California Hotels Choice Hotels Choice Privileges Comfort Inn

Carmel, California weekend hotel reward deal

a water with a splashing cloud in the distance

My home base on the Monterey Peninsula is a place where many California travelers visit. Hotel rates frequently double on Friday and Saturday nights. So it kind of blows me away that for the second year in a row Choice Privileges offers low reward rates during our peak season for good weather in September and October along the Central Coast.  Weekend nights at Comfort Inn Carmel from Sep 20-Nov 30 are 12,000 points and weeknights are 20,000 points. Weekend nights at Comfort Inn Carmel in September and October are $250 to $400 per night.

Comfort Inn Carmel is not a luxury hotel, however, Carmel-by-the-sea is a money place. Houses in town are priced in the millions. Carmel Beach is generally ranked in any list of most beautiful California beaches. Carmel is a small town of about 5,000 residents, where tourists can go wine-tasting at a dozen Monterey County winery tasting rooms while walking around three blocks of downtown businesses.

a group of people on a beach
Carmel Beach, Carmel-by-the-Sea, California

Since I live in Monterey, I don’t stay in many local hotels and I have never stayed at Comfort Inn Carmel. I can say the location of Comfort Inn Carmel is centrally located in the downtown business district and excellent for walking around town.

My biggest tip for tourists coming to Carmel is bring a flashlight. If you wander around walking outside of the central business district and down to the beach, there are very few sidewalks and few streetlights around residential areas of town.

Comfort Inn Carmel

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Comfort Inn Carmel reward nights calendar

Fri Sep 20-Sun Sep 22

Queen Bed room $867.78

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or

24,000 Choice Privileges points for a weekend stay

a screenshot of a hotel room

Another Tip: You can’t book Saturday night by itself at this hotel using Choice Privileges points. Every weekend search I tried during this low points rate period required a 2-night stay to find availability.

5 Comments

  • Jay August 27, 2019

    Thanks for this tip! Visiting Monterey in a few.. Any tips getting to this area from SFO?

  • Ric Garrido August 27, 2019

    The slow way with maximum scenery is Highway 1 to Santa Cruz and around Monterey Bay.

    Highway 101 is the most direct route, but avoid if traveling south on a weekday between 3 and 6 pm.

    My usual route is drive I-280 to Highway 85 to 101. More scenic than 101 and generally less traffic.

  • Jay August 27, 2019

    Thank you! Any suggestions if we’re not renting a car/taking public transport?

  • james August 27, 2019

    Ric – flashlight is a MUST! Thank goodness for the cellphone flashlight app. Even in town, nights are virtually pitch black, and the pavement is uneven from tree roots pushing up concrete in sidewalks & streets. Also ladies who must wear heels should consider wearing flats to nice restaurants downtown & changing inside (the Las Vegas tip), since parking will probably be several blocks away.

  • Ric Garrido August 27, 2019

    Public transportation sucks between Monterey and SFO. You can take a train to San Jose and then a public bus takes hours. I spend a lot every year renting cars simply to travel between Monterey and SFO/SJC/OAK airports.

    Monterey Airport Shuttle is quickest option if not driving.
    https://www.montereyairbus.com/schedules

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