I have been to Carmel >50 times but have always stayed in hotels. This time we decided to stay longer than usual and looked into a rental. We are tough customers with high expectations, are extremely well traveled, and both couples have gorgeous homes. That being said, Out of the Blue was a little piece of Carmel paradise.
One of the biggest assets is the floor to ceiling windows windows in every room of the home which provided glorious views of the tree-framed distant sea. The layout was superb and offered both couples excellent privacy. Bedrooms were huge for this size of home and we loved the two different decks...especially the upstairs terrace which offered panoramic vistas and all day sunshine.
Both couples were foodies and some killer gastronomic meals were prepared in the albeit small kitchen. The kitchen was adequately coiffed for a rental...there were at least 3 sets of dishes, 2 sets of silverware, 3-4 sets of fairly good stemware, several lovely tablecloths, as well as 4 or 5 sets of cloth napkins and placemats.
Last, but not least, we rented Out of the Blue in December. We arrived to find the dining room table beautifully set in full regalia (including a magnificent large orchid as its centerpiece). A 3 ft tall fresh pointsettia flanked the fireplace, and there was small real Christmas tree on one of the sidetables in the front room. Lovely welcoming touches.
Negatives? The decor is built around a sea theme. Everything from sheets to towels, from dishes to table linen, from paintings to object de art, revolved around shells, sea creatures and the like (there is even a turqoise colored toilet cover with embedded shells and sea figures). I'm a great lover of the color blue, but after a while the pervasive sea decor may be a little much for some. That being said, I would return in a hearbeat.
Thank you, Diane and Chuck, for a marvelous Christmas experience in Carmel!