Ken and I traveled solo this past week from Maui to San Francisco and drove south along the coast until we reached Monterey/Carmel, where we stayed at the historic Old Monterey Inn! This dreamy Tudor-style home built in 1929 was home to the first mayor of Monterey and his family. The vast fairy-tale like gardens were splendid, and the inner detailing in the home is lovely. This Inn was hands-down the most looked-forward-to spot on our getaway!
I only have two critiques. First, it was too cold inside our room. There was not adequate heating inside of the inn and we were given a small space heater to warm up our room. My nightly routine was this: Take hot bath, dry off as fast I can, careen into bed while wearing sweatpants and sweater and socks and cover myself with all the blankets and pray that I don’t get too cold in the night…all with the tiny space heater pointed straight at my side of the bed.
Ken was a dear in letting me having the space heater the bulk of the time although he could barely get out of bed in the morning from being too cold, he said. Mind you, Ken and I have lived in Alaska. We know cold. This cold indoors we were not prepared for. But! Once we accepted how cold it was at the Inn, I decided that I would counteract my shivers by going to the rental car and blasting the heat (often) and the two of us would enjoy strenuous walks/beach hikes for exercise and to warm up, which helped immensely.
There was a cute fireplace in our room at the Inn. It didn’t give off much heat being a little electric number, but it was so pretty and felt cozy! I spent a lot of time being uncomfortably cold at the Inn but I would still consider going back to the Inn and staying in the spring or summer, perhaps. Also, if you have any allergies to strong scented soaps (like me), the Inn uses a scented wash for all their linens and fabrics. It was intense. I prefer scent-free laundry detergent, and there was a moment (or two) that I thought about going to the laundromat and washing all of our bed linens in scent-free, hypoallergenic laundry detergent. I resisted, and took extra allergy medicine to compensate.
We met the sweetest people while staying at the Inn! And the two ladies who manage the Inn are wonderful! They provided nightly cheese and wine and breakfast in the mornings at 9 a.m.-ish. Ken and I dined with two separate couples who were visiting Monterey for both work and pleasure. We exchanged stories and laughed and ate cornflake-topped French Toast one morning and then sundried tomato frittata the next morning. Breakfast was a highlight. The second breakfast was much better in my opinion because it had a warm and savoury element. The only thing that could’ve made it better was sausage or bacon on the side. Ken and I are still dreaming about that frittata and look forward to trying to recreate it at home!
My combined review of The Old Monterey Inn would be:
5/5 for Whimsy and Charm (I couldn’t wait to take all these photos!!)
4/5 for Location (very close driving-wise to Fisherman’s Wharf and the Aquarium and I would bike there, but not walk)
3/5 for Value and Cost (it can be fairly expensive to stay here and I think if it had better indoor heating, I would feel better paying the amount it cost)
1/5 for Warmth/Room Temp in December
5/5 for Couples
1/5 for Family-Friendly (didn’t realize that it’s only for couples, so sadly we won’t be able to show the kids this place on our return)
Without further ado, here are some photos I snapped while on our anniversary getaway at the Old Monterey Inn! Huge Mahalo for the hospitality and delicious, memorable breakfast on our second morning there!
Little Maui Family 