carl170

Maybe a bit strange, but my friend and I were there for a work conference and while the golf courses are beautiful, we aren’t golfers so we had to find some other things to do over the weekend. We stayed at the Inn at Spanish Bay.

The 17 mile drive is beautiful, but the most rewarding part is just the first 6 miles from the Inn down to the Lone Cypress. I rented a bike from the resort and rode down this part. We borrowed a Lexus from the resort later for the whole drive, but could have taken the highway back.

We went to the Mission in Carmel, which was nice. After a great breakfast at Katy’s Place, we went hiking in Point Lobos Park. It was crowded, we had to wait for a parking place but we hiked the South Shore Trail and Cypress Grove.

In Monterey, we of course saw the aquarium. We also went to the Monterey Sports Center, a community fitness center. They have everything there including a swimming pool, for less than the resort charged for their fitness center. We had cocktails at Lallapalooza and a fabulous dinner at Stokes. One day we had lunch at Rosine’s, a huge club sandwich, we also ate lunch at the Paris Bakery Café and on Cannery Row, Fishhopper, right on the water.

Other than that, we mostly relaxed at the resort, going into Pacific Grove for breakfast, Toastie’s was our favorite, but also the Red House Café and Holly’s Café (though Katy’s in Carmel was much better) and also dinner at the Fishwife and our favorite dinner at Passionfish.

All in all a very nice mini-vacation.

TTess

You hit a lot of my favorites. Thanks for sharing for others to see. I'm stunned the Spanish Bay charges for the fitness center since their room rates are so high. You know, I remember waaaaay back when, when Spanish Bay was all-inclusive, including the tips! Those were the days.

kimamom

Sounds very nice, we also love Katy's Place for breakfast, thanks for the report back! ***kim***

ksucat

Great mini report..
You hit one of my fav's in Pacific Grove..Passionfish..I hear they are moving..no more gas station view.
We didn't golf last trip either..tough looking at those stunning greens but saved probably a thousand just staring at them!

Shanghainese

We had lunch at the Red House Cafe recently, at 1 pm the wait was 10 minutes on a weekday. Dinners were at Vivolo's and An Choi, the former was ok, the latter was heavenly!

TTess

ksucat - sorry not so...Passionfish is staying. They are going to open a different type of restaurant in the Old Bath House building. They say a year...I'm not holding my breath. The building has to be redone and the economy sucks.

ksucat

Thanks TTess for straightening me out on that..
I understood it that they were moving..wonder what kind of restaurant they are going to be putting in the old bath house?
Always love your take on things TTess!

kimamom

We also had a nice lunch at Red House Cafe in PG, very cozy ambiance and great food, also. What did you have there Shanghainese? ***kim***

Shanghainese

kimamom: so sorry I've been MIA, I could read but somehow couldn't reply for 5 days, really frustrating, until Editor Katie came back from vacation and "rescued" me.

About lunch at the Red House Cafe, DH had a burger, loved it, I had a calamari steak sandwich, moist and melt-in-your mouth tender.

You should try An Choi at 1120 Lighthouse, nice decor, filtered view of Asilomar Beach if you sit by a window table, chairs are super comfortable highbacks,and the wait staff are professional and personal. they serve vietnamese cuisine with chinese, french, japanese and korean influence, the chef is really talented. the beautifully presented dishes are shown rotating on a screen so you get a good sense of what they look like. We shared Shaken Beef, Claypot Ginger Fish Filet, Garlic Noodles, all amazing, and ended with the stunning Belgian Blanc - espresso with vanilla bean ice cream topped with strawberries and whipped cream. I had difficulty staggering back across to the Anton Inn at 1095 Lighthouse, a simple, inexpensive, comfy jewel of a place.

TTess

Thank you, Ksucat and as always...you're most welcome.

kimamom

Thanks we just spent a lovely two days in Carmel, we stayed at La Playa which was again, a wonderful time. We had nice meals at Demetra Cafe, Christopher's on Lincoln, Terrace Grill, Sushi @ Roy's, outdoor by the firepits and had a very nice dinner at "the C" at the Clement. Wonderful Abalone and Caesar Salads here, served with White Anchovies! ***kim***

x_travelbug_x

I love Dametra Cafe, that is my new favorite!

I think guests can use the fitness center at the Beach Club for free? The only problem is that if you are at Spanish Bay, you would have to shuttle or drive over there as it is next to The Lodge, across from the spa. IMHO, I would skip the workout and spend the day at the spa pure luxury