Description: On our first visit to Monterey, we stayed in the Victoria Inn at an out-of -season rate of well under $100, which seemed good value at the time. Parking
was free, and it was an easy two-block walk to the Cannery Row area. A year
later, we opted for the Pine Inn in Carmel, which was more expensive but very
comfortable and classy. We would have loved to stay in Carmel again, but six
years on, we had two small children in tow and the inns of Carmel suddenly seemed a lot less welcoming. I found the language used on hotels’ websites to make it clear that children were not welcome quite intriguing: "Furniture not suitable for children." "Children welcome at the full adult rate." Personally, I would have preferred a simple "No Children" sign, but then again, there is Californian law...
We decided to head back to the Victoria Inn, as it had all the qualities we
wanted from our accommodations–-a fine location, large rooms, comfortable beds,
a good breakfast, parking (no longer free), and a hot tub to tire the toddler
out shortly before bedtime.
We found the Victoria Inn more or less as it was those years ago, although
some paintwork was being done on the exterior during this stay. The room was
comfortably large, although the furniture was different and not really to our
taste. Previously, we had a room on the ground floor, which seems to have the
smarter, dark-wood furniture. The two double beds were comfortable, though, and
everything worked as it should. A coffee machine was at hand, and we fortunately brought our own coffee with from San Francisco, as the freebie tasted rather free of coffee.
We stayed in the section with enclosed passages, but some of the rooms have
open passages. The toddler and I crossed through these en-route to the hot
tub every night, allowing us a peek of what was going on in the other rooms-–most seemed empty. One night en-route to the tub, we heard the sound of ice tinkling, and it sounded as if the mother-of-all-cocktails was being prepared. On the way back, I got a better look, and it seemed that I confused the tinkling of ice in a glass with the tinkling of dice being thrown. The mother-of-all-gambling-games was in full progress. Although it was only two rooms from ours, and I slept with the window open, we heard no noise in our room.
It is only thanks to the strong euro that we stayed in the Victoria Inn this
time–-the bill came to around $150 a night, which compared well with other
places in the area, but in the future, our need for some comforts may be less and we may take a chance on some cheaper options in Carmel.
Best Western Victoria Inn
487 Foam Street
93940 Monterey
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