When Allen Knight commissioned this building in 1929, he wasn’t planning a luxury hotel – he wanted a Bohemian apartment complex modeled after the architecture he’d seen in Prague. Originally called the Sundial Apartments, the structure was built to house the artists and authors who defined Carmel’s early days. That residential intent is still obvious in the layout: the three-story wood and stucco building wraps entirely around a central open-air courtyard, creating a private enclosure centered on a stone fountain and ivy-covered arches.
The twenty guest rooms retain the architectural quirks of the original construction. You’ll find coved plaster walls, French windows, and antique doorknobs that have been turning for nearly a century. The restoration added modern weight where it counts – heated travertine floors in the bathrooms and hand-hammered copper sinks – but the scale remains intimate. Because of the historic footprint, no two rooms are exactly alike in shape.
Downstairs, the dining room houses Aubergine, a destination in its own right where Chef Justin Cogley runs a high-precision, two-Michelin-starred kitchen. The eight-course tasting menu draws plenty of non-guests, meaning the lobby and courtyard often buzz with dinner traffic in the evenings. Mornings are significantly slower. A full breakfast is included and can be taken in your room, though most people opt for a table in the courtyard if the coastal fog has lifted. Service follows the Relais & Châteaux standard – valet is mandatory given the tight village streets, and turndown service arrives nightly with fresh cookies.
L'Auberge
