Comfort Inn Carmel By the Sea — Hotel in Carmel-by-the-Sea

One comes across properties like this every once in a great while. You know you have found one when you close your eyes sitting at an outdoor table on the deck and hear the faintest murmur of the ocean. You know it is the right place, when you enter your room, and it just makes sense. The suitcase goes here, laptop on the perfectly sized desk, and the A/C outlets are just where you want them, both sides of the bed, desk, bathroom. You have a place to hand your good jacket and your wife’s favorite summer dress, the light is soft, even in its LED efficiency, and area lighting allows the room to be illuminated just so, to fit your mood. The room has this understated elegance to it, adorn with creative sea-inspired art, simple but never bare, hard wooden floor to keep it clean and modern, and an area rug by the bed to keep your feet warm off the bed. The bathroom vanity has sufficient space to place the bottled magic that helps you look your best, and when you come out of the shower, the towels are hanging in just the perfect place. In the morning, you should not have wondered whether it is better to head to a local coffee shop for the java that wakes your day, this Comfort Inn has a state-of-the-art espresso machine that delivers a perfect cup however you take it (well, if you are into matcha lattes etc., you might check out the myriad of coffee shops around).

You realize, someone thought this property through. Someone, whose main goal was not just to save and offer the cheapest, but someone who traveled, and many times, and learned by experience what a weary traveler may need. Inside the room and out, the thought that went into designing these spaces is apparent and impressive. The grounds are gorgeous with flowers and plants straight from the botanical gardens it seems. Yet the central idea of putting you, the traveler, first is permeating through everything you touch, you see and hear. My grateful thanks to that mind, who envisioned this place and fought for it to be as it is, so I could thoroughly enjoy the perfect few days in the paradise Carmel still is.

The one difference from other Comfort properties I stayed at is a live-in manager. The nicest, warmest and welcoming host, meticulous in the relentless drive to keep this hotel spotlessly maintained and clean, ready to offer local advice, respectful of the guests. This place would not be the same without her loving care. The crew who maintains the rooms deserves special recognition. Admittedly, and especially since the pandemic, I tend to be a bit paranoid about cleanliness and this is one place where I did not pull out my alcohol wipes. I found the room pristine.

As a diamond member of the Choice Hotels rewards program, I have stayed at perhaps a few hundred properties over the past 2 decades, trust this experience when I tell you that this place is special. If you are lucky to get a reservation here, you are in for a treat. This Comfort Inn gives me hope that the gods who decide such things learn from this property and share some of its exceptional excellence with...

I would give this hotel a 4 based on location and general comfort. Room decor was light, airy and inviting, and it felt clean and well-kept. Unfortunately, I would give it a 1 based upon noise where our room was located. Do not choose a downstairs room if you value quiet.

It's a quaint, old property in a pretty garden setting,and when we arrived, their electricity was out for several hours (not their fault).We were shown a room on the upper floor mid-property, but it was hot in it with the afternoon sun (no a/c, even if electric on) and we didn't really want to lug our bags upstairs (no elevator, even if there had been electric) after 8 hours of driving. We were given a downstairs room (#55) on the opposite end from the office, with a window backing up to Sixth St. There's a convenience store across Sixth. Noise from people simply walking or rolling suitcases was bad but typically didn't last more than 30 mins at a time. Temps are comfy at night with windows open. Unfortunately, we were awakened before 5 AM the first morning by loud engines, voices, the sound of electric carts and banging like pallets or something being thrown down...presumably delivery at the store. Lasted for about 50 mins. We closed the windows and put pillows over our heads, but the room got stuffy. I mentioned it to the front desk, but her response was indifferent. The next morning also started with loud noises like work happening in the direction of the store around 5 AM, though not as loud as before. We closed the window and found we could drown some of the noise out with the portable fan in the room. Our third/final morning, I woke up around 6:30 needing to use the bathroom and thought to myself with delight that there was no noise...until 5 minutes later when the garbage truck arrived and was banging things around.

The security lights at night shine through the space between the wall and curtain rods and dimly illuminate the entire room, so if you need a dark room to sleep, bring a mask.

Breakfast was scrambled eggs, sausage patties, cold cereals, muffins, yogurts and juices. Typical Comfort Inn fare. We mostly ate in...

This hotel is easy walking distance from the heart of Carmel. Its brick patios enhanced by flowers, allow this chain hotel to fit in nicely with the town's well known character. While many of Carmel's B&B's are opting to offer only continental breakfasts, this Comfort Inn offers a large variety of breakfast items including peeled hard boiled eggs, pancakes, whole fruit, and more. Our room, like the rest of the hotel, was tidy, clean, and well-appointed. Our bed and pillows were comfortable and we slept well. We were delighted to find that the fridge included a freezer that allowed us to refreeze both the 1/2 gal containers we use daily in our ice chest when traveling. While our downstairs room was small, even with the king size bed and a built in closet, there was still room for a comfortable reading chair. Speaking of reading, unlike many b&b's, other accommodations in this chain, as well others places we have stayed, reading in bed or the chair was easy for our eyes because of the bedside, wall mounted light fixtures on either side of our bed that included flexible and swiveling high intensity lights. Those lights even allowed me to read comfortably in the middle of the night without bothering my husband. The hotel manager/receptionist was friendly and helpful from the start when we phoned from the road to find out more about her facility. She was calm, warm, and always helpful throughout our stay. I enjoyed chatting with her after breakfast while we were brainstorming with a visitor from New Zealand about not to be missed spots near Carmel. We have planned ahead and stayed in many, many accommodations in Carmel since our honeymoon there 40+ years ago. This time, we spontaneously added in one more night out before returning home from a long weekend business/pleasure trip to LA and were delighted to discover this particular Comfort Inn. Next time we plan a longer trip to Carmel, we'll plan ahead to...