Top Reasons to Stay at Stage Coach Lodge

• This boutique hotel is nestled in a quiet residential neighborhood of Monterey, right off central California’s coastal Route 1.
• Many of the area’s top attractions are within walking distance, including coastal bike trails and public beaches where you can watch otters play in the surf.
• Stretching along the coast of the Monterey Peninsula, 17-Mile Drive—which Travel + Leisure named the fourth most scenic road in America—runs past pine forests and craggy beach cliffs, with unparalleled views of the Pacific Ocean.
• About 2.5 miles from the hotel, the Monterey Bay Aquarium houses a three-story kelp forest tank, a petting pool, and a million-gallon tank filled with giant sharks and sea turtles.
• Newly remodeled guest rooms are equipped with microwaves, refrigerators, and 42-inch flat-screen TVs.
• The hotel grounds are adorned with beautifully landscaped gardens featuring bougainvillea trees and stone fountains. The seasonal heated outdoor pool is surrounded by native plants.
• Every morning, the hotel serves a complimentary continental breakfast in the lobby café. In downtown Monterey (about 1 mile to the northwest), you’ll find seafood restaurants and casual cantinas.

Monterey, California: Scenic Beaches and Lively Wharf Along the Pacific Coast

The city of Monterey, California, is located at the southern end of Monterey Bay on the Pacific coast, about 120 miles south of San Francisco. This central region—which also includes the seaside communities of Carmel and Big Sur—is widely considered one of the most scenic areas in the world, thanks to its rugged cliffs and dramatic ocean views. Author John Steinbeck, who lived in the neighboring town of Pacific Grove, immortalized the area in works such as East of Eden and Of Mice and Men. In Cannery Row, Steinbeck depicts the Monterey fish-canning industry at the turn of the 20th century. Today, a tourist destination of the same name is filled with souvenir shops and eateries where the sardine factories used to be.

One attraction that you don’t want to miss is the Monterey Bay Aquarium, the largest sea-life exhibit in the world. Its mesmerizing displays include a living kelp forest filled with leopard sharks and wolf eels, and a deep-water tank that’s home to a giant bluefin tuna.

To get even closer to the sea, hop on the Coastal Bike Trail, which stretches for miles along the ocean, past views of sea lions sunbathing on the rocks and otters playing in the surf. A variety of whales pass by the shores of Monterey year-round; you might also spot a few dolphins from aboard one of the popular harbor cruises. For the best up-close encounters, however, do as the locals do and head to one of the scuba-diving sites. A cluster of rental shops on Del Monte Beach can outfit you for a trip to an easily accessible reef system nearby.

Read the Fine Print for important info on travel dates and other restrictions.