I have no problem driving the 5 hours from Los Angeles to Las Vegas.
However, I draw the line at the 5.5 hour drive to Carmel. Why? Good question. It just seems like a much longer drive.
I decided to finally bite the bullet and make the drive North to Carmel to checkout the Hyatt Carmel Highlands and the Carmel Valley Ranch.
But was it worth the drive?
Review: Hyatt Carmel Highlands, Overlooking Big Sur Coast
First up, the Hyatt Carmel Highlands, Overlooking Big Sur Coast.
About The Hyatt Carmel Highlands, Overlooking Big Sur Coast
Image: hyatt.com
The Main Lodge
Arrival At The Main Lodge
The parking roundabout for check-in
Masks required
Inside the Lodge
The Front Desk & Check-In
We visited this hotel during the pandemic, so I was pleased to find the lobby properly masked, plexi-glassed, and socially-distanced.
There was only one front-desk attendant working when I arrived, but there was no line.
However, I was not recognized for my World of Hyatt loyalty and I was not offered an upgrade.
Booking Rate For The Night Of My Stay
My original booking, the One-King Ocean View, went for about $1,235 on the night I stayed there.
The World Of Hyatt Redemption
Luckily, it was a World of Hyatt Category 7 property, which meant that I was able to book the room for 30,000 points (a CPP of 4.12, an excellent WOH redemption value).
The Room Key
Map Of The Property
[Sorry – moisture damage!]
The Walkway To My Room
The Bedroom Area
When I arrived at my room, I was pleased to find a semi-rustic room complete with a large outdoor deck and fireplace.
The unit had a perfectly spot-on coastal decor, although it also appeared to have not had a guest or been cleaned for sometime. It was dusty and there was an active [large] spider-web in the corner of the room near the entrance (my policy is always “live and let live”).
The bed was comfortable and fireplace was warm (and necessary), but it did overpower the room with the smell of Cedar (which I quite liked, but I could imagine would be too much for some people).
A spider, dust, and debris
Room Amenities
The room came with all the standard amenities.
I hate to be “that guy”, but is a Keurig machine really the right fit for a $1,000 a night room? Come on, where’s the Nespresso or Illy machine?
The Vanity And Sink (Outside The Bathroom)
A good feature of this room was the vanity and sink outside the bathroom.
These are great because they allow two people to get ready at the same time.
The Bathroom
The bathroom was standard; small, but fine.
Pharmacopia’s Argan Oil Collection (which I find underwhelming) was the toiletry brand of choice.
Bathroom Artwork
The Outdoor Deck
The outdoor deck was great, but the ocean view was obscured. Though, I guess technically, it was an “ocean view” room.
Now, again, not to be “that guy”, but I noticed nearly all the upper-level rooms with the proper ocean views were not occupied. Which begs the question, shouldn’t we have been given one of those upgrades as a Hyatt Explorist member (especially at 30,000 points/$1,000+ a night)?
Nobody’s home to enjoy the “ocean view”
Damn those trees blocking the view!
Now that’s a [sliver of a] Carmel sunset!
The Fireplace
Loved it. This was probably the best feature of the room. So necessary on a brisk and foggy night.
The Swimming Pool
The pool was right outside our unit, but it was closed due to the pandemic (it was too cold anyways).
The Swimming Pool Fire Pit
There was small fire pit near the pool, but it looked like it could have used some tidying-up.
The firewood for the rooms (and fire pits) was free and plentiful and housed in this mini-shack by the pool.
The Main Lodge
The Main Lodge was beautifully impressive, clean and cozy.
It’s no wonder the property’s best views of the Big Sur Coast were found here.
Dining at the California Market at Pacific’s Edge
Around 7:30 p.m., we headed over to grab dinner at the California Market at Pacific’s Edge I had heard rave reviews about. As we arrived, I realized it was closed (although I was not informed of the closure during booking or check-in).
Confused, I inquired at the front desk and was told that the California Market at Pacific’s Edge was closed for dinner. I then inquired if there were any other dinner options at the hotel. “No” I was told.
“Well, what about breakfast? Where will that be?” I was then told that breakfast would not be available during my stay. This seemed unbelievable to me, and moreover, something that should have been communicated to me BEFORE I arrived.
At that point, I pulled out my phone and pulled up the email I received from the Hyatt Carmel Highlands that listed all the things to do at the property during the pandemic, and there it was in black and white, “dining at the award-winning restaurant”.
“Yeah, I know, the email does say that. I’ve told my manager. But everything is closed”. That was the response I got from the front desk.
It’s at this point my feelings about this stay changed, irreparably, for two reasons. One, I just dropped 30,000 points on a stay at a secluded property with no dining options available to me, for dinner or breakfast. And two, I wasn’t told of this at the time of booking nor was I told during my check-in when I could have made alternate dinner arrangements.
Now it was 7:30 p.m. and we had no idea where we were going to find dinner. Uh-oh, it seemed we were in big trouble.
I quickly pulled up the Postmates and Doordash apps, but found all the local restaurants closed at 8:00 p.m. and had stop taking orders. I took one last shot on the Uber Eats app, and luckily found the only local spot that was still open and taking orders (we had burgers and tacos if you were curious).
But the damage was done. I was understandably not a happy camper.
The Sunset Lounge
The Sunset Lounge was closed for service during the pandemic (although you could still hangout here “BYOB-style”).
Yes, the views were amazing.
The Views From The Lodge
The Hyatt Residence Club
The Hyatt Carmel Highlands, Overlooking Big Sur Coast, confusingly shares the same property with the Highlands Inn, a Hyatt Residence Club.
In fact, upon booking, I didn’t know if we’d be credited with a stay at “Hyatt” or “Hyatt Residence Club” (for World of Hyatt “Brand-Explorer” free-night award purposes).
The answer? It was Hyatt.
The HRC front desk
The Bottom-Line Review: Hyatt Carmel Highlands, Overlooking Big Sur Coast
Other guests and travel bloggers have long given rave reviews about the Hyatt Carmel Highlands, like Matthew Klint from liveandletsfly who called it his “favorite Hyatt hotel in California”. That’s some major praise.
Unfortunately, that was not our experience. I’ll be fair and chalk some of our disappointment up to the fact that we stayed during the pandemic.
But with that said, there was no excuse for Hyatt not to have communicated the closure of all dining options at the time of booking or, at the very least, during check-in.
Worse, by sending an email stating dining options would be available during our stay, the lack of food options really felt more like a very expensive bait-and-switch at 30,000 points.
On the plus side, the hotel had a great location. The room was exactly what I expected for a coastal retreat. The fireplace and wooden deck were perfect for the area.
On the negative side, the room was dusty and the large spider-web in the corner told me the unit hadn’t been cleaned in some time. With no dining and plenty of unoccupied units, you’d think the least they could do for Hyatt elites was give them a basic upgrade with a decent view. The property overall could probably use some remodeling or even a thorough “refreshing”; Keurigs and Pharmacopia toiletries just don’t cut it at luxury Hyatt resorts in 2020.
With all that said, even with the glaring lack of communications about the dining situation, I was still willing to lay the majority of the blame on the pandemic. That was, until I stayed at the nearby Carmel Valley Ranch (another Hyatt property in Carmel) the very next next night. It was then I realized the problem wasn’t the pandemic at all, but the Hyatt Carmel Highlands’ management.
Final Rating: 7 out of 10 (and that’s generous).
