Villa Mara Carmel: An Intimate Bluff-Top Inn Above Carmel Beach

Villa Mara Carmel is a jewel-box of a hotel, an intimate boutique inn perched on a bluff above Carmel Beach in the storybook village of Carmel-by-the-Sea. With only a handful of individually designed rooms and sweeping views over the white sand and cypress to the Pacific, it feels less like a hotel than a private seaside villa.

At its heart is Jesena's, a quaint bar and lounge named for the villa's first owner, delicately furnished for relaxing by a roaring fireplace or out on the deck watching the waves crash onto Carmel Beach, under chef Andrew Santana.

For an intimate Carmel stay, Villa Mara is a standout.

Planning Carmel? Book your stay with me for preferred-partner perks.