Something that always strikes me funny when we head to Carmel, California is when my husband asks, “what’s the address?” of the location we’re visiting. He drives and I navigate our way to one our favorite local towns in the world for a stay at the Carmel Country Inn. My answer for him, “Between Dolores and Third.. or so.” Without numerals on street addresses, Carmel by the Sea is a simple, yet elegant vacation spot. A small village, yet big on dining, shopping, museums, and wine. Next door to the Inn, the design of the newly built duplex is modern in style and a few doors down the whimsical cottage looks like fairies built it. In all my trips and reviews of Carmel by the Sea, I come to love it more and more for all the uniqueness it offers, but mostly for how comfortable I always feel when I visit.
Pulling into the parking lot at Carmel Country Inn, you can’t help but notice all the beautiful flowers and plants that adorn it. The yellows and purples and pops of pink give off a brightness amongst the tall trees in shades of browns and greens.
Upon check in, we’re greeted by a lobby of Easter bunnies and holiday decor. The Inn is very dog-friendly (as is most of the town’s businesses and restaurants) and each pet is photographed and logged into a dog guest book or hung on the wall. Dishes of jellybeans for humans and biscuits for dogs fill bowls on the desk. Our welcome includes a walk to the adjacent breakfast room that offers complimentary snacks in the afternoon.
Salty and sweet treats plus a variety of fruit and juices are available for that afternoon pick-me-up. We may have visited a second time because those oatmeal cranberry cookies were delicious! Already our stay felt comfortable, homey, and like we were staying with relatives. With keys and hand we walked around the building to room 9, our King suite. Our room came with it’s very own parking spot right out front which made luggage handling very convenient.
The Dutch door caught my eye right away and as we walked into the suite I made sure to open it up. Nature was brought into the suite by way of singing birds and the ocean breeze through the trees. 
The living room was spacious with a love seat and chair, table, and a cozy fireplace. 
The patio seen from outside was raised high enough that when we sat down we weren’t looking at our car parked below but into the trees and blue sky.
It’s incredibly peaceful with only the sounds of an occasional neighbor driving by. We actually uncorked a bottle of wine and poured ourselves a drink on the patio for about 25 minutes before we even took a look into the bedroom. The king bed was the highlight of the room with soft lights beaming on either side and the quilted bedspread and pillows offering country comfort. A large closet held our luggage and even provided extra blankets and a portable fan. 
The bathroom blew me away first with the tiled shower, then I spotted the whirlpool tub. I always love a pool and/or hot tub amenity in a resort, hotel, or Inn but a private whirlpool tub takes the cake. With the added privacy (and a few candles) you can relax and unwind and not have to share the space with people you don’t know. Plus if you forget your swimsuit, you can still get by. 
Back to the living room, we felt the cool air coming in through the patio and Dutch door. We turned on the fireplace and grabbed a blanket from the closet and cuddled on the couch. The tv directly in sight we read off the names of probably one hundred DVDs available to check out from the lobby. Maybe if we were staying a few nights, but we opted to have another glass of wine and look for a place to have dinner.
The lobby has a book of local restaurants and menus if you need it, we simply Googled from our couch. We later walked to Little Napoli (a place we frequent regularly) and had dinner. Upon return, I ran to the bathroom to begin filling the whirlpool tub. 
Once the water reached proper levels, those jets came on and in we went. The jets gave the best massage which had me dreaming of a similar tub in our master bath renovation in the very near future.
Included in your stay is a lovely breakfast spread that offered fruit, oatmeal, a variety of breads, bagels, and danishes and a delicious bacon and cheese quiche. Thank goodness for strawberry season, they were so ripe and sweet! We grabbed trays and took them back to our room. A blanket, fire, and the love seat was again our go-to spot and we read about the town’s news and culture from the Carmel Pine Cone.
It was honestly so hard to leave our room and depart the Inn, one night is really not enough time to really settle in. Like I said before, it’s like staying with family, goodbyes are never easy. We will be back to Carmel Country Inn for everything it offers and if you’d like to learn more about it, visit https://www.carmelcountryinn.com/ for rates and packages.
Our stay was hosted, we thank Amy and Rachel for all they provided for us. All opinions are our own.
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