i am finally getting to share my favorite stop of our california drive, carmel-by-the-sea! carmel is a quaint european town just a few hours south of san francisco. we had heard so many wonderful things about carmel, i knew i wanted to stop here for a night. my favorite part about carmel was how charming and just sweet it was. i was enamored with the fact that there aren’t any street numbers! a restaurant’s location would be like, “5th avenue between mission and san carlos,” and to get the mail, everyone just goes to the post office every single day. i also loved how authentic carmel felt. they don’t have chain stores or restaurants, and all businesses must have a wooden sign. i love that carmel has been able to remain this old-fashioned little town!
we stayed at the hofsas house which is a boutique hotel in the idea carmel location. we stayed in one of the suites on the top floor and it was so beautiful! when we arrived in the room, our wine and cheese package was there waiting for us. hofsas house has a package which includes a bottle of monterey county wine and a cheese pairing from a local cheese shop. i highly recommend this! we brought our wine and cheese out to the patio right outside our room and enjoyed the beautiful views. after our wine and cheese we walked around the town and then down to the beach. hofsas house has the perfect location because you can literally walk everywhere! it was fun to get lost and wander the little roads. we made sure to be down at the beach for sunset (do not miss this!) after sunset, we had a late dinner at casanova, which is a fabulous italian restaurant very close to the inn. the food was amazing. tony said it was the best gnocchi he has ever had, and he is a tough gnocchi critic!
the inn is family owned and operated for more than sixty years. we got to meet carrie, the owner of the hotel, for breakfast the next morning. carrie was the most welcoming host and was so helpful. she suggested we go to the 5th avenue deli and get a picnic lunch for the beach. so after breakfast we wandered over to the deli and ordered a few picnic lunches. eating lunch by the ocean was a perfect farewell to carmel. i only wish we would have had more time!
how cute is this hotel? i was in love with the dusty pink color.
all of the rooms had these dutch doors so you could open the top and let fresh carmel air in.
wine and cheese pairing. don’t mind if we do!
in carmel, buildings can’t be built taller than a few stories, so you feel like you are sitting right in the trees. magical!
my husband!
see what i mean about the carmel sunsets?
our picnic by the ocean!
this is the “i love carmel” pose.
thank you so much hofsas house for the amazing stay! we can’t wait to come back! hofsas house sponsored several of our activities during our stay, but all opinions are my own.