Where to stay in Carmel-by-the-Sea
Looking for where to stay a visual and sensual retreat in Carmel? Check into an exotic oasis of calm, Tradewinds in Carmel-by-the-Sea. Once you enter your room fresh orchids and chocolate dipped strawberries welcome you. During your stay, you can slip into a kimono, while you listen to the water flowing from the bamboo fountain in your room.
Ideal location in Carmel!
Known as Carmel’s premier boutique hotel, Tradewinds has been a landmark in this village by the sea for the past 50 years. The hotel is centrally located, only a few blocks from Ocean Avenue, the main street that leads down to the ocean, yet in a quiet private location in town.
Surrounded by lush tropical gardens, and private garden areas lit with tiki torches leading to a large Buddha fountain, this hotel exudes exotic tranquility. The landscape and rooms have a “zen-like” feel.
The hotel manager Berit Keeble, shared that Proprietor Susan Stilwell designed and recently restored Tradewinds with an“exotic ambiance combined with serene tranquility.” Stilwell worked closely with a local interior designer, Charles Gruwell who is known for his work at Four Seasons, to integrate the “elements of fire and water, fusing Asian design with modern-day amenities.”
Calm inviting rooms!
In 2004, Architectural Digest featured Tradewinds under “Glamorous Hotels”. Decorated with seductive textures and rich hues, each room has antique custom made furniture from Asia. Your retreat will awaken your senses with silk pillows, luxurious Egyptian cotton bed linens, fireplaces, custom lighting, and quiet spaces to meditate, and views that can bring you peace and calm.
One evening I found a note next to my bed with a dried papyrus-like sheath that held my bedtime chocolates. The note shared an old legend about the “Temple Bamboo”, the same lush bamboo that surrounds temples in Asia. According to the old tradition, the temple goers would pull a sheath from the dark green bamboo, write a wish or prayer on it, and offer it to the gods. Tradewinds invites guests to do the same and write a wish on a sheath, take it to the hotel’s Meditation Garden, and place it in the fountain.
Some of the rooms have spectacular views of the Carmel Bay, and the mountains extending to Point Lobos. In the mornings, there’s a healthy breakfast buffet with fresh fruits, yogurts, granola. Be sure to ask for the various package options offered by Tradewinds from shopping, hiking to spa treatments. Don’t leave til you take time for a yoga and pilates session in the Meditation Garden.
Tradewinds is a word that means “steady” and “consistent”. This was my experience while resting here. Hotel staff made every effort to be consistent and steady while making sure my stay was a comfortable and pleasurable one.
Reservations can be made here
By Patricia Stone, a travel writer & consultant based “globally”. When in the U.S.A, she resides between Washington and California.
Travel Acknowledgements:
We would like to thank Tradewinds for hosting our stay. All opinions expressed here are entirely our own.
