Our Dream Honeymoon in Carmel-by-the-Sea, California
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When I tell you our honeymoon was absolutely perfect, I’m not exaggerating even the slightest bit. The location. The pace of the trip. The decor at our hotel. The weather. The food. The smells. The customer service. Everything. What still blows my mind is the fact that I had never heard of Carmel-by-the-Sea until 2 weeks before we left on our honeymoon. Granted, Tyler and I had a very fast engagement. We got engaged February 8th, 2024 and got married on March 10th, 2024. We had just a little over a month to plan a wedding AND honeymoon. Tyler took the reins on all things “honeymoon” and I’m so happy he did because he knocked it out of the park!
We obviously had a very limited time to plan a honeymoon. Before we got engaged we had never even talked about possible honeymoon destinations. Scotland is a dream destination for both of us so that did cross our minds briefly, but it just felt like too big of an undertaking to plan on top of a wedding in a month timeframe. We threw around the idea of Asheville because it’s a city we both love and are familiar with, but nothing really came of that. We then started playing around with the idea of an all-inclusive resort because it felt easy. After comparing the numbers, we realized we could travel to a foreign, tropical island for pretty much the same price as flying somewhere in the U.S.A. Everything is included and there’s minimal planning, right? Well, sort of. After a lot of searching and even narrowing down a few all-inclusive destinations we felt like we were paying a lot of money for things we didn’t really want, were over paying for Applebees-type food 3x a day (I’m not above Applebees, but I don’t want to spend $100+ per person, per meal for food that is really only $15 quality, ya know?) and also not getting the activities we really wanted in the price (we realized a lot of the resort activities were an additional cost).
Tyler and I said we were going to make a final decision and get hotels, flights, and a vehicle booked by the end of the day on February 25th—2 weeks before we were going to say “I do”. We would have been fine with doing a resort, but none of them felt like" us”. Neither of us felt settled about it. THEN. Tyler sent me a website link to La Playa Hotel—located in the heart of Carmel-by-the-Sea—and I instantly fell in love and knew it was the destination of our dreams. It looked like “us” and after researching even more, we felt like the pace of the romantic, coastal town was exactly what we were looking for. Every other honeymoon destination option immediately fell off the table. We booked our hotels, flights and vehicle that night! We hit our deadline!!
The Most Charming Coastal Town
If you’ve never heard of Carmel-by-the-Sea just picture this. A quaint, slow-paced town full of rich culture, endless alleyways with curated shops and art galleries around every corner, the most beautiful and inviting coastal cottages overlooking the chilly waters of the Pacific Ocean, groves of eucalyptus trees that you can smell as you’re driving down the charming cobblestone roads. The weather was oddly perfect on our trip. Perfect in the sense that I could wear a short-sleeve mini dress and feel completely comfortable and Tyler could wear pants and a down-filled jacket and also be totally content. You could dress for whatever season your heart desired—it was glorious! I mentioned the eucalyptus groves earlier and how the aroma filled the air in the most glorious way….well, imagine that aroma mixed with the sea salt that was also filling the air from the crashing waves on the coast. Unreal. Tyler kept saying “even the air smells good here”. and it was true. Just when we thought Carmel couldn’t get any better, it did.
Located nearby is the world-famous Pebble Beach Golf Course. You can pay just a few dollars to drive the 17-Mile Drive in Pebble Beach. We enjoyed the drive so much that we actually paid to do it on a few different days! We rented a Porche on Turo for this trip and would drive around for hours with the top down enjoying the weather, sea-breeze, beautiful scenery and stunning homes. I would absolutely encourage you to take the 17-Mile Drive at least once!
Of course you can’t go to the Pacific Coast without taking a drive on the Pacific Coast Highway. You can quickly jump on the PCH from carmel! I didn’t think I would enjoy spending hours driving around, but I 100% did! There are so many neat spots, lookout points, shops and restaurants along the PCH. I was amazed at the landscape surrounding us while driving—on one side was mountains and on the other was cliffs and crashing waves. It was unbelievably beautiful.
Where We Stayed
As I mentioned above, we booked our honeymoon just 14 short days before our wedding. Because of this, availability was limited, however, we DID get to stay at La Playa Hotel for 3 nights and it was the best hotel experience I’ve ever had. The hotel is snuggled among streets and streets of stunning cottages. Based on the pictures, I never would have guessed that it was located among residential cottages and homes, but it just made the hotel even more of a treasure when drove upon it for the first time. It may sound odd to read that it was in a neighborhood, but I assure you it only added to the charm of the town and hotel. It made the hotel even more inviting and magical.
For the last half of our trip we stayed inland in the wine country of Carmel Valley at Bernardus Lodge and Spa. It was peaceful in every way and exactly what we needed. The customer service was friendly and went above and beyond to make our honeymoon special. They even upgraded our room at no charge! The grounds and gardens were immaculate. Our pace was even slower while staying at Bernardus—we would walk the grounds, order room service, lay by the pool and enjoy the sauna and private pool at the spa. We originally planned to eat at the renowned restaurant Lucia which is located on the grounds, but I ended up getting sick the day we had reservations so we unfortunately had to cancel. Next time though!
What I Wore
Food, Food and more Food
Carmel is a dream for foodies and that’s exactly what Tyler and I are! We ate some of the most incredible food we have ever had while staying in Carmel. From the food at our hotels and local coffee shops to Michelin Star restaurants and farmstands on the side of the road, everything was beyond impressive. Here is a list of our most memorable eats:
Chez Noir - Take one bite and you will quickly realize why this restaurant has earned Michelin Stars. The food was beyond anything I have ever eaten. The food was creative and had depths of flavors I didn’t know existed. The entire service from the time we sat down was like an orchestra—absolutely beautiful and timed just right. We thought going into our reservations that we would leave hungry and have to grab a pizza on the way home, but we were wrong. The portions or each course were perfect and we left completely content—not hungry and not uncomfortably full. 10/10 recommend treating yourself to a Michelin Star experience!
Earthbound Farm Stand Market & Organic Cafe - This little treasure sits quietly on the side of the road between Carmel-by-the-Sea and Carmel Valley. We stumbled upon it while driving to our second hotel, Bernardus Lodge and Spa and it wow’d us!! We ordered the Grilled Steak Sandwich (HEAVENLY!!!!) and some sort of seasonal steak street taco that I can no longer find on their menu. Their fresh, organic ingredients made for the most delicious lunch! Not only do they have a cafe, but they have the sweetest little shop, grocery store and a fully operating flower farm you can explore. I think abou this roadside treasure often and can’t wait to go back!
Champagne Breakfast at La Playa - Tyler and I still talk about this breakfast at least once every week or so. It was one of our favorite parts of the entire trip. Each morning we would eat a complimentary gourmet breakfast on the terrace overlooking the coast. It was a dream!!! Each dish was better than the next. Each breakfast featured the season’s freshest produce and locally-sourced ingredients including fresh pastries, European cheese boards, fruits, juices, hot entrées, hand-crafted lattes and bottomless mimosas. The breakfast at La Playa impacted us so much that I actually recreated it for Tyler’s birthday a few months after our honeymoon!
Bud’s - Located inside La Playa Hotel, this restaurant and bar was our go-to! Every drink they made was delicious and they few times we grabbed a small bite to eat we were super impressed. The decor and aesthetic of Bud’s was classic, sophisticated and enough by itself to bring you back time and time again! Tyler’s favorite drink was the “Sinclair Oil” and I really enjoyed the “Letters to Nora”
A few places we wanted to try but were unable to on this trip were Mission Ranch which is owned by clint Eastwood and located on the most beautiful property and a winery in Carmel Valley called Folklore!
