Carmel Valley Ranch

Gourmet meals in the beautiful dining room with a warm fireplace and view atop a wooded hill overlooking the golf course include specials of the day with plenty of fresh greens and deserts.  While dining, you will usually be treated to a show of animals wandering by such as wild turkey, deer and I even saw a tiny bobcat on my recent visit.  Specials include Leg of Lamb, Steaks and Fish, Salads and Soups. There's a full bar, wine list an some Desserts worth a  photograph. Prices begin around $12 to $15 for an entree.

Property Type: Resort - Golf
Area Airport: Monterey Peninsula - 15 minutes 

While traditional hotel rooms at other properties tend to be inhibiting, these suites are spacious and offer a living room with fireplace, refrigerator, dining table, sofa and easy chairs, television and CD player. There's always some wood waiting near the fireplace, a new pair of leather gloves, a poker and long stem matches to get the gas starter lit. Additional wood in a bin sits right outside the door to your suite.

Bedrooms include a second fireplace, second TV and sliding glass door to a private deck where you can watch bluejays in the trees or see wild turkeys and deer graze in the wooded regions.  If you are tired and don't feel like you want to walk uphill to your room, drivers with golf carts are at your beckoned call night and day to whisk you away to your nest. 

Bathrooms include separate showers and tubs and two fluffy, full length white terry robes. Some of the finest shampoo, lighted make up mirrors, double vanity and a private toilet with telephone and magazine rack stocked with Travel magazines is waiting. Decorated tastefully with accents of hunter green, golf prints hang on the walls and beamed ceilings are stained in a light wood tone. 

Behind the welcoming gates of the vast, 1700-acre estate known as Carmel Valley Ranch lies a world of extraordinary natural beauty.  Verdant fairways, majestic oaks and brilliant flowers are set against the rugged hills of the Monterey Peninsula, just minutes east of Carmel-by-the-Sea.  Our BEACHCALIFORNIA.COM staff has stayed at Carmel Valley Ranch 5 or 6 times and we honestly can't look at this web page without feeling the need to go back. It's so restful and scenic, we feel a strong yearning to return to the hilltop lodge, beautiful suites and natural beauty with butterflies, bluejays, turkey, deer and hummingbirds that are everywhere you look.

While golfers consider the course to be the principal attraction at Carmel Valley Ranch, the Resort attracts couples who seek privacy and amenities such as balcony decks, two room suites and corner room locations with an outdoor deck jacuzzi.  Stop by the Chateau Julien winery on your way into the Resort and pick out a couple bottles of their current or reserve stock.  How much more romantic can it be to have a fireplace roaring, jacuzzi bubbling, drinking fine wine and watching the deer and wild turkey roam in the grassy knolls below your private suite?  Awesome!

In room massages, horseback riding, tennis courts and even a child's play center are a few of the on site offerings. There's a famous wood sculptor, Paul Wilson, just off the premises who sells unique items, and a 5 minute drive will take you to the Carmel Valley Barnyard Shopping Plaza.  Add another 10 minutes and you'll be at the mission or in the heart of action in busy downtown Carmel shopping district. 

Pete Dye recently finished an artful redesign of his original course to increase playability. Railroad tie and telephone bulkheading is deemed an integral part of this course ranked by Golf Magazine as one of Monterey's "must plays". Winding along the Carmel River and into the hills, the 18-hole championship layout now encompasses wider fairways, modified bunkers, enlarged greens and new lagoon hazards. The front nine holes meander along the Carmel  River while the heavily forested back nine offer stunning panoramas shared only with fox, deer and wild turkey that make the course their home.

Golf with referral or stay at the lodge. Practice facilities include a driving range, putting/ chipping greens and a full-service pro shop plus a clubhouse with breakfast and lunch at the Club Grill restaurant and bar.  USGA Rules govern all play. 
Call For Playing Privileges.