Tickle Pink Inn

The Hotel

Tickle Pink Inn sits on a cliff platform 100 metres above the Pacific in Carmel Highlands — the four-mile coastal stretch south of Carmel-by-the-Sea between Point Lobos and the start of the Big Sur cliff drive proper. The property was opened in 1969 by Roy and Vera Gurries (the Gurries family, who acquired the original Highland Drive land in the 1950s and built the property as a small motel-style operation that has expanded across four generations) and has remained in continuous Gurries family ownership for 56 years — the only family-owned luxury operation on the Carmel Highlands and the longest-running unbroken Carmel-Highlands hospitality business.

The 35 keys run across three building blocks set into the cliff face on terraces that step down toward the ocean. Categories run from entry-tier Pacific View Rooms (28 sqm with private balcony, the standard configuration) through Pacific Suites (45 sqm with sitting area and balcony) to the named Highlands Suite (65 sqm, top-floor corner with the property's largest balcony and the unbroken Point Lobos sightline). All 35 keys hold a private ocean-facing balcony — the property does not operate non-view inventory — and most balconies are configured wide enough to accommodate two seated guests with a small dining table for an in-room meal-with-Pacific-sightline. The interior register is contemporary-coastal restraint with the Gurries-family decorative-fabric programme that has been continuously curated since the late 1990s.

Operationally Tickle Pink runs the family-operated four-star register at the Carmel-Highlands rate point. The property does not run a fine-dining restaurant; the property's Champagne-and-Cheese reception programme runs every afternoon (the daily complimentary in-room sunset reception is the property's most-considered feature for repeat guests), the breakfast operation is a hot-buffet-and-balcony-delivery service, and most evening dinners are taken at the Hyatt Carmel Highlands' Pacific's Edge restaurant (the cliff-edge fine-dining venue 200 metres south of Tickle Pink, walking distance from the property), at L'Auberge Carmel's Aubergine (15 minutes north), or at Casanova in Carmel village. The property runs no spa or pool — the Carmel Highlands cliff position and the daily Champagne-reception are the structural daily-routine assets.

The structural distinction at Tickle Pink — and the reason the Gurries family operation continues to hold a position on every Carmel anniversary or honeymoon comparison — is the cliff-and-balcony configuration. The property is the only luxury hotel between Carmel village and Big Sur on Highway 1; the cliff position gives every room the unbroken Pacific sightline; the family-operated four-star register makes the rate substantially more accessible than the cliff-and-balcony Big Sur 5-star alternatives (Post Ranch Inn at USD 1,800-3,500/night, Ventana Big Sur at USD 1,500-2,800/night). For a honeymoon that wants the cliff-and-balcony register without the Big Sur 5-star rate card, an anniversary that takes the daily Champagne reception and the Pacific sunset as the structural anchors, or a multi-night Carmel stay that pairs Tickle Pink's cliff register with day trips to Big Sur and Pebble Beach, this is the considered choice.

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