Hello :
I am going to Carmel/Monterey -- which do you recommend? hyatt regency monterey or park hyatt carmel.

Thanks,

Jeff

Depends on your plans, but I'd much rather be in Carmel than in Monterey. However since neither one is a casual walk from all the places in downtown Carmel, I'd look for a place that is.

I'm assuming the Park Hyatt is the Highlands, right?

The Park Hyatt is a much nicer property which should also be reflected in the room rate.

I also like staying in Carmel itself, rather than farther out. It's very nice to be able to walk out of your hotel or inn and stroll around village, with its shops, galleries and restaurants.

We made reservations at the Park Hyatt several years ago (it looks beautiful), but after realizing it isn't within walking distance of anything, we changed our plans to the Monterey Plaza Hotel, which we love! We just returned from our second trip and I can't say enough nice things about the hotel. It's pricey - and would be even pricier had we gotten a suite - but we had a room overlooking the water that was wonderful. We drove over to Carmel several times and it seems much more visitor-friendly for restaurants and shops (if you like to shop - I don't!). But to my knowledge, Carmel doesn't have any accommodations on the water that are within walking distance of the town area, and that's what we were looking for. Good luck!

Oh, and by the way...the Hyatt Regency in Monterey has an AWFUL reputation!!! I've never seen so many bad reviews for a hotel - I'm surprised it's still in their system.

I've stayed at both and we're comparing apples and oranges. The hyatt in Monterey is OLD and needs renovating! The Park Hyatt in Carmel is very nice but as someone mentioned, is not within walking distance to anything. It is still a decent location, though. Some of the rooms are part of the timeshare property and we had a 1 bdr. suite. It was very nice and the restaurant there is excellent.

I stayed at the Hyatt Monterey in 99, and it was starting to get run down then. Check in was supposed to be 3 pm. We got there at 2:30 and the room wasn't ready till 4pm. Then it was a room with 1 bed and we had asked for 2. We did end up in a better room, and the hotel picked up a tab for free appetizers and drinks and the bar (maybe a $30.- tab).