Ernie and I have been meaning to explore more areas of Northern California. It’s kind of embarrassing to be NorCal natives and say we hadn’t been certain places! For our first wedding anniversary we stayed overnight at Safari West. Then last year we went to explore the Santa Cruz Mountains. This January we kicked off our NorCal adventure bucket list by visiting Hofsas House in Carmel-By-The-Sea.
We chose Carmel for our first trip of the year because we were looking for a place where we could unplug and relax. The first thing we noticed when driving to the hotel was that there are no addresses! There are only intersections and wood signs to let you know where you are going. Everyone in town has a PO Box at the local office office to collect their mail. The whole downtown area was lit up with Christmas lights and store fronts were cherry and open. We knew right away, our vacation to Carmel was going to be special.
What we loved most about Hofsas House is that the hotel is very dog friendly. Mochi was welcomed with open arms and given the royal treatment.
Mochi had his very own dog bed and goodies upon his arrival! I really appreciated the thought that went into this care package. The water bowl was perfect for when we were at the Carmel Dog Beach. There was even a watermelon spray that came in handy to freshen up Mochi after walking in the rain!
Ernie and I were not left out when it came to the warm welcome at Hofsas House. We had a bottle of red wine and cheese laid out on the table for us! The wine and cheese was from The Cheese Shop and guests can order this for $30.
Since we had got in late on Friday, we opened up the cheese and wine the next day. Bonus – there was a mini fridge to keep our cheese cold!
On Saturday, Ernie and I headed to the 5th Avenue Deli to pick up lunch for the Carmel Dog Beach. This deli was packed with delicious food and treats! We chose 2 of the box lunches which came in to-go boxes. It was perfect for the walk down to the beach. Everything in Carmel is walkable. The whole town is about one square mile so we basically left the car at the hotel and walked everywhere we needed to go. The Carmel Dog Beach was about a 1/2 mile from Hofsas House and we enjoyed viewing the homes and boutiques on the way down.
The views were unreal. Ernie kept telling me to take more pictures, but I think even now the pictures don’t do these views justice. Even though it was sprinkling and foggy, it was breath taking.
Next on the agenda was a wine walk. We got quite hot walking around in our jackets, so we made a pit stop at the hotel to rest and change our clothes since we would be going to dinner after wine tasting.
After changing our clothes, we were off to Scheid Vineyards.
There were so many dogs in Carmel. Ernie and I joked that the dogs were treated better than we were! It was pretty common for someone to greet Mochi before saying hello to us. We didn’t mind, we loved being in a dog-friendly town.
On the way to Scheid, we had heard from Carrie (the Hofsas House owner) that we needed to visit Diggity Dog. This store was known as the best dog store in Carmel. She wasn’t lying! This store was filled to the brim with all kinds of dog toys, treats, and clothing. I couldn’t help it, and we found the cutest sweater for Mochi. The second we put it on him, he ran around the store to show it off. Mochi really loved it!
So when we finally made it to Scheid Vineyards, Mochi was tuckered out. From the walk to the beach, running around with puppy friends, visiting Diggity Dog, and checking out Carmel…all Mochi wanted to do was lay down. Which led to a lot of people thinking we had the most well-behaved dog in the world. Mochi just plopped himself down at all the tasting rooms and was fawned over by all the customers.
Ernie and I loved Scheid Vineyards so much, we became wine members! It was the perfect excuse to head back to Carmel when it’s time to pick up our wine.
Our next stop before dinner was Dawn’s Dream Winery. This tasting room is known for their pinot noir, so we were excited to try out some reds. I am not a fan of very heavy wines, so I really enjoyed this winery. We were greeted by Bess with a Pinot Noir Rose. Which was my favorite out of the tasting. Bess was an excellent hostess and took her time with us to get to know the variety of wines.
Finally it was time for dinner at Basil. Which was good timing since we were getting pretty hungry after wine tasting! The patio had heaters and blankets for us, plus lots of treats for Mochi.
I am a horrible blogger and forgot to take pictures of my food! But Ernie and I had a burrata salad, sweet potato pecan ravioli, and the grilled pork chop. The menu is based on the season and all of the food is local and organic.
After dinner, Ernie and I strolled back to Hofsas House to cuddle up by the fire. I was tuckered out from our full day!
The next day, the rain stopped so I decided to walk around and take pictures of the property.
Since we live so close, Ernie, Mochi and I cannot wait until our next trip to Carmel-by-the-Sea.
Hofsas House Hotel
San Carlos St, Carmel, CA 93921, USA
Phone: 831-624-2745
To learn more visit – www.hofsashouse.com
Our stay was hosted by Hofsas House, however the opinions in the blog post are 100% my own.
