The best luxury hotels in Big Sur and Carmel

Bernardus Lodge & Spa has 73 guestrooms with private balconies or patios on a Carmel Valley property away from the coast. The spa includes a warming pool, a eucalyptus steam room, and a dry sauna, and some rooms add a two-person copper soaking tub with a wet room and rain shower.

Good to know: It rates 9.3/10 from 180+ reviews. Pets allowed, EV charging, and a fitness room are listed alongside the spa, pool, restaurant, and bar.

Skip it if a coastal address matters more than Carmel Valley: L'Auberge Carmel, Relais & Chateaux sits closer to the sea.

This 20-room boutique hotel in Carmel-by-the-Sea sets aside 3 rooms for dogs, up to two dogs per room, for a one-time fee per dog, and dogs must stay leashed and not left unattended. Onsite restaurant Aubergine has just nine tables and a 2,500-bottle wine cellar.

Good to know: It rates 8.6/10 from 170+ reviews. Pets allowed, a restaurant, and a bar are listed; the 3 dog rooms should be requested directly.

Skip it if you are not traveling with a dog and want more rooms to choose from: Bernardus Lodge & Spa has 73.

Monterey Plaza Hotel & Spa holds a Forbes Travel Guide Four-Star rating and sits on beachfront property above the Pacific in the historic Cannery Row area. Vista Blue Spa is an 11,000-square-foot rooftop space overlooking Monterey Bay, and the 280 rooms are backed by two restaurants, Coastal Kitchen and Schooners Monterey.

Good to know: It rates 8.8/10 from 810+ reviews, the most reviewed hotel on this list. EV charging, a restaurant, and a bar are listed.

Skip it if you want a smaller property: at 280 rooms, this is among the largest on this list.

Alila Ventana Big Sur is the only hotel on this list actually in Big Sur, spread across 160 acres with 54 rooms and suites plus standalone villas and glamping sites. Spa Alila offers massages, facials, and body treatments for guests 18 and older, and Sur House is the resort's fine-dining restaurant with an ocean view.

Good to know: Guest ratings are not shown here for hotels with fewer than 50 reviews. Spa, restaurant, bar, fitness room, pets allowed, EV charging, and a sustainability label are listed.

Skip it if you are bringing children: Spa Alila treatments are for guests 18 and older.

The Quail Lodge & Golf Club has 93 guestrooms and suites in bungalow-style buildings with private patios, set around a championship golf course open to both members and hotel guests. Spa Adeline covers wellness and treatment services on site, in a Carmel Valley setting away from the coast.

Good to know: It rates 9.1/10 from 770+ reviews, close to the top of this list. Spa, pool, restaurant, bar, fitness room, pets allowed, and EV charging are all listed facilities here.

Skip it if golf is not the draw: Bernardus Lodge & Spa, also in Carmel Valley, leans more toward the spa and its soaking tubs.

Old Monterey Inn is a 1929 estate on one acre of English gardens in Monterey, holding a AAA Four Diamond rating with just 10 guest rooms, one of the smallest counts on this list. Each room has a fireplace and a private bathroom, some with a spa bath, and wine and hors d'oeuvres are served daily between 4 and 6pm.

Good to know: It rates 8.9/10 from 60+ reviews. No facilities beyond the room amenities and the daily wine service are listed for this property.

Skip it if you want onsite dining or a spa facility: neither is listed here, unlike Bernardus Lodge & Spa or Monterey Plaza Hotel & Spa.

The Sanctuary Beach Resort in Marina is an oceanfront property with rooms, suites, and villas that each have a private patio or terrace. Salt Wood Kitchen & Oysterette is the resort's seafood restaurant with an oyster bar, and the resort also offers a full-service spa, an outdoor pool, and a hot tub.

Good to know: It rates 9.1/10 from 210+ reviews, tied with The Quail Lodge & Golf Club for one of the higher scores here. Pool, restaurant, bar, pets allowed, and an LGBTQ+ friendly label are listed.

Skip it if Carmel or Monterey itself matters more than Marina, which sits farther up the coast at 3295 Dunes Drive.

Green Gables Inn is a Victorian-style oceanside inn in Pacific Grove with 11 individually decorated guestrooms, plus a carriage house behind the main house that offers larger suites for guests who want more space. A gourmet breakfast is served in a bayfront greenhouse-style dining room each morning.

Good to know: It rates 9.4/10 from 190+ reviews, one of the higher ratings on this list. No other facilities beyond the rooms and the breakfast service are listed.

Skip it if you want onsite dining beyond breakfast or a spa facility: neither is listed here, unlike the resorts farther inland.

Stilwell Hotel is a boutique hotel in Carmel-by-the-Sea with pets allowed listed as a facility. It rates 9.3/10 from 180+ reviews, matching Bernardus Lodge & Spa's score, though the pack records no further verified facts for this property beyond its location and rating.

Good to know: Pets allowed is the only listed facility here. Vagabond's House Inn sits 0.1 miles away and L'Auberge Carmel, Relais & Chateaux 0.3 miles away, both in a straight line.

Skip it if you want a documented spa, restaurant, or room count: none of those are listed for this particular hotel.

Vagabond's House Inn has 13 individually decorated guest rooms, each with a fireplace, built in English Tudor style using Carmel stone, brick, and half-timbers. It sits at the intersection of 4th Avenue and Dolores Street in Carmel-by-the-Sea, right in the middle of town, and dogs are allowed.

Good to know: Guest ratings are not shown here for hotels with fewer than 50 reviews. Pets allowed is the only other listed facility, alongside the 13 rooms with fireplaces.

Skip it if you want a full-service resort; this is a 13-room inn with fireplaces rather than a spa or pool complex.

Jabberwock Inn is a historic 1911 Craftsman-style bed and breakfast overlooking Monterey Bay, set on half an acre of gardens near Cannery Row in Monterey. Some rooms include jacuzzi tubs alongside their fireplaces, a step up from the standard rooms at other small inns on this list.

Good to know: It rates 9.5/10 from 90+ reviews, the highest guest rating on this list. No facilities beyond the rooms and gardens are listed for this property.

Skip it if you want onsite dining beyond breakfast or a spa facility: neither is listed here, unlike the larger resorts on this page.