Carmel, Pebble Beach & Big Sur, four houses
The Monterey Peninsula and the coast south of it hold three Californias within an hour of each other. Pebble Beach is the 17-Mile Drive, the golf links on the ocean and the 1919 lodge on its last green, the eighteenth; Carmel-by-the-Sea is the village of cottages, galleries and the white beach, with the sunny vineyards of Carmel Valley a quarter of an hour inland; and Big Sur, forty minutes south on Highway 1, is the most scenic stretch of the most scenic road in America — redwood canyons, the Bixby Bridge and two houses on the cliffs a thousand feet above the Pacific. September and October are the clearest months; the summer fog stays on the coast and the valley stays in the sun.
Luxury hotels in Carmel, Pebble Beach & Big Sur
4 hotels
The neighborhoods
Big Sur
The coast south of Carmel on Highway 1, where two houses sit on the cliffs a thousand feet above the Pacific. Along the road lie the Bixby Bridge, the redwood canyons of Pfeiffer Big Sur, McWay Falls and Nepenthe's terrace; the coast is forty minutes to an hour from Carmel, with no town at all.
Pebble Beach
The gated forest of the Monterey Peninsula, with Pebble Beach Golf Links and Spanish Bay on the ocean. Inside are the 17-Mile Drive, the Lone Cypress and the Beach & Tennis Club, minutes from Carmel-by-the-Sea's cottages, galleries and white beach.
Carmel Valley
The sunny valley inland from Carmel, with vineyards and tasting rooms around Carmel Valley Village. Oaks and pines cover the hillsides; it is warmer and clearer than the coast, a quarter of an hour from Carmel-by-the-Sea and a scenic drive from Big Sur.
Good to know
Which are the five-star hotels in Carmel, Pebble Beach & Big Sur?
One. The five-star house we list in Carmel, Pebble Beach & Big Sur is Post Ranch Inn, the cliff houses and tree houses twelve hundred feet above the Pacific in Big Sur. Beside it we keep three four-star addresses, each listed exactly at the tier it holds: Alila Ventana Big Sur, the original luxury resort of the coast, hidden in the redwoods above the ocean; Bernardus Lodge & Spa, the wine estate's lodge in the pines and oaks of Carmel Valley; and The Lodge at Pebble Beach, the 1919 lodge on the eighteenth green of Pebble Beach Golf Links.
Where to stay — Big Sur, Pebble Beach or Carmel Valley?
Big Sur for the cliffs, the redwoods and the silence, forty minutes to an hour south of Carmel on Highway 1, with nothing to do but the coast — which is the point; Pebble Beach for the golf, the 17-Mile Drive and the peninsula within minutes of Carmel-by-the-Sea's galleries and beach; Carmel Valley for the sun above the fog, the vineyards and tasting rooms of Carmel Valley Village and a quieter, warmer stay a quarter of an hour inland.
When is the best time to visit Carmel, Pebble Beach and Big Sur?
September and October are the clearest months on this coast, warm and fog-free; the summer brings morning fog to Carmel and Pebble Beach — Big Sur's houses sit above it and the valley stays sunny — and the busiest weekends; the winter is green and quiet, with the whales passing and the storms that can close Highway 1 for days at a time. Spring brings the wildflowers to the Big Sur hillsides.
How do you get around Carmel, Pebble Beach and Big Sur?
Monterey Regional Airport is a quarter of an hour from Carmel and Pebble Beach; San Jose is about an hour and a half by road and San Francisco about two and a half. A car is essential — Highway 1 south to Big Sur, the 17-Mile Drive, Carmel Valley Road inland — and the coast road can close after winter storms, so the houses keep their pages current and arrange transfers on request.
How do I reserve a stay?
Search your dates on the hotel's page to see reference rates, then send the concierge a request. The concierge confirms exact rates and availability with you before anything is booked, and any payment and its timing are set out before you confirm.
