Hotel Carmel — Hotel in Santa Monica

Upon arrival to Hotel Carmel the front desk staff member acknowledged that we had requested a wheelchair accessible room for my wife. Upon entering the room we noticed the doorway to the bathroom was too narrow for a wheelchair, there were no safety grab bars on the wall around the toilet or in the shower, no shower chair, and no handheld shower head. The bed stuck out into the walkway so the wheelchair could not even fit between the bed and the wall. So basically the first 8 feet of the room was wheelchair accessible, not the bathroom or even the beds.

After bringing this to the attention of the front desk I was told, and I quote, "We aren't really a hotel for the handicapped". I'm fairly certain that is not a choice a hotel can make. The staff then recommend I try and find a new hotel. After being unsuccessful in finding another room that night in Santa Monica, we made the best of it and settled in.

I asked the staff if they had a shower chair so that my wife was able to take a shower as we were there for 2 nights and I was told "we had one at one time but I don't know where it is". I suggested they find it or go purchase a new one because this probably wouldn't be the last time one would be requested. After him telling me they couldn't find it twice, they finally came up with one a few hours later.

The next morning I went back to the desk and told them that the room was absolutely horrible for her and asked again if there was anything more accommodating for a wheelchair. We were moved into a bigger room that had a wider bathroom door. Still very very far from what anyone would consider "wheelchair accessible", but it was an improvement. It was also the absolute furthest room from the elevator.

My wife needed a lot of help in and out of the shower as there were no grab bars, and basically had to sit underneath the stream of water, as they did not have a hand held shower head.

The only thing the hotel Carmel has to accommodate someone in a wheelchair is an elevator, which is quite small and still was not easy for my wife to enter and exit on her own. The valet did not have a ramp up the curb, the beds were 3. 5 feet off the floor, the list goes on.

I made our reservation a month in advance. One phone call to me telling me they weren't set up for a wheelchair and I could have made other arrangements, but that did not happen.

Upon checkout I informed the manager about the entire nightmare that their hotel was for us. I received several apologies and one of our 2 nights free. I still feel that we were charged at all absolutely ridiculous.

The hotel is overpriced, and needs an update in every way. For what we were charged for one night they could spend to make one room ADA compliant handicap accessible.

This hotel is listed on trip advisor as "handicap accessible" and it could not be more opposite of that. This is hands down the worst experience I've ever had at...

Hotel Carmel is a good option for those looking for a budget-friendly hotel in a great location and who intend to spend most of their time outside of the hotel. The location is fantastic! Just a short walk to the pier, ocean, and many tourist attractions. Lots of restaurants and shopping within a few minutes' walk of the hotel.||My friend and I stayed in rooms 424/425, which were two adjoining rooms with a shared bathroom. There was no sitting area, which was disappointing - it meant that there was no place where we could comfortably sit and chat, unless we opted to sit on one of our beds. The vibe reminded me of a nice college dorm room set-up. Clean, bare-bones, basic functionality. Our window view of an inner courtyard was of some ugly machinery (air conditioning function, maybe?) but we didn't hear any machinery noises. In fact, both of us noticed how wonderfully QUIET our rooms were. Very little street noise. ||I found my bed comfortable, slept well all three nights. I found the temperature a bit cool (my travel companion was fine with it, though) and called down to ask for an extra blanket but that was never sent up, so my friend gave me the narrow cover decorating the end of her bed; combined with mine, I was fine.||My room safe did not work so we both ended up using the safe in my friend's room.|The ceiling light in my room did not work, so I used the bedside table lamp and work desk lamp for lighting instead.|There was one elevator in the hotel, and it stopped working partway through our stay. My travel companion and I (we had mobility issues) had just come back from sightseeing and wanted to get up to our 4th floor room, so we waited in the lobby until it was fixed. Happily, this only took around 15-20 minutes. There are no restrooms on the main floor.||There was no housekeeping throughout our 3-night stay, so when we ran out of toilet paper we called for some to be sent up (and it was, thank goodness).||I saw mention of snacks or a breakfast in the mornings on other reviews; the hotel policy must have changed since the pandemic since we saw no evidence of either. However, this was not a problem for us since as I mentioned above, there were several good restaurants in the area. We had our breakfasts at Jinky's Cafe, just a couple of doors away, which opened by 8 am.||Not a hotel I would recommend for business travel, but great for those on a budget just looking for a clean/comfortable place to sleep who are planning to spend most of their time outside of the hotel, in a great location with convenient access to tourist sights, shops, and...

Here’s what you gotta know. This place is all about location. Literally 2 minutes from the pier, a block from the Promenade, and being surrounded by a ton of restaurants/bars is it’s biggest attraction. The hotel itself is a little outdated, but I found the king beds to be very comfortable. The rooms were clean, but upon entering it did smell like whatever cleaner they used to sanitize the rooms. Luckily, I always bring essential oils with me, so I was able to spray around and the smell went away. I always check for bed bugs at every hotel I stay at, and none were to be found in our room. The walls are thin, so if you are a light sleeper or have trouble with hearing footsteps above you, it may be bothersome, but being in our mid-twenties, this didn’t even phase us. The room had a working air conditioning unit, tv with a variety of channels, and offered a few free accommodations (shampoo, conditioner, body lotion, hand wash, 2 free waters). There is no microwave or refrigerator. The bathroom was small, but the water pressure in the shower for our room was really nice and actually pretty powerful. Overall, the state of the room was good, it was clean (enough), and was nice for just a place to sleep. There are hidden fees, about $20 a day stay, and also temporary holds that they refund a few days after your stay, assuming no damage to the room is done. If you book through a traveling agency, most of them include these hidden fees when booking, but I understand that might not always be the case. Do your research. There is only one elevator, and it’s small, but taking the stairs to the 3rd floor wasn’t a big deal for us. The staff up front was friendly. There is a valet for the hotel, but it costs $30 per day (plus tip). There is a ton of parking structures in the area, we were able to park at the one right next to the hotel, so that was perfect. Again, because of the location of this hotel, you won’t need to take your car anywhere, unless you plan on traveling out of the immediate area. Parking structure felt safe, although never leave any valuables in your car. Parking costs $20 a day during the week, $25 on weekends. Be aware that the $20 a day is not a 24 hour basis, it literally means BY THE DAY. At 11:59PM the first day ends and at 12:00AM the next day starts, so take that into consideration. Overall, our stay was pleasant. The location was amazing and the rooms were clean. If you are expecting a 4-5 star hotel, this is not the place for you, but I would definitely...