My stay at the Quail Lodge really began with a lot of research into what kind of experience I wanted in a short two-night stay which was really focused on a bicycle ride from Castroville along bikeways to Point Lobos. What this means is my focus was not on playing tourist in Monterey, strolling along Cannery Row, or visiting the Aquarium or taking photos everywhere. Others had told me to beware of hotels which charge for parking, to decide on if I wanted the hustle-and-bustle of Carmel, and if a more quiet area like Carmel Valley would be nicer. I used Yelp to research places and found the majority of reviews to support what I wanted in a hotel and zeroed in on the Quail Lodge and Golf Club, albeit they were written pre-Pandemic. Many reviews were centered on a stay which included playing golf but many reviews seemed to resonate with my desire for peace and quiet. Once I eliminated the others and found the Quail doesn't charge parking and was therefore not in a crazy-busy area, I used my AAA membership to research the rate and get what I hoped was a break on the stay, a Fri and Sat night, verifying by calling the hotel directly. I also made sure they knew our dog Lola was with us. No problem! It was Lola's first stay with me away from home. Arriving Friday night, both Lola and I had a tough time sleeping all night due to some sort of mechanical noise that would cycle on/off, which really ruined my Saturday, unfortunately. However, I believe the Quail folks will see to this, perhaps making sure they concentrate if they visit the room, and listen intently while inside room 274 to isolate what I think was a fan with an old bearing. Perhaps an ice machine? Ventilation machinery closet nearby?
Not having slept well before a ride made me pretty upset but in the end, that didn't totally taint my ride the next day. That afternoon, we did some shopping at The Crossroads shopping center (not far, as the junction of 1 and one stop S of Carmel Valley road). On the way back we overshot the Quail and I took us up the road, up the Valley to Carmel Village and found a small winery off the beaten path behind all the other tasting rooms which was really nice. The vintner had lost a great deal of equipment in a fire but was there, still pouring wine! It was nice to get to know real people in the middle of such a touristy area. He was so nice and recommended several places to eat, but I desired somewhere close, so we went to his recommendation, the Corkscrew, a simple restaurant with nice wines he liked, the Cowgirl and Endless Summer wines, which were nice! Back to reviewing Quail, the Pandemic has affected the ambiance as the ability to serve food was lessened, and the restaurant/bar was closed when we arrived around 9pm on a Friday. Bummer, as I really could've used one glass of wine after a 3 hour drive. But the front staff was unusually firm and instead offered a $44 bottle of wine they sold near the entrance they knew nothing about. Pass! I don't think it would've killed them to offer a simple glass to each of us on arrival. I would've paid for it. Anyway, the room was clean and nicely laid out. The staff was very unassuming and kept to the background and the whole area was QUIET! Very very nice. If I golfed, I think I would've been in heaven. I loved my room as it was on the bottom floor and had a patio (I didn't know it was there until Sunday morning as it was dark every time we were there it seemed) which in retrospect I could've enjoyed if I brought a cooler with my own food, beverages and plates/utensils/table cloth! That is what I'll do next time. My little complaint about the mechanical noise is probably attributed to the buildings actually being old (they sort of look it from the inside----'70's?) with updated furnishings. Another problem we had was we had no idea the TV had any sort of program guide to what was playing so instead we were forced to scroll channels one by one, all 60 plus of them! Not a big deal, but I think communicating that, as well as where the WiFi password was at check-in would've been ducky. I also loved the proximity of my parking spot to the room which was nice as we had to make about 4 trips each to lug our stuff back-forth, whew! There are plenty of places (malls/villages/shopping centers) to shop/eat down the road which makes a stay here convenient. Everything else, like I said before, was nice, bathroom, linens, overall cleanliness, all good! Would I come again? Yes, I think the Quail Lodge is a nice place to stay, especially if you play golf, especially if you want to get a flavor of the Carmel Valley, especially if you want a break from the "Disneyland" aura of the Monterey Peninsula and enjoy a really nice quiet stay in a relaxing setting. But, next time I'll bring some earplugs and my own bottle of wine! read more