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Cheaper
Average
Higher
About
4.5
#8 of 29 hotels in Carmel
Location
4.8
Rooms
4.0
Value
3.9
Cleanliness
4.7
Service
4.5
Sleep Quality
4.3
Tripadvisor gives a Travelers’ Choice award to accommodations, attractions and restaurants that consistently earn great reviews from travelers and are ranked within the top 10% of properties on Tripadvisor.
Following an extensive $20 million property-wide renovation, this historic property has been tastefully enhanced, all while preserving the quiet eclecticism for which the hotel is known. The renovation carefully covered all aspects of the hotel, from the welcoming lobby to the commodious corners of Bud’s bar and the luxuriously appointed guest rooms with sunfilled windows beckoning the ocean breeze. Ready to welcome a new generation of guests, the transformation is classic, richly layered, and intimate — incorporating new designs and signature components. Located just steps from the white sands of Carmel Beach and the renowned shops, art galleries, and restaurants of charming Carmel-by-the-Sea, La Playa Hotel is the cornerstone of one of California's most prestigious neighborhoods and features meticulously tended gardens, intimate patios, secluded courtyards and a tranquil outdoor swimming pool.
Star ratings are intended to indicate the general level of features, amenities, and services to expect. This property is classified according to Giata.
Places to stay are graded on a 0-100 scale. The higher the grade, the easier it is for travelers to find restaurants and things to do within walking distance.
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La Playa Hotel garners praise for its atmospheric blend of historical elegance and contemporary style, complemented by lively music and a cozy vibe. Nestled in a prime location, guests can easily stroll to the beach, downtown Carmel, and nearby attractions.
While some may find the accommodations a tad snug and pricey, the consensus is of value well-justified by the hotel's amenities, cleanliness, and exceptional services such as the lauded complimentary shuttle and expansive breakfast options. The staff's attentiveness and the pristine condition of the property consistently impress guests.
Location
Convenient
Atmosphere
Charming
Rooms
Comfortable
Value
Expensive
Cleanliness
Meticulous
Service
Attentive
Amenities
Outstanding
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My daughter and I thoroughly enjoyed our time at La Playa. The staff was amazing. Gorgeous hotel that felt fancy but equally calm and peaceful, very low key. The afternoon sangria and evening cookies were a nice touch! The grounds of the hotel are beautiful. Easy walk to all the restaurants and shops. But most of all the staff - specifically Kathleen, were just amazing. I would highly recommend.
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Review collected in partnership with this hotel
Date of stay: July 2023
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This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
We came in the winter and it was cool in the mornings but the facilities are well manicured, intimate and yet able to support a large corporate offsite. There is no gym at the location, although walking and jogging along the beach offers a view of mountains , ocean and lovely cottages. The small town of Carmel by the sea also offers several dining opportunities within walking distance from the hotel and the locals are extremely welcoming.
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Review collected in partnership with this hotel
Date of stay: January 2020
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Trip type: Traveled on business
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from CarmelBrettB, General Manager at La Playa Hotel
Responded Jan 20, 2020
Dear Ghopkins, Thank you for your kind words. I hope that we have an opportunity to welcome you back in the future. Regards, Brett B.
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We paid for $372( all included ) for a Sunday night standard size king bedroom with a toddler foldable bed. The hotel has plenty of parking spaces, beautiful garden and patio spaces. We love the most was the free sangaria in the afternoon and we were able to sit outside at one of the very clean table to enjoy ourselves. Everything was great expect our hotel room was a little disappointing. It was very basic yet comfortable.
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Review collected in partnership with this hotel
Date of stay: March 2021
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This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from bbird bbird, General Manager at La Playa Hotel
Responded Apr 1, 2021
Dear csobot929763, Thank you for your kind words. I hope that we have an opportunity to welcome you back in the future. Regards, Brett B.
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First, the pros: the location is great, a few blocks off Ocean Ave. and away from the crazy tourist scene. Also, the grounds are beautiful and spacious with plenty of places to sit and 'social distance.' The hotel is also a short walk from the white sand beach. The King bed was very comfortable. Now the cons: the rooms are small and outdated. I was lucky to get a corner room with lots of windows, but the window cranks didn't work well and it was hard to get the windows opened or closed. The bathroom was tiny and looked like a Motel 6. Paint was chipping in several places and I could tell nothing was lovingly cared for. My room faced the street which meant it was noisy all day as people parked to go to the beach. This is an expensive hotel and for what it cost the room didn't have bathrobes or decent toiletries. As someone else mentioned, the room was NOT cleaned during my stay (supposedly for Covid precautions) which meant I had to continually ask for bottled water and towels. The 'resort fee' is a joke...WiFi, use of the small pool (I couldn't get near it because of all the kids playing in the water) and the continental breakfast. About the breakfast: it was a real disappointment. Every day was the same: a tiny plastic container of granola with yogurt, an orange, orange juice (not fresh), coffee, two tiny slices of cheese with dried cranberries, some sort of tiny quiche-like tart, and a hard-boiled egg. I don't think I'm missing anything. I finally gave up on the breakfast and just had coffee. There was nothing welcoming about it as it retrieved my tray each morning and scuttled off to find somewhere to eat it. Definitely nicer to be outside than in the stuffy, stale rooms provided for eating. The pleasant entrance and lobby areas give a false impression of what you're going to find in the rooms, like a completely different hotel. I've always wanted to stay at La Playa, but after this visit I won't be coming back.
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Date of stay: July 2020
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This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from bbird bbird, General Manager at La Playa Hotel
Responded Jul 31, 2020
Dear Chelsea42, Thank you for your review. Your feedback provides information important to our ongoing improvement efforts. We endeavor to provide all of our guests with an exceptional experience, and we clearly failed to do so during your recent stay with us. I apologize for your disappointment with your room assignment and I regret any inconvenience this caused. We do have many different room types and sizes. We are looking forward to the time we can return back to your champagne breakfast that we are known for. Given another opportunity, I am confident that we can provide the memorable experience that you should expect at La Playa. Please do not hesitate to contact me directly should your future plans include a visit to Carmel. I would be most happy to personally arrange your reservation. I hope that we have an opportunity to welcome you back. Regards, Brett B.
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My boyfriend and I stayed here to celebrate 7 years together, and were initially very excited. Unfortunately, we were surprised at the lack of courtesy of the staff, and were ultimately disappointed in the space and service we experienced.
During check-in the front desk staff seemed distracted and were not particularly friendly; when I asked if we could possibly be moved to a quieter room with some more privacy (we were placed in the middle of everything and it was rather noisy), the staff was passive and unhelpful, all rooms were booked they told us (understandable), but they offered no other suggestions or even attempted a "sorry about that." Ok, not a huge deal, let's focus on having a good time, we thought.
Given we were traveling during a Covid19 surge in CA, we were especially aware of cleanliness. My boyfriend and I wiped everything down in our room with disinfectant wipes and re-washed all in-room dishes (you can never be too careful during a global pandemic). I was disappointed that, despite our room having just been cleaned, we pulled a great amount of dust and dirt off of many of the room's surfaces. Later on, at the bar, we noticed everything was being wiped down with (what appeared to be) used rags. There didn't seem to be any protocol followed to ensure disinfecting the space, no signage stating a table had been sanitized, etc. All of this called into question the hotel's claim that they are doing everything they can to keep the property clean, sanitary, and safe.
One of the bar staff charged us twice for one of our rounds, then denied it when asked about it, until we showed him all the transactions that had gone through in comparison to what we ordered. He grumpily and begrudgingly refunded us.
We may not be ritzy people, but we work hard and wanted to treat ourselves to a special weekend. Instead, we were treated like an inconvenience, at best. The next time we want to splurge, we'll likely take our time and money elsewhere.
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Review collected in partnership with this hotel
Date of stay: July 2020
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This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
I so wanted to give more reasons to stay at La Playa Carmel and credit the staff for trying to make our stay pleasurable but the promise of luxury accommodations falls short of the steep $500 nightly room rate. The positives are the hotel is well situated from downtown in a quiet residential area with beautifully manicured gardens and public areas. I cannot speak of the quality of other rooms but Rm 404 was nothing short of disappointing. Promising luxury accommodations means fine linens, beautiful towels, luxury toiletries and a thoughtful personal welcome to a property by offering an inexpensive bottle of wine or bar credit to enjoy a welcome cocktail. None of these luxury standards are offered at La Playa Carmel. In addition, the room’s inexpensive typical standard room furnishings were dated and something you’d expect more at a budget conscious roadside motel, not a luxury Carmel historic property. An interior designer is badly needed to update Rm 404’s old bathroom and more thoughtful furnishings to accommodate a lack of storage, comfort and historic acknowledgment of the former Ghiardelli residence. What could have been a clever and thoughtful idea at offering chocolate chip cookies as an acknowledgement to the Ghiardelli family instead was just another reminder to this guest that corners are cut and the managing team has little experience , support or disinterest in meeting and exceeding hotel guests. We always return to Carmel and enjoy all that this charming town offers but we’ll avoid this property on our next visit.
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Date of stay: May 2021Trip type: Traveled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from bbird bbird, General Manager at La Playa Hotel
Responded May 24, 2021
Dear Peter D, Thank you for your review. Your feedback provides information important to our ongoing improvement efforts. We endeavor to provide all of our guests with an exceptional experience, and we clearly failed to do so during your recent stay with us. I apologize for your disappointment with your room assignment and I regret any inconvenience this caused. We do have many different room types and sizes. We are excited to be in the planning stages of a full property remodel. Given another opportunity, I am confident that we can provide the memorable experience that you should expect at La Playa. Please do not hesitate to contact us directly should your future plans include a visit to Carmel. I hope that we have an opportunity to welcome you back. Regards, Brett B.
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My husband and I ended up at La Playa Carmel to celebrate my birthday after our trip to Palm Springs was cancelled because the airport was closed after a small plane crashed on the main runway. Thankfully the pilot survived. As a consolation, my husband suggested a road trip to Carmel, which we love. I will cut to the chase. Our stay overall was very pleasant after being upgraded to an ocean view room because the room we reserved was not available. The grounds are lovely, the staff was very accommodating and the hotel is charming. However, after being told that there was a $250 pet fee, both my husband and I protested. In fact, my husband couldn't believe that the fee could be $250 and asked if it was a deposit, not a fee. Jorge assured him that the fee was $250. We travel with our 10 pound fur baby quite a lot and have never been charged more than $25 for a pet fee. We had reservations at the Kimpton Rowan Hotel in PS, which I think is a higher quality boutique style hotel and they don't charge a pet fee. Period. Get real La Playa Carmel and stop gouging guests.
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Review collected in partnership with this hotel
Date of stay: December 2020
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This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from bbird bbird, General Manager at La Playa Hotel
Responded Dec 9, 2020
Dear Nomadsf128, Thank you for your kind words about the property, gardens and service. I hope that we have an opportunity to welcome you back in the future. Regards, Brett B.
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It was our second time visiting and we were very disappointed. The reservation we did via phone with the hotel and asked specific questions about how hotel is operating under current situation before making any decision to come. The response from the hotel personnel was that they do not have any changes except Covid-19 requirements. As we arrived, we started to discover the following: the room we reserved is not available; the room in the hotel are not cleaned daily, only before check in-staying three people for five nights in the tiny, tired, dirty room was terrible. After trying to clean room by ourself, found how dusty this room was even before our arrival. We were told by front manager that it is Monterey county requirements do not clean guest’s room during their stay, but we found out that it was recommended only. Unfortunately, hotel decided do not clean at all, and made a show for guests cleaning all day the entrance of the hotel. By checking other hotels near by, we learned that it is exclusive decision of the La Play hotel since all others hotel still providing daily cleaning service. It was just a lie made by the front manager. One specific comments is about “so called continental breakfast “ as a substitute for previously offered buffet breakfast. It was completely joke: 1 frozen donut, two tiny slices of cheese, two mandarins, 1 nonfat yogurt and about 1 oz of granola. The impression was that the hotel is trying hard to cut expenses at the cost heavily reducing a quality. Very unpleasant experience
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Review collected in partnership with this hotel
Date of stay: July 2020
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This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from bbird bbird, General Manager at La Playa Hotel
Responded Jul 30, 2020
Dear Curiosity27675 Thank you for your review. Your feedback provides information important to our ongoing improvement efforts. We endeavor to provide all of our guests with an exceptional experience, and we clearly failed to do so during your recent stay with us. I apologize for your disappointment with your room assignment and I regret any inconvenience this caused. We do have many different room types and sizes. Given another opportunity, I am confident that we can provide the memorable experience that you should expect at La Playa. I hope that we have an opportunity to welcome you back. Regards, Brett B.
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My husband and I stayed at LaPlaya for 4 nights and I can truly say that it was one of the best hotels we’ve stayed at. And we’ve stayed at 5 star resorts in Hawaii sooo that says a lot. What I liked most about it was all of the charm and history. Staying at LaPlaya is an experience in itself. There’s a lot to do at the property. We would walk around the gorgeous neighborhood, walk to the beach, play giant chess, get warm cookies in the evening, hangout at the firepit near the pool, get themed happy hour cocktails at Bud’s or the free sangrias and walk around the courtyard smelling all the jasmine. In fact, the lobby of the hotel had an incredible smell, like incense. It’s unlike anything I’ve ever smelled and i know scent is heavily tied to memory so i loved that attention to detail. We also enjoyed the free breakfast every morning. The mimosas were delicious and there were tons of food options to fit whatever you’re in the mood for including healthy options. Honestly, I still can’t get over how beautiful the property is and can’t wait to go back someday. As for the room we stayed in, we had a king size bed on the 4th floor with a garden street view. No issues with noise and we did sleep with the fan they provided but never felt too hot considering there’s not AC. I also thought the bed and pillows were very comfortable. Housekeeping did a wonderful job. Loved the mini fridge, chocolates and water bottles. My only complaint was the bathroom was very small and it smelled bad like body odor. I think it was the old plumbing though. Luckily the closet was mirrored and there was another large mirror in the room so i could get ready at either of those spots instead of the bathroom. Another cool thing i liked about the room was the massive tv that you could swivel. It even included a chromecast option so we could watch movies on Netflix and HBO in the evenings by screencasting directly from my phone, super convenient. I did a lot of research before booking LaPlaya. There are only so many options in Carmel so you have to figure out what’s most important to you. Almost every hotel i looked at had the same issues — thin walls/noise and outdated rooms. So, I’m not really sure that there is anything better out there, at least in Carmel.
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Date of stay: July 2021Trip type: Traveled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
My husband and I recently traveled to Carmel for a baby-moon and wanted to be able to relax while also being close enough to downtown to be able to walk around town easily. This property offered exactly that with close proximity to the beach and scenic drive being an added bonus! The property itself is beautiful, but the rooms could use a bit of an update though I'm sure some people would find it part of the Carmel charm (just a personal preference).
The staff at the property is incredible and very helpful. One of our favorite parts of our stay! They have an amazing breakfast buffet that is included in the resort fee. In addition they have nice touches such as a complimentary wine happy hour daily, freshly baked cookies every night, and sangria upon your arrival.
The property also includes a parking lot that has ample parking and is easily accessible (at no cost).
One of the biggest perks is the location - close to scenic drive/the beach but also just a few blocks away from all the shops and restaurants.
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Review collected in partnership with this hotel
Date of stay: February 2020
Value
Rooms
Location
Cleanliness
Service
Sleep Quality
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
We did not have a dog with us. I would recommend calling the property 1-800-582-8900 and ask your question as the staff at Carmel by the Sea La Playa was courteous, friendly and genuinely interested in making sure you enjoyed your stay.
We did not see or use an elevator but we did see one guest in a wheelchair. You should contact the hotel to ask them about accessibility issues to be sure.
There are more places to choose from in the Carmel area.
PRICE RANGE
$424 - $665 (Based on Average Rates for a Standard Room)
ALSO KNOWN AS
hotel la playa, la playa carmel ca
FORMERLY KNOWN AS
La Playa Carmel
LOCATION
United StatesCaliforniaMonterey CountyCarmel
NUMBER OF ROOMS
75
Prices are provided by our partners, and reflect nightly room rates, including any mandatory fees. Taxes not included. Please see our partners for more details.
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Which popular attractions are close to La Playa Hotel?
Nearby attractions include Carmel Beach Boardwalk (0.1 miles), A.W. Shucks Cocktail & Oyster Bar (0.3 miles), and Gallery by the Sea Carmel (0.2 miles).
