Found Carmel Valley Ranch through Tripadvisor and booked through American Express. Was very happy with the overall experience and if I found any faults it would be truly nitpicking. But that's what we do here so I will begin.
Beautiful location and a great golf course to boot. Our "suite" was spacious with two fireplaces and a nice large deck. The bedroom was plenty big and a nice touch was the clock radio with iPod deck. Bathroom was large but outdated and the shower head was quite uncomfortably low.
Restaurant, bar and pool areas were much better. Staff were great.

Our family of 4 with two kids (11 & 14) did a road trip from LA to San Francisco, one overnight stay was at the Carmel Valley Ranch. My kids absolutely loved the size of the spacious suite and my husband was enthralled with the amazing view. I thought the staff was very attentive and I loved the lounge area at check-in. Even though the property is showing its age a bit and needs some updating in both the room and on the grounds, we would stay here again without question simply for the views and generous room size. It is close by many great things to do in Monterey as well as Carmel by the Sea which has an absolutely wonderful and quaint downtown area filled with adorable shops and places to get something to eat. This little region gets a thumbs up from our family.

My husband and I stayed at Carmel Valley Ranch for part of our honeymoon. It was absolutely fantastic! We stayed in the Veranda Spa Suite, which is just gorgeous. It has 2 separate rooms, and the bedroom is HUGE! The bath is really nice too. The one thing that did surprise me, though, was that this room was supposed to have a hot tub on the deck (one of the reasons we booked this room). They told us upon check-in that they removed all the hot tubs because of environmental reasons. That was kind of a bummer, but the room was worth it anyway.
The service was fantastic, and we really enjoyed our stay. They even brought us chocolate-covered strawberries and champagne to celebrate our honeymoon!

One other thing I'd like to mention is Romantic Room Designs. I found this website while perusing Carmel romantic ideas, and I purchased a romantic beach package. It was everything I imagined....and more! I decided to surprise my husband with a romantic bonfire on Carmel Beach. Everything was timed perfectly! When my husband and I got to the beach and started walking toward the bonfire, he said something like, "well, that's a good idea" (because it was REALLY cold that night). I then said, "Well, it's ours to enjoy!" He didn't believe me! It took several "yes, really!" comments for him to believe it. I will never forget that moment or that night - it was just beautiful! Totally romantic....and then, to top it off....Brian, the owner of Romantic Room Designs, suggested that I have them decorate the room while we were out at the beach. I did and when we returned, the room was lit up with candles and had rose petals leading up to the bedroom and scattered on the bed. If I thought he was blown away with the beach, this was just the icing on the cake! We had an unbelievable time, and I truly thank Romantic Room Designs! (I would recommend this to anyone looking for a really special way to romance your love!).

All in all....Carmel was a definite treat! What a great honeymoon!

We enjoyed everything about the Carmel Valley Ranch: location, amenities, and staff! Bed and bedding were plush and comfortable; husband loved the shower with it's high-placed showerhead, wife loved the soaking tub's room and depth. Fireplaces in both living and bed rooms, reading chairs with separate lamps, comfy sofa, and good sized breakfast nook. Michel Richard's Citronelle had only been open a few months, but the staff has it DOWN - amazing cuisine and presentation, great wine list. We cannot praise the staff highly enough - from valet parking to room service to the bar and restaurant, everyone was friendly, happy, polite, and professional. We were visiting for our anniversary, and staff who met us made sure everyone else on shift knew our names and the occasion - we were greeted and celebrated the entire time. Beautiful countryside, too, watching deer and wild turkeys roam outside the glass wall of Citronelle during our anniversary dinner.