17th Annual Carmel Heritage Society Inns of Distinction - 2015 - Part 5 - Carriage House Inn, and Tradewinds,

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The next inn on our tour is Carriage House Inn.  I toured this inn in 2013 and what a difference two years has made.  All rooms have been completely updated.  The French country look from 2013 has been replaced with a fresh, clean color palette which gives the guest rooms a more modern and elegant look. 

Carriage House Inn 
Junipero between Seventh and Eighth
Attributes:  Breakfast delivered to your room,
Evening wine served in the library,

On site parking

Of all the hotels we tour this year, Carriage House Inn is the youngest.  Built in 1980, Carriage House Inn is just one block from Ocean Avenue and Carmel Plaza's restaurants, coffee houses, wine rooms, and shopping.  

The Firok Shield Family have three downtown restaurants, Bistro Beaujolais in the Carmel Plaza, da Giovanni on Lincoln, and Carmel Bistro on San Carlos. At Carriage House Inn we are treated to Firok Shield's delicious specialty Clam Chowder and Pasta Mamma Mia from the Bistro Giovanni dinner menu.  

Our wine tasting from J. Lohr Vineyards Monterey vineyards featured a 2012 J. Lohr Highlands Bench Pinot Noir , 2013 J. Lohr October Night Chardonnay, and 2012 J. Lohr Hilltop Cabernet Sauvignon.

Our tour included a view of two ground floor Deluxe Guestrooms.  Room 5 and 10 both feature vaulted ceilings with a king bed, 

 window seat, 

fireplace, 

and over-sized jetted tub with combination shower.   

With less than 15 minutes on the Inns of Distinction clock I still have one more inn to view, Tradewinds Carmel located at the north end of town.

Tradewinds Carmel 
Mission Street between 4th and 3rd Avenue

Carmel-by-the-Sea
Attributes: Breakfast, Ocean Views,
Pet Friendly Rooms, On Site Parking

Tradewinds Carmel, the second youngest hotel on the 2015 tour, was designed and built by Richard and Patricia Catlin in 1959. The Catlin's, inspired by their trips to Japan and southeast Asia, designed the rooms and grounds with architectural features and landscaping reminiscent of their travels. 

The photo above shows the front of the hotel shortly after opening in 1959, and the photo below a typical room. 

In 1998, the Catlin's daughter Susan Stillwell took over Tradewinds and gave it a major renovation with the help of designer Charles Gruwell who is best known for his work on the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas.  

The original courtyard contained a rarely used swimming pool which can be seen in this old photograph shown below. 

By the time I arrived at Tradewinds on the day of the tour (just a few minutes before 5pm) the fog had rolled in, and there was a gentle mist falling.  I decided to come back the following day to take pictures of the courtyard when the light was better.  

The following day, Sweetie, Tradewinds resident feline met me in front of the hotel.  

Intent on giving me a grand tour, Sweetie poised perfectly whenever I pulled out my camera.  Anyway, back to the history of Tradewinds Carmel.  Charles Gruwell's major renovation was removing the old pool and replacing it with 

a multilevel Balinese and Asian inspired

courtyard with lush foliage,

 fire pit,

  lanterns,

 torches,

 stone walls,

reading areas, 

a terraced water feature,

and a Buddha water feature. 

Tradewinds Carmel was featured in the November 2004 issue of Architectural Digest as one of the most glamorous hotels, and in Forbes Travel Guide as one of the best small hotels.

By the time I arrived at Tradewinds, the homemade Pâté du Jour provided by L'Escargot has been devoured leaving nothing but crumbs on the plates.  

Checking in with the server from Dawn's Dream Winery I was pleased that there was just enough of the 2014 Sargenti Chardonnay left for a tasting.  A perfect ending to my afternoon of tasting. 

As daylight began to fade, and a light mist fell, 

the lanterns, and tiki torches were lit.   

Two upstairs rooms were open for viewing.  The first a Deluxe Queen, Room 24 featured two queen beds, 

large bathroom with soaking tub/shower combination, 

and sitting area.   

Deluxe View King Room 19

features exceptional views of Point Lobos
from the large balcony, 

large bathroom with tub and shower, 

fireplace, wetbar, 

and soothing water feature.

That is the end of the 17th Annual Carmel Heritage Society Inns of Distinction Tour.  Please visit the Carmel Heritage Society  website for news of their upcoming tours for 2016, Carmel's Centennial year.  Their very popular Home and Garden Tour will be in June 2016 and the 18th Annual Inns Tour December 2016.  

Thanks for visiting.  Until next time, Happy Adventures!

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Photos
All photos and video taken by L. A. Momboisse unless listed below:
Three old photos of the Tradewinds Hotel were taken from pictures displayed on the wall in the Catlin dining room at the Tradewinds Hotel.