We came out 2.5 years ago and had a nice stay, but felt the place needed a little more love. Now $35 million later, the Carmel Valley Ranch is truly a getaway for families.

After a 2 night stay here this past September 2011, it was hard to leave. The rooms are completely updated with a modern look and provided a cushy stay. We got a room where the bathroom was separated from the bedroom which made things a lot less tricky with a sleeping child in the bedroom.

The Citronelle restaurant is now under a new chef and renamed the The Lodge restaurant. It was delicious and the service was excellent. They now have a fully loaded kids' menu too. The Ranch now offers tons of daily activities onsite and the River Ranch area is just heaven for kids (pool, camp, daycare, bocce ball, and a variety of other activities).

All in all, we're totally in love with this place and will definitely come back for more.

Go to http://blog.trekaroo.com/2011/10/14/carmel-valley-ranch-a-heavenly-stay/ and read my full review on the updated Carmel Valley Ranch.

The following review is for a stay in 5/2009...
My husband recently was sweet enough to book a weekend getaway for my birthday (Memorial Weekend 2009) in Carmel Valley. We stayed two nights at the Carmel Valley Ranch with my 2 year old rambunctious son. The entire resort is nestled in Carmel Valley, an all-suite resort surrounded by the Santa Lucia Mountains. The highlights of our stay were the golf cart rides around the resort which was our toddler’s favorite part, the room setup and the kid-friendly service.

My husband booked the spacious Veranda Suite (850-900 square feet room)! The room is nice, but not as nice as the photos on the website portray. The history on the hotel is that they were acquired by LXR Resorts who planned on renovating and converting them into condos. They got through the lobby (stunning) and 4 rooms before the economy went down the tubes and all the funds dried up. The rest of the rooms are still in their original condition. Don’t get me wrong, the rooms are still nice, but they’re definitely from the 90s with their tile flooring. The website preps you to expect something a bit different. The price is reasonable price considering the amount of space and service you receive (we got a 1 bedroom suite for $250/night - $290/night if you include their $25 service fee and tax).

The living area is stocked with a mini fridge and they brought a microwave and highchair for us upon request. We requested a crib as well and it was nice to have a crib with a real mattress versus the typical pack-n-play cribs that they usually setup for babies. If your toddlers a climber, this is probably not the best, but it worked perfectly for us. Both the bedroom and living room area each have a fireplace which is cozy and has a separate bedroom. The fire tending tools are a bit dangerous, but there was plenty of space on the mantel for them.

The room is located right next to the 12th tee which had 4 sand traps. When my son approached our room and saw the sand traps, he took off running to play in the big "sandboxes!" He was in total heaven and loved the fact that these sandboxes came with big people sized rakes. He quickly got to work making tiny little footprints all over the sand traps and then trying to rake it up before heading off for the next "sandbox." He was certainly having too much fun to consider taking a nap, so it was a bit of a challenge convincing him to get some shut-eye. However, once he was in his comfy crib, he quickly zonked out for about 2 hours. Those 2 hours are the golden period where my husband and I get to recoup for the next round of parenting fun.

The resort has 2 outdoor swimming pools, a golf course, tennis courts and fitness center. It was freezing the weekend we were there (about 60 degrees during the day and rainy), so even though the pool was heated, it wasn’t inviting enough for us to take a dip. The in-house restaurant Citronelle is Michel Richards’ delicious new restaurant. We ate in the lounge area which is more casual and were seated immediately. The restaurant’s got highchairs and were nice to my son, but unfortunately there are no kid-sized portions. So, you’ll either have to share or be ready to spend ~$15 on a burger for Junior. I had a seafood salad which was divine and the presentation was meticulous.

The Carmel Valley Ranch is located less than a mile away from Safeway, so we were able to pick up bagels, fruit, and milk for breakfast and some other snacks. From here, we were 15-20 minutes from all the major attractions in the area: Point Lobos State Park, Carmel-by-the-Sea, Monterey Bay Aquarium, MY Museum, and more. The resort itself was also full of woodland animals which are fun for any kid under the age of 5. We saw deer, rabbits, squirrels and a swan on the lake. We were told that there are often wild turkey sightings, but we didn’t catch any during our stay.

Lowlights, Carmel Valley Ranch charges a $25/day service fee to cover all tips for golf cart rides, housekeepings, etc. We didn’t like that fact because what if the service wasn’t any good? So, be sure to use all of their services to the max! Since the resort is set in the hills, the walkways are often sloped. Our little guy loves to run and bit it a couple of times, but no injuries. I wouldn’t recommend this for 1 year olds who are just getting their walking legs. Could be a little tough for them to maneuver.

Overall, our stay was great. It was easy access to all the major attractions in the Monterey/Carmel area and a spacious room. The rooms could definitely use a little upgrading. Overall, I would recommend it for other families.

The Hula Grill in Whaler's Village was one of our favorite dining experiences on our Maui vacation. Although, it's located in a mall which is not appealing to us, it's located right on the beach where you get to watch the sun set as you eat your dinner. There was a slack-key performer who was excellent and didn't cease to keep my 3 year old's attention.

Our waiter was extremely attentive and was great with our 3 year old and had endless patience in fulfilling all of our requests. All the dishes were memorable, but I especially loved my soba salad with grilled shrimp and scallops. It was a great combination of flavors that I hadn't had before. For my entree, I had the Macadamian Nut Hawaii Fish which was also delicious.

We'll definitely be back for more meals at the Hula Grill.

Between my 3 year old son and my husband, we hit the Kaanapali Golf Courses driving range 3 times in the span of 6 days. My little guy is not quite ready for 18 holes, but my "men" had a blast hitting balls at the range and working on their putts at the green.

The course is beautiful and the staff were extremely friendly to our family. We can't wait to come back and actually play the full course in the future.

The Black Rock Beach was nice, but pretty commercial. Not the easiest place to get to if you're not already staying at one of the Kaanapali beach resorts. We were at the Westin Villas, so we just hopped on a bus to the Sheraton which is the hotel right next to Black Rock.

The beach was nice and sandy and the water was calm when we were there in May. Great for my 3 year old.

This is also the unique location of the nightly Lele Kawa (cliff diving) ceremony. Legend tells us the last chief of Maui, Kahekili (Thunderer), proved his spiritual strength by leaping from sacred Pu’u Keka’a to the Pacific. Upon sunset, a young diver will runs with a torch in hand to the top of Black Rock. He them offers his torch, a lei and them dives into the ocean below. If you're there early enough, you can grab a seat at the Cliff Dive Bar at the Sheraton for a great view of the whole event.

Kodak moments
- Head up to the top floor (8th?) of the Sheraton hotel on the northside. You can get a great shot of the Kaanapali coastline going south.
- The cliff dive off of Black Rock around sunset

We were excited to have dinner at Mala based on other reviews that we had read. However, our dining experience was less than optimal.

The whole thing started off well. We easily found parking next to the restaurant and enjoyed the view of the sun setting over the ocean at this beachfront restaurant. We had made reservations, so there was a table saved for us in this crowded place.

The crunchy baby calamari was tasty and the three dipping sauces were good. However, everything after that was not worthwhile. We ordered the whole wok fried fish, but the flavors were off. It had all these Asian ingredients listed, but the flavor was more American than Asian. The Lava Rock Grilled Organic Half Chicken had a beautifully tasty name, but the dish was dry and unappetizing.

Overall, we were disappointed with the food and don't expect to come back.