Cozy in Carmel - Review

Sunset, June, 2000 by Lora J. Finnegan

On the California coast, a world so luxurious, so lovely you may never want to leave

It's one of those heartbreakingly beautiful days on the Carmel coast. The wind smells of salt and kelp and life. Carmel Bay shines like a blue platter, while sea otters play offshore.

Trouble is, we can't bear to leave our room at Casa Palmero.

In truth there are abundant incentives to stay put here in one of the Carmel area's most elegant new resorts: cozy chairs by a fireplace, a sunken bathtub, a welcoming, comforter-topped bed. After an aromatherapy massage at the Palmero's new spa, it hits us: If you want to cocoon for a while to recharge your batteries, Carmel is the perfect place to do it. There are new (or renovated) luxury lodges and sybaritic spas to restore the body. And the natural beauty of the beaches, drives, and hiking trails can work wonders on the spirit.

Indeed, the next day we're ready to emerge from our chrysalis for some shopping in town. When the morning fog lifts, we explore a few of the area's spectacles of nature: crystalline beaches, the 17 Mile Drive.

We've been overdue for such an excursion. Since our last visit, Carmel-by-the-Sea and her siblings, aristocratic Pebble Beach and more rustic Carmel Valley, have seen a number of changes--new wineries, cutting-edge eateries, hip shops. But what we love most about this region is the way it refuses to forsake the past. It has lived in its own kind of cocoon, hanging on to the very things that give it character.

"We change subtly and slowly"

About 120 miles south of San Francisco, the Monterey Peninsula juts into the Pacific, a fat finger of land with Monterey on its north edge (facing the wide sweep of Monterey Bay) and Carmel-by-the-Sea on the south (looking over the shallow indentation of Carmel Bay). The area's rugged beauty has lured travelers since the 1770s, when Spanish explorers landed and Father Junipero Serra founded the Carmel mission, San Carlos Borrom[acute{e}]o de Carmelo.

The town of Monterey boomed early, first as a Spanish metropolis and later as a fishing and cannery center. Little Carmel-by-the-Sea was always a bit pokier. When San Francisco poet George Sterling settled here in 1905, only a handful of buildings huddled above Carmel Beach. But Sterling helped attract writers and artists to the growing hamlet, lending it a bohemian mystique. Among the residents (some temporary): artist Maynard Dixon, photographer Edward Weston, poet Robinson Jeffers, and author Mary Austin.

By the 1920s and '30s, wealthy San Franciscans had discovered Carmel and were building vacation cottages of fairy-tale whimsy. Imbued with the spirit of those early bohemians, Carmelites created an enclave that has retained its charm, thanks to qualities that can best be described as eccentricities.

For one thing, there are no house or business address numbers in this little town, which means visitors must locate stores and lodgings by their nearest cross streets. There are no traffic signals, so courtesy and common sense must reign at intersections. Carmel bans fast-food outlets, neon signs, and lighted business signs. Businesses tend to close around 5 because, as one local told us, "people live here and they deserve quiet at night." Finally, Carmel is and will remain small--just 1 square mile--with a population of only 4,400.

In Travels with Charley, Monterey County native John Steinbeck depicted the town's early days and its transformation: "And Carmel, begun by starveling writers and unwanted painters, is now a community of the well-to-do and the retired. If Carmel's founders should return, they could not afford to live there, but it wouldn't go that far. They would be instantly picked up as suspicious characters and deported over the city line."

Despite Steinbeck's assertion, Carmel hasn't forgotten its roots. "We change subtly and slowly," says former mayor Ken White. "That's what Carmel is all about, and we work hard to preserve it." He adds: "The town was started by artists, writers, poets, and painters--creative minds. And our protective ordinances--and there are many--still carry the flavor of those creative minds."

But recent changes have locals concerned. The town's architectural heritage is in danger, preservationists claim. Newcomers with big bucks are moving in and tearing down small old homes to replace them with larger homes that have less character. Debates rage in the local paper, the Carmel Pine Cone, over a possible moratorium on demolitions and alterations of Carmel's older homes. Vows White, "We won't become an Anytown, USA."

On to Pebble Beach and Cannel Valley

North of Carmel, edging the sea, is Pebble Beach. You could say Pebble Beach was born with a silver putter in its mouth: It boasts seven world-class golf courses, uncounted celebrity residents, and some of the world's priciest real estate.

The elegant Hotel Del Monte started it all, opening here in 1880 to lure well-heeled tourists. In 1881, the hotel carved out a coast-hugging road where guests took horse-drawn carriage rides. That original hotel is long gone, although the rebuilt structure now houses the Naval Postgraduate School, but 17 Mile Drive endures. Even locals find it a treat to sneak peeks into the multimillion-dollar estates and drink in the timeless beauty of coastal landmarks like Point Joe.