InterContinental The Clement Monterey, an IHG Hotel

HOTEL OVERVIEW

You know what? I wasn’t expecting much when I first pulled up to The Clement — I mean, Cannery Row can be pretty touristy and sometimes that translates to overpriced mediocrity. But honestly, this place surprised me in the best way. The building itself has this interesting industrial-meets-elegant vibe that actually works with the whole sardine factory history of the area. You’re literally steps from the Monterey Bay Aquarium (like, you can see people walking there with their kids), but somehow the hotel manages to feel removed from all that chaos. The lobby’s got these huge windows facing the bay, and if you time it right — early morning or late afternoon — you’ll catch the sea otters playing in the kelp beds right outside. I spent way too much time just watching them instead of checking in.

What really got me was how they’ve thought about the little things that matter when you’re actually staying somewhere, not just visiting for an hour. The rooms facing the water are obviously the way to go, but even if you end up on the city side, you’re not stuck staring at a parking lot — you get these glimpses of the Santa Lucia Mountains that are honestly pretty gorgeous, especially when the fog rolls in around sunset. The beds are legitimately comfortable (I’m picky about this), and the bathrooms have decent water pressure, which you can’t always count on in older buildings. Parking’s valet only, which is a little annoying if you’re the type who likes to grab stuff from your car at random times, but it’s $25 a night and honestly, finding street parking on Cannery Row is basically impossible anyway.

The location thing is real though — you can walk to Fisherman’s Wharf in about ten minutes if you don’t mind dodging tourists, or head the other direction toward Pacific Grove if you want something quieter. There’s a solid coffee place called Carmel Belle that’s maybe a five-minute walk if you need caffeine before the hotel restaurant opens. Speaking of which, their restaurant (C) is actually pretty decent for hotel food — I had the cioppino and it wasn’t tourist trap garbage like I expected. The staff seems to know the area well too; the concierge pointed me toward some tide pools near Lovers Point that I never would have found otherwise. Look, it’s not cheap, especially during peak season or when there’s a big event at the aquarium, but the 8.6 rating makes sense. It’s one of those places where you can tell someone actually cares about the experience, not just filling rooms.