Pacific Gardens Inn

We always come back to this place when exploring the Monterey area, especially with our dog. It’s across from the Asilamar conference center and State Beach, with a little path across the street into Asilomar. The rooms vary, but they’re all clean and pleasant, if not especially luxurious. It’s family friendly, dog friendly, and just plain friendly, with good prices. Not fancy, but very nice.

The rooms are huge, clean, and have nice fireplaces, and most of the staff gave us good service. It’s about 10 minutes from Monterey fishermen’s wharf and right by the 17 miles drive. Those were the good points. The inn looks very old and badly needs renovation. The exterior compares poorly with nearby inns, and the rooms need work on things like the carpet and walls. The outlets wouldn’t hold a plug, and the showerhead should be replaced. There’s no AC, so don’t come on hot days. Breakfast is basic, with nice pastries, coffee, cereal, waffles, and hard-boiled eggs. Parking may be a problem if you arrive late. It seemed they were short a couple of spaces when we stayed. I chose it mainly because of the great reviews, and we stayed two nights.

The service was wonderful, and the beach is very close, but the bed was super uncomfortable. The mattress felt thin, and I didn't sleep well. The windows are thin too, so I could hear people outside early in the morning. The rooms feel very old-fashioned and could use a little updating.

The sunset was gorgeous. Our room was excellent and very spacious, with a wood fireplace, and the staff were really friendly. We drove up from the wharf, and it was kind of hard to find without directions or Google Maps. There’s only one restaurant close by.