 50% discount. I called the next day. Brianna was not available and I got the general reservation service. Before taking my reservation, he needed to call management to confirm the discount. That management was Monica Munoz. When he called back, he told us that since it was the last room available, Monica decided NOT to honor the 50% discount and offered us a 15% discount. She also said, in email, that Brianna misspoke and she has the final say on all discounts - not Brianna. Despite asking to speak to her directly, she dodged us and wrote her all to familiar rude and discourteous and quite unaccommodating email. Her decision felt like a personal vendetta stemming back from our emails from 2021 and made zero attempt to honor her original offer. Her decision “was final”. I’d like to point out that at the time of this review - the one room that we were considering was NEVER booked. It is still available. Not only was Ms. Munoz nasty, discourteous and unaccommodating but her overall approach to management and customer service was quite un-becoming of a reputable 5 star hotel chain such as L’Auberge. She failed to consider her own actions, honor her own offer to a long standing patron but also failed to procure income for the hotel itself as the room remained vacant. My wife and I have only wonderful experiences with L’Auberge (including Carmel) until Ms. Munoz. It doesn’t matter how beautiful the property is or how elegant the rooms are or how spectacular the view is - an awful manager and a despicable experience such as this ruins it all. Needless to say - we will never be staying at L’Auberge Carmel - a hotel we’ve stayed at multiple times over the decade, not as long as Ms. Munoz is overseeing the property.…
Proximity to downtown Carmel-by-the-Sea is great and the lobby scene has a great vibe, but our outdated room #24 had a moldy smell. Tolerable for one night, except for when the bellman walked in on me sleeping after my husband departed for early morning golf. An apology and mimosa were offered at breakfast, but in all honesty no one on the staff seemed to really care about what to me was a security scare. Bottom line: have stayed at other Relais & Chateaux hotels and this property is in need of a major upgrade, especially for the price.
Very disappointing 2 night stay. Apparently, unbeknownst to us, we were supposedly ‘upgraded’, but instead of a courtyard king we got a room which was at the front of the hotel, with no real view, but very dark and extremely noisy (perfect for those who like listening to their neighbors and their toilet habits!)! We only learnt of the ‘upgrade’ when we enquired on the second day why we weren’t in the room we booked? It also seemed the hotel was more concerned about its restaurant patrons than those actually staying there. For the ridiculous price we paid, we expected just a little bit more than just some home made chocolate cookies and a breakfast so small it was a joke! Do yourself a favour and check out other options. As we found out, there are a lot better places for ½ of what we got done for!…
Be prepared to beg to have your room serviced and any turn down service. Front desk staff not adequate for this kind of hotel. be aware of any rooms located in the rear of hotel as trash pick up is daily at 8 am.
I wanted to plan a special vacation for my husband's 50th birthday and came across this beautiful Relais & Chateaux hotel & restaurant in Carmel. The room, restaurant, service, literally everything blew us away! Although we arrived at the hotel very late after going through LA traffic, the gentleman (apology that I couldn't have his name) welcomed us very kindly. We knew that parking in Carmel could be somewhat of an issue. But he parked our car on behalf as soon as we checked in, and I believe the staff even moved it throughout our stay as necessary, so we remained compliant with local law. It was very thoughtful of them to do so. We had dinner at beautiful Aubergene, a Michelin-starred restaurant situated in the first floor of the hotel, for the 2 nights we stayed there. That was the highlight of our stay! It was the most sublime experience in my life. The 12-course meal used best-quality ingredients, all of which were prepared with the utmost attention to detail. I loved every single dish, but if I were to choose my favorite, abalone and sea urchin topped with white Japanese dashi sauce was incredible. The presentation, texture, taste, all of them were excellent. The service was top-notch! They work REALLY HARD! At all times 5-6 people were bringing our dishes, clearing the plates, bringing drinks, and checking on how we were doing. I was thinking that this must be how a king and queen of ancient times were treated... It was amazing. We got to talk to many of the gentlemen working there during and after dinner. They were so knowledgeable about food and wine. The mixologist's original cocktails - High Fashion and Smoke and Mirrors - were superb! My husband and I loved it so much that we are already talking about going back there in winder. It is truly one of the most memorable experiences I've had in my life.…
Carmel-By-the-Sea is a charming town. This hotel matches the charm of the city. The hotel is small so it blends in with the city; I don’t think this town has any “traditional” looking hotels. The center of the hotel is its courtyard, which has a little water fountain and a large bench. The remainder of the courtyard is used for their breakfast and dinner service. The check in area is very intimate. There is a desk with two old school chairs. Then there is a small bar area adjacent to the check in area. The included breakfast was light. You can order more things if you want. Their policy is that you have to order your breakfast 24 hours beforehand. You have the option of having it in your room or outside in the courtyard. If you don’t mind waiting, the courtyard is good but the service is slow. We had a room that faced into the courtyard so it was noisy at night time when the dinner service was happening. If noise is a problem then be sure to ask them for a room that is not so close to the courtyard. The hotel seemed to attract older couples. The price point probably sways younger people away. The bathroom area was large. There was a very large and deep bathtub. There are radiant floors too so no cold feet. The toiletries are small bottles so bring your own if you use a lot of products. Because it’s an older building there is no air conditioning, so keep that in mind if you are visiting in the summer. For us, the heat was quite powerful so we didn’t use it the second night and had some windows open to being in fresh air. If you have time, be sure to have dinner at those Michelin rated restaurant! You won’t be disappointed! The staff members were all very friendly and nice.…
LAuberge is a “European style luxury experience” in charming Carmel. Think Four Seasons level of service, friendliness and eagerness to satisfy customers. Also lovely rooms, good size, well appointed. Breakfast and late nights in the courtyard (with heaters) was quite memorable! Overall- a 5/5 experience, highly recommended!
We were initially in Room 18, which seemed lovely, although there was an annoying intermittent industrial motor outside the room that would power-up every few minutes, and stay on for a minute or two each time. Not so annoying when getting changed early evening to go out, but impossibly awful when trying to get to sleep later. In the middle of the night, we resorted to a YouTube White Noise channel, at full blast, to get some sleep. In the morning, we discussed the problem, and the staff couldn't do enough to resolve our issue. They didn't hesitate to move us to a quiet room (Room 16) for our second night, and were very apologetic. Michael in particular was fantastic. However, the point needs to be made that surely we could not have been the first to have had this issue, and therefore perhaps the room should either be removed from the market until the sound issue is resolved, or customers should be pre-warned beforehand so that they can make informed decisions regarding staying in the room before enduring an awful nights sleep. We stayed 2 nights and had the tasting meal in the restaurant on the second evening, which was fantastic. And our room on the second night (Room 16) was fabulous (and very quiet!!).…
Charming, elegant spot with excellent service, location and amazing restaurant. The outdoor courtyard is perfect for breakfast or dinner. Well heated even when very chilly outside. Felt like we were back in France! Intimate bar for drinks was also a delightful surprise. Will stay here again!
Own or manage this property? Claim your listing for free to respond to reviews, update your profile and much more.
Claim Your Listing