Best Hotels, Restaurants and Shops In the Coastal Town

“What. Is. Bohemia?“

A sharply dressed crowd assembled in the La Playa Hotel‘s Pacific Ballroom in Carmel chanted this refrain in unison, led by an ensemble of actors from the IAMA Theatre Company this past winter. Among the more than 250 attendees gathered for the celebratory weekend to mark the grand reopening of the historic venue were Lewis Pullman, Patrick J. Adams, actor Guillermo Diaz and writer/podcaster Evan Ross Katz. Scandal‘s Katie Lowes and The Bear and Never Have I Ever‘s Adam Shapiro beamed from the audience as they watched fellow thespians from the Atwater Village-based theater they co-founded perform the prologue of The Last Bohemian, a one-night, site-specific immersive play directed by Eli Gonda and commissioned for the occasion by hotelier John Grossman of Marc & Rose Hospitality.

Playwright Christian Durso’s story — set in 1907 and inspired by Carmel’s unorthodox creative legacy — proceeded to unfold throughout the property. Chef and food writer Andy Baraghani was there, too, having prepared a locally sourced dinner the previous night for this high-spirited convergence of guests representing many disciplines and fields.

Clint Eastwood is often associated with the hamlet located at the southern end of the Monterey Peninsula. But it’s also where over a century ago, figures such as Robinson Jeffers, Jack London, Edward Weston, Sinclair Lewis and painter Chris Jorgensen, found refuge and community. It was Jorgensen who in 1905 built the winter home that would become La Playa Hotel for his wife, San Francisco chocolate heiress Angela Ghirardelli.

Elements of this early bohemian culture are still felt around the gridded streets of the one-mile-square village of Carmel-by-the-Sea. There, storybook-style buildings and the conspicuous absence of numeric street addresses bolster its quirky charm. Homes are identified by descriptive names and geographic positions instead of conventional addresses, so residents collect their mail at the downtown post office (and deliveries can be challenging).

Standout Carmel real estate transactions indicate renewed attention. In 2022, Brad Pitt added a $40 million investment to his portfolio in the form of Seward, the 1918 stone-clad D.L. James House designed by architect Charles Sumner Greene, one of the architects responsible for the Gamble House in Pasadena. The 1951 Butterfly House outfitted with chic interiors by Jamie Bush sold in 2023 for $29 million; and Monaco businessman Patrice Pastor scooped up the compact yet dramatic Mrs. Clinton Walker house by Frank Lloyd Wright for $22 million, adding an especially rare jewel to his expanding crown of Carmel property holdings (an overall development that generates local concern).  

Casual yet sophisticated restaurants, hotels and boutiques are evolving Carmel’s offerings, gradually raising the profile of this long-beloved destination as a desired getaway for Hollywood.

A few miles north, snagging a tee time at Pebble Beach remains a prize for avid golfers such as Barack Obama, Bill Murray and Justin Timberlake. Monterey Car Week, which includes Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, attracts well-heeled visitors and celebrities every August. (Plus much of this scenery will look familiar to Big Little Lies viewers.)

In April, Taylor Swift, Travis Kelce, Bradley Cooper and Gigi Hadid chose to rendezvous in Carmel, dining together at La Bicyclette bistro and enjoying the rugged coastline in honor of Hadid’s birthday.

Where to Stay

“Carmel has a laidback sense of luxury, style and hospitality that feels equally comfortable and under the radar, which we love,” Palisociety founder Avi Brosh tells The Hollywood Reporter. He and his wife, Kirsten, have transformed two previously modest properties located a couple blocks apart under their Le Petit Pali brand. The lobby spaces and 24 rooms situated downtown at Le Petit Pali at 8th Avenue (Junipero St. and Eighth Avenue, from $395 a night) and 34 guest rooms on Le Petit Pali at Ocean Avenue (Junipero St. and Ocean Ave.) are now awash in Palisociety’s signature refreshingly light and whimsical decor that doesn’t shy away from skillful applications of bold stripes and botanical prints.

At La Playa Hotel (nightly rates from $450), Brooklyn-based design firm Post Company has incorporated moody, intimate retro-tinged moments throughout the Spanish Colonial Revival structures to contrast with the sweeping ocean views. All 75 guest rooms and suites were renovated from top-to-bottom complete with elaborate custom Art Deco-influenced standalone bars, while beloved local gathering spot Bud’s was respectfully updated with a light touch.

Tucked into the Carmel Point residential area, Villa Mara (2408 Bay View Ave., nightly rates from $825) exudes quiet luxury vibes and adds to the impression that Carmel-by-the-Sea likely has among the highest fireplace-to-resident ratio in the country. The lobby and Jesena’s Bar are an exercise in layered textures, subtle patterns and understated elegance, with bespoke details from the leather-wrapped stair handrails to the furnishings — all with a wabi-sabi element that avoids stuffiness.  

Relais & Châteaux member L’Auberge Carmel (Monte Verde at Seventh Street, rates from $590) is a touch of the Old World in town centered around a delightful central courtyard.

The Stillwell Hotel (San Carlos Street at Fifth Avenue. rates from $379) debuted this summer with 42 crisp contemporary guest rooms situated in the heart of downtown.

The earthy interior design at Carmel Beach Hotel (San Antonio Avenue at 13th Street, rates from $425) is paces away from oceanfront Scenic Road, with a robust spa and wellness program that ties into the enchanting garden setting.

Deluxe resorts dot the Carmel Valley hills, too. Romantic and family-friendly properties include the 850-acre, 93-room rebranded The Quail (8205 Valley Greens Dr., nightly rates from $495) operated by Peninsula Hotels, which also has an 18-hole, 3-par championship golf course and revamped Covey Grill.

The activity-loaded, all-suite Carmel Valley Ranch (1 Old Ranch Road, high season nightly rates from $525) appeals to multiple generations, while picturesque vineyards at Bernardus Lodge & Spa (415 W. Carmel Valley Rd., rates from $465) and Lucia restaurant speak to the area’s viticultural heritage, with the Bernardus winery a mere two miles away.  

Where to Eat

“The town’s always stunning natural landscape is being buoyed by outstanding new culinary talents alongside premier design and cultural events and gatherings that are attracting a very interesting, fresh and unexpected crowd to town and catering to them in a new and special way,” Avi Brosh observes.

This movement is palpable at Anthony and Alyssa Carnazzo’s minimalist Stationæry (San Carlos Street, between Fifth and Sixth Avenue), where the perfectly crisp potato pancake piled with fromage blanc, prosciutto and delicata squash often sells out before brunch service ends. Destinaton-worthy venues within hotels also have striving culinary ambitions.

Chef Justin Cogley serves lavish tasting menus at the lauded Aubergine restaurant situated within L’Auberge, and Michael Chang showcases seafood sourced from Monterey Bay and other prized ingredients at Foray at the Stillwell Hotel.

Chez Noir centers on a strong locavore ethos and joins Aubergine as Carmel-by-the-Sea’s other Michelin-starred restaurant. Husband-and-wife chef team Jonny and Monique Black’s accolades include a James Beard Foundation nomination this year for Best New Restaurant, too. These alumni of Quince restaurant in San Francisco and Big Sur’s Post Ranch Inn first cooked pop-up meals at Stationæry, where the Carnazzos “gave us hope that Carmel could support our dream,” Monique Black says. Now the ever-changing, multi-course prix fixe menu ($150 per person) showcases seasonal California ingredients like Santa Cruz black cod and buttermilk-laced fried green tomato salad from Borba Family Farms. “If it wasn’t for the support of our neighbors and farmers, we wouldn’t be doing what we are today,” she adds.

Where to Shop

Carmel-by-the-Sea is a dream for avid browsers and shoppers who appreciate independently owned brick-and-mortar retail.

In this relaxed, slower-paced atmosphere, friendly chats with customers come easily to those minding the store. Hiroki Nakamura, Monterey Car Week enthusiast and founder of cult clothing and lifestyle brand Visvim (San Carlos Street near Sixth Avenue), opened a Carmel outpost complete with covetable vintage George Nakashima wood furnishings, collectible hifi equipment, handcrafted display cases and a coffee bar. Next to Stationæry, the collection of textiles and accessories with a focus on Japanese traditions stocked at Bee Bark & Moss (San Carlos Square, between Fifth and Sixth Avenue) is the project of Manhattan transplants, former fashion industry veteran Minori Shironishi and her husband Philip Rodrigue.

Inveterate dinner party hosts who are particular about their hemstitch, custom embroidered napkins and French linen tablecloths will admire the unrivaled inventory at Jan De Luz Linens (Dolores Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenue). Neighboring home good shops/interior design studios Hart Habitats and Shoshin (San Carlos Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenue) are full of welcoming colors, patterns and tempting wares. An impeccable curation of Nordic design classics by the likes of Finn Juhl and Hans Wegner are on offer at Fjørn Scandinavian nestled within the Shops at the Pine Inn Hotel (Ocean Avenue and Lincoln Street).

Sunny, hip Golden State cheer is the order of the day at Somewhere in Carmel (San Carlos between Ocean and Seventh Avenue), thanks to this boutique’s casual clothing and gift selection. The geodesic dome, zen vibes and spiritual books at Pilgrim’s Way Books and the Secret Garden (Dolores Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenue) represent an authentic throwback to a certain Californian era. Tejido Collective’s (Mission Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenue) sweaters support artisanal micro-enterprises in Peru and are perfect for bundling up against the chilly coastal fog.