Hyatt Carmel Highlands in
Carmel Valley Village (CA)

My husband and I chose this property for a get-away, and WOW, it didn't disappoint. Even though we were a bit away from the town of Carmel, the staff and amenities made it so we didn't even feel the need to leave. Nice touches like fireplaces already loaded with wood and paper arranged and ready to light, and sweeping views of the Pacific Ocean make this a "must-stay" property. A special shout-out to Grace & William at the Pacific’s Edge along with front-desk staff Mandolina (sp?) and Kyle. We'll definitely be back!

At this point it’s a hotel with an incredible view… lacking service for 1000 a night. Checkout at 10am, ridiculous. My wife and I stayed here the night of our engagement 10 years ago. The hotel has substantially lowered its standards since then, from welcome service, to the actual “renovated” (meaning downsized) rooms, to checkout. Plenty of other fantastic properties in Carmel, including other Hyatt properties. Disappointing to see this happen to one of the properties with the best views in Carmel.

We stayed there on last Christmas Eve. The room is very luxury in good condition, each room has full kitchen and cooking equipments. I strongly recommend you have a breakfast in their sea view restaurant, it is kind of enjoyment.

Great location, the best views from the ocean front rooms which is what we had. Atmosphere - friendly - staff all super nice. Rooms - 2 story ocean front was awesome though next year want 1 floor mostly because of our age not the steps - they were carpeted. Good value overall for the 6 nights we stayed and we do this 1 time a year for many years. Last week of december. Cleanliness - very clean BUT we didn’t get daily cleaning. They forgot about us at least 2 of the 6 days and 2 times we asked for towels and one of those times they just did not deliver. Noise level - great - quiet. Even on NY Eve party gala was quiet in the resort. We love the place though we’d wish for more housekeeping since we were there for 6 nights. We lost 1 night because of storms/power outage on x-mas day. Didn’t eat in restaurant this time but happy hour we did. Great calamari but frieds too salty and just garlic. No truffle taste whatsoever but service excellent as always. We’ll be back.

Dangerous Conditions, Poor Service, and Discriminatory Treatment This was hands down the worst hotel experience I’ve ever had. We paid over $600 for what turned out to be a nightmare stay. Safety Hazard & Injury: On our first night, I suffered a serious fall on the exterior stairway to Room 541. The stairs were covered in standing water with no warning signs, inadequate lighting, and metal edging on the steps. I fell across two levels, sustaining a badly bruised thigh, sprained ankle, and scraped palms. My white pants and wool coat were ruined from the dirty water. My partner Mr. Shen and the bellman witnessed everything - I couldn’t even stand up immediately. When staff finally arrived, they brought an ice pack and band-aids but offered NO apology, NO compensation, and told us we’d have to handle everything through “the medical side.” Completely dismissive of a injury caused entirely by their negligence. Pest Infestation: Later that night, we discovered ants in Room 541 - one crawling on my sleepwear, two more in the bathroom. We had to switch to Room 534 in the middle of the night. Manager’s Response: At checkout, the manager deflected every concern, showed zero remorse, and made no attempt at compensation or even a sincere apology. Discriminatory Treatment: This property requires guests to navigate multiple flights of stairs with heavy luggage - extremely poor design. When my husband went to check out and I asked a bellman for help loading our luggage, he dismissively asked “Where’s your husband?” The staff’s attitude toward Asian guests was noticeably cold and unhelpful throughout our stay. I genuinely felt we experienced discriminatory treatment. Bottom Line: Unsafe premises, pest problems, dismissive management, and what felt like racial discrimination. For $600+, this is absolutely unacceptable. Do NOT stay here, especially if you’re an Asian traveler. Hyatt should be ashamed to have their name on this property

Hyatt Carmel Highlands has been a special place for me for over 12 years, and every stay still feels magical. The views are absolutely unmatched, the kind that make you stop, breathe, and appreciate the moment. This place is a true memory factory. From peaceful mornings to unforgettable sunsets, it consistently creates moments that stay with you long after you leave. A special thank you to Jeff and Abel, who went above and beyond to make this visit even more memorable. Their hospitality and attention to detail truly reflect what makes this property so special. No matter how many times I return, it never loses its charm. Highly recommended.

Hoped for a relaxing, tranquil stay but did not quite work out. I had three rooms booked for my family across the resort for a night. The stay started off poorly, with the parking attendant at the front lobby building arrival area. Instead of a proper greeting and welcome, the attendant was rushing me and my wife in the second vehicle to clear the space when we haven’t even gotten out to go check in. The attendant later explained that there is no rooms in the lobby building and we will have to go park somewhere else, but provided no other information at all - where are we supposed to go in multiple different parking lots, and we haven’t even checked in yet so we don’t know our rooms? Especially with no phone signal such that I cannot communicate with my family members in a different car with a baby? None of this experience felt like a warm or any welcome, but more like we were a nuisance for the attendant at this point. The check in process was fine, associate was friendly and helpful, provided hotel info as necessary. However he definitely could’ve provided better explanations about how two of my rooms did not have direct, easy access from the parking lot, and really requires bell service to haul the luggage down the hill to the pool area. For this reason, I would highly recommend against getting any of the rooms by the pool (542-525, 537-541, 532-536). You will need to carry all your luggage from the parking lot (which is ~3 min away) then down the hill, with a bunch of slippery steps - this could have all been a non-issue if the property was explained better (i.e. “It’s a lot of steps just to get to the units, so we recommend getting help from bell service” - but maybe they intentionally do not mention to avoid requests for room change? Because these units really have poor access.) I was in one of the downstairs units by the pool and the room was okay, small but had what I needed, and still had good ocean view. However it’s imperative for the guests to know that the walls and floors are EXTREMELY THIN - there was a family above mine that were in two connecting rooms and we suffered through their footsteps and children jumping all evening and as soon as they woke up in the morning. You will not be able to have any kind of relaxing stay if you are stuck in the lower level units. Otherwise, great location, generally clean and well maintained units, close proximity to the town where you have no issues getting uber to and from after your day. Staff at the restaurant are top tier. Food menu is a bit limited but good quality and convenient. Expect to walk/hike a bit around the parking lot to the units, do everything in your ability to avoid any units with rooms above…

Before our trip, we were worried that our stay might be disappointing because of some negative reviews. However, everything turned out to be wonderful. The front desk staff was attentive and helpful, the room was clean and recently renovated, and the restaurant (Pacific’s Edge) was amazing, the view was phenomenal, and so was the food! We truly loved everything about our stay. Even though the power went out at night and in the morning due to heavy winds and storms, that was beyond anyone’s control. Highly recommend it, and we will definitely be back!

The views from the restaurant are breathtaking. I've come twice and would come again and again. The food is great too. The hotel grounds are beautifully maintained with an impressive plant variety. Watching the sunset from the hot tub was the amazing experience I was hoping for. There was an issue during check-in, but Abel Veloz, the Front Desk Director, personally took the time to listen and understand what happened. He generously comped the room to make things right. That level of ownership and care truly elevated the experience and reflected the standard of a 5-star stay.

WORST CUSTOMER SERVICE. Dead ants all along the door, ants started crawling all over our snacks as soon as we set them down on the coffee table. Light over the fireplace wasn’t working and you have to do 1,000 point turn to come and go in the lower parking lot we were in. Highway 1 was nice and loud directly in front of our room and our neighbors upstairs were loud as ever. The manager is absolute TRASH, will not pickup the phone for expedia but they will pickup the phone when their own Hyatt corporate customer service calls them. Then when the corporate cs got a hold of them, they forwarded me to their vacation club to deal with instead of just issuing a refund. Whoever owns and manages this hotel: YOU ARE TERRIBLE AT YOUR JOB. I just blew $1200 to have ants swarm my room the moment I arrive. The front desk agents are the condescending trash you would expect as well. Photos don’t lie.

Don’t stay here. It’s basically a glorified motel 6 that you will pay $500 a night for. We came for our mini moon and we feel genuinely swindled for the amount we paid and the quality of service they provided. The views are beautiful, but you will get better views if you go to the bar and grab a drink or drive along the PCH. The view does not meet the price tag. The photos on the website are very deceiving. We were also very disappointed that we thought we were staying at a nice hotel for our mini noon. They did literally nothing for us, not even a little congratulations card. I expected a little more for the price we paid. I reached out to management directly and found no adequate resolution for this issue. Don’t waste your money.

The room is okay but outdated. The service was not so good. We visited to celebrate my wife’s birthday but did not receive the welcome gift as Hyatt WOH globalist member. The location is great with gorgeous views but they charged you a lot for that. Don’t buy the Hyatt Vacation Club marketing or timeshares package. The salespeople are not honest and don’t care too much about you after the sale.

I hate I even feel the need to write this. Let it be clear our view from our room was AMAZING!! Room was average at best. Guest service was non existent. When called to get wifi they put us on hold for 15 minutes. Called back and they just didn't answer. Never got a wifi code from front desk (no cell service). Never got champagne like rest of guest. Got seated in a area away from main dining area all by ourselves when we came in for dinner. Valet would not deliver our vehicle like they said they would the night before. Parking was terrible at our location (this is why we used valet the 2nd night) car was almost hit twice. People struggling to back down hill. Thankfully the one thing that was outstanding was the view and housekeeping! Since it was obvious they did not want us there we will honor their wishes. Thankfully everyone else around the area were very accommodating and welcoming towards us.

The hotel has a great view from the room, delicious food, friendly staff, the only downside is that it's a bit noisy when the upper floors are noisy at night and early in the morning but it's still great because the space and location are great to experience.

Location 10. Hotel 0-1. I think the location of this hotel is stunning. Unfortunately, the staff does not come close to living up to the beauty of this spot. We held our small family wedding there in October. My fiancé and I and some of my guests stayed at the hotel. The front desk was rude to my guests and had no idea we were having our wedding there. None. The Hyatt Vacation folks in the lobby are aggressive and highly annoying. They should be ashamed of their poor welcome. They have an agenda and where they are placed in the lobby is purposefully deceiving to unsuspecting guests. The wedding event coordinator was a complete disaster. She was not responsive and she did not make us feel confident at all that the wedding would go according to plan. She had no time to help me plan and coordinate this important event in the weeks leading up to the wedding. She did not return calls. She was flaky and did not follow through on many promises. She was unable to upgrade our room as promised. She blamed others for her shortcomings repeatedly. It was an uncomfortable experience. On the day of the wedding - she was totally absent and so instead we worked with others who had no idea the wedding was even happening until a few hours before and who were setting up and filling ice buckets during the ceremony. My guests were highly annoyed. The Hyatt staff did not do the set up of tables and chairs as promised and moved my flowers before the ceremony to places I did not want. It was done by the time the ceremony began and I could not correct it. They did not set up the tables and chairs and umbrellas as promised — Tables were stacked off to the side and my guests ended up doing some of the set up. The waiter person did not pass hors d’oeuvres. She left them on the tables. She did not know how to cut a wedding cake - she cut huge pieces- and was doing clean up and failed to even cut the cake in a timely manner. It was so disorganized snd chaotic/ that it was a frustrating experience when it should have been special. It’s now 6 weeks post event and I am calmer so I am posting this review. I never received an apology from the coordinator or from anyone at the hotel. We never even received an invoice for the charges for the wedding. We will be following up on that because it is entirely unacceptable to charge us without providing an invoice first. I love the location. But I want to warn others who wish to get married there- the Hyatt lobby staff were unpleasant. The wedding/event coordinator was incompetent. I would not stay there again. The expensive hotel room was small and poorly set up without any place to do makeup and no sitting area. The room provided with the wedding package as the “get ready” room was a conference room and did not work well at all. We could not use it for that purpose. Also- the wedding deck is not ADA accessible. Not sure how they are in compliance with the law. Mobility impaired guests cannot attend. Overall - it was so disappointing.

So I booked a two-night stay here in the one bedroom king villa suite using the world of Hyatt app and my chase points. I brought my parents with me for a little getaway. Didn’t look at the reviews until I was on the road to the hotel. Got scared because there were a lot of 1-star reviews on here, but I didn’t have the 1-star experience at all. Room service was prompt when I asked for extra towels and slippers. I booked the stay at the “Hyatt vacation club at highlands inn” which doesn’t show up on Google maps and NOT the “Hyatt Carmel highlands.” Looks like they are both located right next to each other? Maybe it also helped that I came here the week before Thanksgiving and it’s not so busy. The only complaints I have are 1) that there was no smart TV so couldn’t chromecast or watch Netflix and 2) our indoor fireplace didn’t direct enough of the smoke up the chimney so some of it came inside the room and so we couldn’t really use it after that. 3) It’s still helpful to note that there are a lot of stairs to go up to the concierge and restaurant so not the best place for bringing grandma or grandpa if they have mobility issues. 4) the hotel shampoo, conditioner, and body soap weren’t great, so I recommend bringing your own. 5) there are EV chargers, but no Tesla chargers

We celebrated our anniversary here the last week of October 2025, and it exceeded all expectations! The property sits above the ocean with breathtaking views of Carmel Highlands.||Our Point Lobos Suite was spacious and luxurious, with a king size bed, soaking tub, walk-in shower, plus a cozy living and dining area with ocean views.||The Sunset Lounge served fantastic cocktails and bites, and the attached restaurant offered amazing dining with unforgettable scenery.||Perfect for a romantic getaway! Beautiful ambiance, great service, and stunning views. Highly recommend!

Check-in was very chaotic, with large lines/clusters of cars at reception. We opted to self park but parking lots were very full. With only one person working check-in, the line there was also long and took a while to process. Once checked in, we were directed to another line to get a parking pass. This ended up being a ploy to present a timeshare to us. Incredibly tacky and frustrating after already waiting so long to check in. This was our second time staying here. On our first 3 night stay, we were upgraded to a suite beneath the bar/lounge, which was incredibly loud through the night. This visit, we requested a top floor, quiet room. We received a non-standard room at a far corner of the hotel, beneath another room’s patio. However, the room was very quiet. Parking was a short walk and some stairs away - somewhat difficult to get to with luggage. The room was generally clean but did have plenty of beetles, ants, and dead bugs around the room. I assume this is due to the unique construction of this room on the outside, lower level of a small stone building. The balcony had some rot and mold issues as well. We attempted to eat dinner at the lounge, but were informed they were short staffed, so instead returned to the room to order room service. We were anxious to leave the hotel for fear of having no parking on our return. Unfortunately, the hotel no longer offers in-room dining, so we returned to the restaurant. The host informed us there would be a 2 hour wait (I assume due to staffing, as it wasn’t terribly busy), so we ordered take out salads from the bar, which came quickly and were tasty. It was nice to then eat on our balcony overlooking the coast. Overall, not a bad stay, but the hotel is clearly suffering from staffing issues and lack of parking. I definitely would have preferred a standard room closer to parking/facilities, and would request this in the future. The grounds are beautiful and rooms offer some wonderful views.

I had an amazing view of the ocean, but the room itself was quite dated, with cheap furniture and a very old and not comfortable mattress. The gym was quite large, but it is old, with way too many cardio machines (I didn't see anyone using them my entire stay) and a cramped area for weights with dumbbells up to 50 lbs and two benches. Not a bad hotel, but overpriced for what it offers. You are paying here for the location, not for luxury or the amenities.

What a gem! The rooms are super clean, nicely furnished, the bathroom is very spacious, the kitchen is fully equipped, and the view is gorgeous! The staff is super friendly. Ilona at the Sunset Lounge is so nice and friendly. Great service and food! I highly recommend the Hyatt Carmel Highlands!

We stop by to there restaurant just to try what they have to offer in for a hungry guts. But we were amazed the taste. It's a worth of effort and the over looking to the ocean makes you feel like you are somebody in this world too! While eating, staff kept on coming back in our table asking if we're enjoying our food. Looking forward to go back there again specially on the special occasions.

After 40yrs in the travel business, I’m picky about hotels. This recently remodeled hotel commands a fantastic location, overlooking one of CA’s most beautiful stretches of coastline. But what sets it apart is its staff. Everyone went the extra mile for us; unplugging our EV car at 4am so we weren’t charged a penalty, fixing a probably self-induced clerical error, etc etc. make sure you pay for a ocean view room. It’s worth it.

We've been coming here for almost 2 decades. We are 3 week owners. We booked a couple days in addition to one of our weeks. Different room. Clearly worst room on property. No view as I don't count tiny view of water. Noisy next to spa. Lower level in cave-like room. You cannot leave curtains open unless you enjoy people staring into the room. Lower level also means constant pounding from upstairs. No one kind or nice in anyway. They blamed us for not telling them what we wanted in advance. Last year we listened to sales person talk. Offensive is being kind. This used to be our happy place but I'm already dreading next year. So stressed by this experience that we considered packing up & leaving. I cannot recommend coming here .

This hotel is absolutely heartless and unreasonable. I was forced to cancel my stay due to a medical emergency, something completely beyond my control. Despite providing documentation, the hotel refused to offer any flexibility or refund, hiding behind a rigid policy with zero compassion. It is shocking that in such a serious situation, they would treat guests with such coldness and lack of basic humanity. If you care about fairness and decent customer service, avoid this hotel at all costs.

Amazing place! I loved the large rooms with a wood burning fireplaces. We had the logs right outside the door so it was super easy! They also have us a s'mores kit which made my son's night.

We stay here for a week using a family member's timeshare. They have limited mobility, and the property has a lot of stairs, so it's not very suitable for them any more. I'm reviewing because people should know they're locked out from streaming on the room's TVs. We're paying for a streaming service, paying for access to the room with large TVs. But Hyatt has the remotes locked down so you can't mirror, cast, or stream from a phone, tablet or laptop. The front desk says it's intentionally disabled so you buy content from their service instead. I'm sure this policy could be changed if enough people complain about it. There are some things which are really nice - being able to borrow binoculars (or other small items) from the front desk if you forget your own. The proximity to Point Lobos is great - lots of wildlife and beautiful views there. The resort's gym, pool and hot tubs are clean and well-maintained. Wifi is mostly good enough that you can work remotely if needed.

This property is both a Hyatt Resort as well as a Hyatt Vacation Club. We stay here in the Hyatt Resort and in an Oceanview Townhouse Suite. We have been staying here at least once a year for many years. These suites (formerly Oceanview Townhouse Spa Suite) have been TOTALLY remodeled and brought up to date. Old "spa" bathtubs have been removed and there is now a large and separate bathroom with a large shower. Upstairs bathroom has been enlarged and has a large shower. These suites have a wonderful ocean view. I don't know how anyone can complain about the Globalist breakfast. The menu is very extensive so I can't imagine anyone needing to substitute anything. The "Point Lobos" crab benedict is outstanding. Dinner at Pacific Edge was terrific. Had the lamb chops and they were huge and cooked to perfection. We had a most enjoyable stay and can't wait to return once again. One warning- many, if not most, rooms and suites at this property have stairs and are not suitable for those with disabilities. |__________________