honeymooning in carmel HELP!

[vizsla]

hi!
i''ve posted a few times while my FI and i were looking at possible honeymoon destinations.. well, we''ve decided... and i need to do some serious planning now

we are spending 3 days in yosemite (totally FI choice and then 4 days at the tickle pink inn in carmel. (october 27 - nov 4)

my questions are as follows...

best spa for a massage etc.

suggestions for restaurants we should/need to/have to have dinner

suggestions for best place for a great glass (or two) of wine.

suggestions for places we have to/should/need to see or do - can include anything, shopping, sights, best place to grab a quick bite.

since we''ll be doing some major climbing/hiking while in yosemite i really want the second part of the HM to be relaxing - with lots of good food and wine yum!

everyone here always has the best suggestions and really, truly haven''t been wrong once....

thanks in advance!

 

[TravelingGal]

Clint Eastwood''s Mission Ranch would be a nice place to have wine if you could sit outdoors. Food isn''t the best I''ve had, but it''s doable.

For Italian, I like Da Giovanni. Actually, they say it''s mediterranean food. It''s not too pricey and the food is solid. I like to start out with their Insalata Greca...fantastic if you love feta. http://www.dagiovannis.com/food_menu.htm.

I ate a fancy, well known restaurant there as well, but the name escapes me...which is indicative of what I thought of the experience, really.

Carmel is kind of a slow paced place, IMO. I think one of the nicest things you could do is make your own picnic and take it down to the beach, which is really lovely. If either of you are big on golf, doing the 17 mile drive and pebble beach might be worth it.

We like it and have been for the past two years and plan on going every year.

 

[Skippy123]

Well, I know this isn't in Carmel but we stayed at the Seven Gables in the yellow victorian and it is beautiful and most rooms have a view of the ocean. Pacific Grove is right next door to Carmel. Here is the link http://www.pginns.com/ At 6 pm if I remember correctly they have wine and food. Before bed they serve cookies and in the morning is a wonderful breakfast. We loved it and it was romantic walking to the beach. We ate at Roy's in Pebble Beach and they had a bag piper playing at sunset every evening. I enjoyed the Monterey Aquairum too. Have a wonderful Honeymoon, I am dying to go to Yosemite! Oh yeah, we ate really good seafood at the Monterey's Fish House.

 

[chiefneil]

TGal - what hotels do you like in Carmel? By coincidence I was thinking about going there with the family for vacation next month. I''ve been browsing expedia, etc, but it''s always hard to tell with hotels until you''ve actually been there. I''m looking for something really nice, close to the main street and beach.

 

[TravelingGal]

Date: 9/10/2007 11:12:30 PM
Author: chiefneil
TGal - what hotels do you like in Carmel? By coincidence I was thinking about going there with the family for vacation next month. I''ve been browsing expedia, etc, but it''s always hard to tell with hotels until you''ve actually been there. I''m looking for something really nice, close to the main street and beach.

Chiefneil, I don''t stay in a hotel...I went to VRBO and found a great deal and stay there every year. The owner loves us (for some strange reason) and is so kind...sends us christmas cards and even a gift for me before my wedding.

Tripadvisor has some good ratings for the area. I have heard of Tickle Pink Inn. Normandy (Normandie?) Inn got decent reviews and is well located (on main drag and very close to the beach), and we had made a reservation there until I found the VRBO rental. A lot of the inns seemed a bit froofroo for me.

 

[chiefneil]

Bummer, thanks anyway TGal.

 

[tdiddy]

my brother lived in both monterey and carmel for several years and when i visited i stayed at the various hyatts out there. they were nice enough for the money.

pebble beach has a spa - it''s fantastic. my brother worked at the golf course so we got a nice discount. but it is super nice.

we also did dinner at the spanish bay restaurant one night and ate breakfast at the restaurant overlooking the practice green at pebble beach and those were both delicious.

in carmel, i ate at a little diner in the heart of the town with an outside garden. can''t remember the name but there were plenty of little places just like it. personally i think carmel is a great city to just "go with the flow" in - there are plenty of fun little places to just duck into