Family Summer Vacation in Carmel and Monterey Bay!

This post was made possible by a collaboration with Hofsas House Hotel. I was hosted at their Carmel property in exchange for my honest review.

I’ve been visiting the Carmel and Monterey Bay area since I was a little girl. I have an uncle who lives in Seaside, California and I have great memories of visiting his family with my parents. We would stay at my uncle’s house and then my dad would drive to Monterey so we could visit the aquarium. Oh, how I loved seeing the kelp forest exhibit and cute sea otters! During other trips, we would visit Carmel-by-the-sea and walk along the cobblestone streets, window shopping and then we’d eventually wind up at the stunning Carmel Beach!

Flash forward to 2025 and when planning out our summer vacation, I just knew that we needed to visit Carmel-by-Sea. Five years prior, we had stayed at Hofsas House. The hotel is charming, offering warm hospitality in a European setting – from its Dutch doors, pastel pink walls, and colorful murals (one by the entrance and a second one by the outdoor pool).

You can’t beat the location of Hofsas House! It’s within walking distance of the shops, restaurants, and Carmel Beach. Plus, the views are gorgeous from their balconies!

Our trip started on Sunday, and after a quick stop in San Luis Obispo for lunch, we arrived just in time for the 3pm check-in. Home base for the next few days was a deluxe 2-bedroom, 2-bath suite. It has a lovely fireplace that’s perfect for the chilly nights.

@realmomofsfv

Check out my recap on the blog of our sunmer vacation in Carmel & Monterey! Our home base during our stay was a deluxe 2-Bedroom, 2-Bath Suite at Hofsas House Hotel. The boutique hotel is charming, offering warm hospitality in a European setting — from Dutch doors, pastel pink walls, and colorful murals! #hofsashouse #hosted #mediainvite #VisitCarmel #SeeMonterey #carmelbythesea

♬ Cute – Aurel Surya Lie

After we got settled in our room, we quickly headed over to Ocean Avenue and headed to Carmel Beach.

Then we did some shopping – Carmel Bakery is a must for me (those pastries!) and Ami Carmel, a lovely boutique that has clothing and gifty items that make for perfect souvenirs.

On Monday morning, we enjoyed delicious pastries from Paris Bakery, coffee from Carmel Valley Coffee Roasting Co., orange juice, fruit, yogurt, and hot cocoa. Hofsas House provides a light breakfast every morning and we enjoy taking our tray from the lobby and bringing the food back to our room to enjoy on our balcony or around the round dining table!

Monday was a working vacation day for me, while my husband and daughter headed over to Monterey for an excursion. The aquarium looked to be crowded, and since they’ve been there before, they decided to try out the GoCar Tours experience. My daughter loved riding in the little yellow car while her dad drove! The car has in-vehicle GPS and an audio commentary, so you can explore Monterey at your own pace.

 

While they enjoyed their trip to Monterey, I worked from our hotel suite (gorgeous views), attended a virtual team meeting (the WiFi is strong at the hotel, so no buffering or dropped calls), and popped over to Café Carmel to pick-up my to-go lunch! I ordered their Caesar Salad and a cup of Carmel Chicken Soup. The café has indoor seating, offers yummy pastries, teas, coffee/lattes, and desserts.

Monday afternoon, we enjoyed walking around the town and dinner at Jeju Kitchen, a Korean restaurant located in Carmel Plaza, an outdoor shopping mall, at the corner of Ocean Ave and Mission Street.

We left for home on Tuesday after breakfast. We packed in a lot during our two-day stay! We want to thank Hofsas House for providing the complimentary stay. This allowed us to experience all the things that Monterey County has to offer and share my honest thoughts with you.

For more information, visit the Hofsas House Hotel website here. Also, make sure to check out their Facebook page and Instagram to help get the latest updates!

Disclosure: No monetary compensation was received for this post. Hofsas Hotel hosted our stay, which helped facilitate this review. All images and opinions are 100% my own.