Carmel Valley Ranch

we stayed in the carmel family 2 bedroom suite...it had a fire pit on the wrap around patio with a table for eating...the personal fire for smores made my granddaughters day...and ours because we could do it in our jammies...the beds and linens were quite comfy...pillow spray provided...towels were fluffy and big...raised toilet seat for ease...there was a fridge and nespresso coffee...the suite felt like you were in a tree house...the pros of this room is that it is close to the lodge for convenience but could be noisy at times...lots of fun activities, some free and some for a fee...we did the soap, lotion, body scrub and bath bomb making along with the bee's life experience which was once in a lifetime, get into a bee suit, and actually hold the bee sleeves from the boxes! the animals (chickens, goats, donkeys, llamas, sheep) and gardens were wonderful free experiences...water bottles are provided on check-in with water filling stations and fresh fruit flavored water in lodge for filling...we love the convenience of room service which they do provide...but we were there for a week and the limited menu became repetitious...sometimes the wait was longer than we expected but the food was tasty...this was a wonderful easter vacation for the family...

CVR is a Carmel gem. We aren’t a family of “change.” Once we find perfection, we continue to go to the same place over and over again forever. A neighbor told me to open my heart to having 2 favorites so we gave it a shot. What a blessing! My 2 adult children and I went and had the best time. The team here is truly amazing. Our favorite part was certainly the picnic. I don’t think we ate much because we were obsessed with all the animals. The animals and organic garden are in remarkable shape. All the animals living quarters are well maintained. Spa services were great. Food was great. This ranch is very family friendly. Lots of kids, most supervised, some not. This is normal but when one left a lot of garbage and smeared marshmallows all over the chairs, the team cleaned it up pretty quickly. When kids were in the clearly labeled adult pool and area, the team politely explained to the unsupervised kids they needed to wait for their parents at a certain safe spot. My children are now having my grandchildren so I’m extremely happy that our family now has 2 local favorites! We will be back in May and August this year. Thank you CVR for an amazing weekend.

Very clean. Lots of technology in room. The pool was clean and the temp of water was perfect. Be sure to check out the main dining area. Also, save room for the smores around the fire every night. The store could use some upgrades and a better variety of food.

Breathtaking grounds. As an adult trip for our 20th anniversary we spent one night here. The staff are amazing, Emma from the front desk was outstanding, she helped answer all my questions and when she did not know the answer she found someone who did. We took advantage of the meet and greet with the animals and that was so fun, the goats are so people friendly and the Alpaca are so cute. The room was the studio with dual sided fireplace and outdoor swing chair. We had such a lovely time just relaxing on the chair snuggled up under a blanked and enjoying the fireplace outside. The bed was so comfortable and all the lights are labeled and on central buttons, very easy to use and figure out. We were gifted a bottle of cider for our special occasion, that made our stay just perfect to sip and relax the next morning before checking out.

Mixed use means a mixed review. This property is stunning- no doubt. But that it’s used for weddings, conferences and that there are local members who belong, meant that often as hotel guests we felt at the bottom of importance. One night though the restaurant was half full we were told due to a technical glitch we couldn’t eat there for another hour - not acceptable w a 6 and 8 year old. Meanwhile huge conference seemed while fed and cared for. Oh and not sure what was going on with the espresso pods but two days we didn’t have coffee as we couldn’t get the pods delivered by housekeeping - kind of a standard to have in the morning. On a sunny day after school, the family pool was over run w local kids leaving little to no room for guests. We did appreciate being able to play tennis at 9a every day before the courts were again filled with members. The setting was lovely but we left with a mixed feeling and likely wouldn’t return.