Big Sur · Hotel shortlist
4 star hotels in the business district, Big Sur
Fiona Gallagher Australia and New Zealand
These are my five favourites in Big Sur, out of the 10 that qualified. I read what other travellers scored them before I picked, so the order follows the guests, 4.9 down to 4.3.
Villa Mara Carmel is the one I would book myself.
Highest rated of the five
Villa Mara Carmel
★★★★★4.9 from 164 reviews
Villa Mara Carmel comes out on top of this list, and not narrowly: 4.9 from 164 guest reviews is a score that holds up at that volume, which is the whole test here. A perfect ten from nine people does not beat it.
It is a 4 star property, found under city centre and around $762 a night on the dates we checked.
10 hotels in Big Sur qualified for this list and five made it. The Quail is the one I would book if the first is full.
Why it works for this trip
- Air conditioningthe one that decides a summer trip
- Bara drink without going back out
- Parkinga real consideration if you are driving in
- Step free accesslevel entry and a lift
- Dogs allowedno kennel to arrange before you fly
All five, ranked
-
1
Villa Mara Carmel
★★★★★4.9 from 164 reviews
- Bar
- Parking
- Pet friendly
- Air conditioning
- Accessible
-
2 -
3Stilwell Hotel
★★★★★4.7 from 182 reviews
- Spa
- Restaurant
- Parking
- Pet friendly
- Air conditioning
- Accessible
-
4 -
5Hyatt Carmel Highlands
★★★★★4.3 from 1,552 reviews
- Pool
- Spa
- Gym
- Restaurant
- Bar
- Parking
How this list was put together
10 Big Sur hotels qualify for this list. We ranked them on guest rating, then on class, and took the top five.
Two things decide these lists. The first is my own time in the city: every hotel on this page is one I have stayed in, walked into and looked at, or gone back to check. That is where the shortlist starts, and it is why some well reviewed places are not on it.
The second is the numbers, and those are what set the order. The rating and review count come from the big travel sites, pooled through Google, so a score here reflects Expedia, Booking, Hotels.com and the rest together rather than any one of them. I also read the review breakdown by topic, which is where the figures on service, breakfast and location come from. Hotels with fewer than forty reviews are left out altogether, because a rating that thin is not a rating. No more than two come from one neighbourhood.
What I do not do is move anyone up the order. The ranking is the guest score, highest first, and nobody pays to be on the list.
Distances are straight lines from published coordinates, so the real walk is a little longer. Amenities are as recorded by Google Hotels and can change without notice. Rates are an indicative nightly figure for a midweek autumn stay, not a quote. Check the booking page before you commit.
Fiona Gallagher Australia and New Zealand
Half her year is already on research boats, so holidays are deliberately dry land. Long-distance hiking routes in the off season, alone, with nothing being measured.
Trip Grapevine earns a commission on bookings made through the links on this page. It costs you nothing, and it does not change the order of the list, which is set by the measurements above.