So Doc and I decided on a last minute one night getaway. While researching where we should go that was not too far I found Carmel Valley Ranch. It’s rated very well on all the major sites so I decided to call them directly and see what they had to offer. I spoke with Moses, one of the “reservations consultant”. He was extremely pleasant and helpful on the phone. He found me a great “midweek” special. Still, being the upscale facility it is it was not cheap to say the least.
We started out our travels stopping at Scheid tasting room in downtown Carmel. If you recall in our last Carmel excursion we loved this place. Natalie was our host and she was very nice and friendly to speak with. Of course the pinots were great and we found a new “table red” called Triple Layer Red 09 that was fabulous and reasonably priced at 28$ a bottle.
Next stop was Wrath. You may recall this is another must try if you are in Carmel that we discovered on our last adventure. Michelle was our host and she was a delight. Very friendly, knowledgable and inviting. We tasted some delicious pinots including a new favorite of mine called San Saba 2010. Fabulous!
I had decided that Doc and I should definitely eat in since our room was supposed to be amazing so we headed to The Cheese Shop to pick up an array of tasty treats for our evening in. Dan was our cheese connoisseur who was great! He took us through a cheese exploration and helped us pick out quite an assortment of delectable cheeses.
On our way we went, plenty of fine wine and cheese to enjoy at a stunning resort. We were greeted by friendly staff and took in the amazing views. We were carted to our suite where we were pleased with what the room had to offer. A big spacious beautiful living room with a huge bathroom and a nice sleeping area with a king size bed, fireplace and balcony. We put our champagne and cheese in the fridge and headed back out to explore. We hit the hot tub that was spacious with beautiful views of a golf course and nature. We enjoyed a delicious cocktail (or two) and two small plates of appetizers. The appetizers were very good. We headed back to our room via a nice walking path. We decided to eat our snacks in the living room when around 9pm I got up to floss my teeth after getting a few pieces of salami stuck when I noted in our trash can in the bedroom were remnants of what was obviously a good time (well multiple good times) had by some couple. I was seriously dumbfounded that a resort of this status would not thoroughly clean their room. Doc called and housekeeping was there shortly to take the garbage away. A manager called back and asked if we would like to move to another room. Being after 9pm after our belongings had been put away we declined. A little while later the manager called again and informed us that our room would be comped. I emailed Moses letting him know of my disappointment. By then our entire romantic evening was toast. We got up the next morning and received another phone call from a different manager apologizing again and reiterating our stay would be taken care of by them. We did have a delicious breakfast and got to see some wild turkeys running around the property.
So, all in all it was a beautiful facility but was such a disappointment to find something so gross in our room that has just left a bad taste in our mouth. The staff was very helpful and the managers did do the right thing by taking care of our bill but I don’t think we will be returning to their establishment. If we do, we will definitely update you on how it went the second time around; but like I said for the cost of staying there nothing like that should EVER happen.
