Beachfront vacation rentals in Carmel-by-the-Sea

We had such an excellent time at Deb’s house! I went with my sister-in-law and parents in law and husband to celebrate his birthday, and having a three bedroom (all king size beds) three bathroom spot for three adult couples was wonderful! Short walk to the beach, beautiful views, and short drive to the hot tub… Just the perfect getaway! Beds were comfortable, Wi-Fi met our needs, and kitchen and barbecue made it easy to cook. We mostly stayed at the house the entire time Deb has everything labeled, which makes it really easy to find and put away dishes… We are big cooks. They were games and lots of puzzles. Being 38 weeks pregnant, the only tough thing was access to the beach from the path from the house was very steep, but we found another path from the neighbors house (walking through the parking lot to the other side of houses and walking to the beach from there) to be super easy. Overall, we really can’t wait to come again! Pool is closed until April, so hoping to come in summer.

Evan's place was wonderful - the listing matched the photos, it was immaculate and close to many restaurants and to the beach. The home had everything we needed, and more! And you could tell a lot of love and effort went into the decor. Evan was very responsive - we had one small issue when my son's soccer ball accidently bumped the earthquake-aware gas line and shut the gas off (whoops!) and he was so proactive - he came over and tried to fix it, and even called the gas company and had them come out to us within the hour. We, of course, felt terrible, but he was so kind to us! The home is beautiful and worked great for our needs. We especially liked the ability to use the washer and dryer. It is on a busier street... but it was very close to amenities! We loved our stay at hour beautiful home!

We had an amazing trip with our daughters family! We all absolutely loved the house and the area, and can't wait to come back and stay again!!! Janet was more than willing to do anything to make our stay perfect! It was my 50th birthday and she even hung up Happy Birthday banner for me :-) Thank you, Janet for everything! We really enjoyed your home and can't wait to stay again!!!!!

Best Airbnb. Super comfortable beds, linens, and furnishings. Full stocked kitchen. Lovely yard with so many extras. So many beach items, great location!

Awesome place in Santa Cruz! We stayed with our family and extended family. The backyard was so great for our kids, cook outs, and hanging in our downtime. The host was easy to communicate with and answered our questions quickly. Location was great and easy to walk around Capitola wharf and shops. Highly recommend when staying with families with kids young and old.

My family and I thoroughly enjoyed our stay. We walked to a Mexican restaurant and enjoyed all of the murals painted on the buildings along the way. Seaside is a very artsy city. There is a small playground right around the corner from the house that my 5 year old loved and I loved being able to see the ocean while pushing him on the swing. We also walked to the beach! It was refreshing having so much in walking distance. The hot tub was another big highlight for our family. We will be recommending this home to our friends who want to get away for the weekend.

Thank you so much, Matthew and Theresa, for allowing us to enjoy your beautiful home! With a few dishes I wanted to prepare for our group, I am very appreciative of every tool, bowl and utensil I could have needed. Your kitchen not only had everything I needed and more, it was also so well organized. We were so comfortable, had plenty of space and appreciated all the special touches that make your home such an outstanding one. We enjoyed the fire pit, being able to sit around your kitchen island, the clean and beautiful bathrooms and great hot tub. Thank you again, what a treat! We hope to be back!

Stayed here for a couple of days for spring break. We will definitely be back. The location is amazing. Two blocks from the ocean and a beautiful walking path and 1/2 a mile to the beach. Really enjoyed our stay! Comfortable bed. For people with accessibility issues it is a second floor so there are stairs.

The location of the apartment is awesome. We really enjoyed the peaceful surroundings and excellent view of the beach and ocean. Sleeping with the sound of the ocean waves was such a gift. Patti is lovely and kind with her communications. We did have some issues with the shower and bath sink in one of the bathrooms. We also wished we had paid attention to what was not listed in terms of provisions. For example, you’d have to bring your own coffee, teas, paper towels, and bathroom hand soaps (although napkins and bath soap bars were provided). Overall, a beautiful home at a great location with potentials for some minor improvements which I understand Patti will address in good spirit.

Beautiful private guest cottage behind the main house. Nice private deck with amazing ocean views. Cozy cottage with full kitchen, living area, bedroom and bathroom. The host Katcha as always very responsive and helpful. I would definitely stay here again.

This is a great little studio that is close to the beach (a 5 min walk) and I will definitely be coming back soon! It’s a small studio with a cute little patio. The neighborhood is quiet and you are close to town.

Had a wonderful stay! Janet’s home was very peaceful and relaxing. Literally had anything we could need during our stay. She also let us check out at 1 so we could go on one last adventure without being in a rush! I would definitely recommend her place, & stay there again sometime!!

It was a nice stay! It felt like home. The neighbourhood is very quiet and at the same time, it is in a walkable distance to the ocean (~6 min). 5 bikes were a very nice addition to our activities!

Laura’s place was spot on for our short stay. Beach was a stones throw away, which is where the kids wanted to spend their time. The place was perfect, it was clean, spacious, and well equipped. Detailed instructions for the apartment to go alongside the stay and useful local information.

This was our 2nd visit to Petra and David’s home. We enjoyed our stay so much that we came back to celebrate my dad’s birthday again! My dogs felt right at home when we entered. Such an easy check-in and check-out process. Great communication from the hosts! It’s a short walk to the dog friendly Seabright Beach. It’s an even shorter walk to the Boardwalk. Downtown is even walkable, but we chose to drive 5 minutes to get to restaurants and shops. The home was stocked with essentials. We’ll miss waking up to the Boardwalk view from the upstairs balcony. We hope to visit again soon!

Clean, well-appointed, spacious home less than a block from the beautiful Twin Lakes Beach. You can see the beach from chairs on the front lawn. We were lucky enough to be there during the lighted boat parade (first Saturday in December), so we watched the lighted boats in the water from the front yard. Everything was easily accessible. The home includes many amenities (washer/dryer, cooking supplies, games, pack n play). The room with the bunk beds has a separate bathroom, making it really nice for families with older kids. Great stay and I hope we can return.

Our 5 day stay was great. Felt right at home. Great location w an amazing view. Place was nice and clean. We found beach gear as well that’s provided by the host. We were greated with complimentary snacks and bottled bubbly water. Kitchen had everything needed to cook if need be. We will definitely be coming back once the opportunity comes around.

This was a great condo that was really convenient for my family's little spring break vacation. We had our toddler with us as well as our parents. There are beautiful paths around the grounds of the resort and only a five to ten minute walk to get down to the beach. The condo had a beach wagon, towels, and beach toys for us to borrow. There is also a footwash fountain right next to the condo which made cleanup really easy. In the evening we watched the sunset from the balcony. Overall the place was really clean but very cozy with lots of amenities, and David answered all of our questions within minutes. The parents loved it so much they want to make it a tradition, so maybe we will be back someday!

Fantastic location with phenomenal views! The unit was clean and cozy and we had everything we needed for a great weekend away.

We had a great time at Seascape. The home was right by the beach and playground, also central location to lots of places by Santa Cruz and Monterey. The home was spacious for three adults, a toddler and baby. It was also very clean and comfortable. We will definitely be back!

Beautiful setting and very private. The ocean view from the house is truly breathtaking. We enjoyed watching surfers being towed in by jet skis to ride the waves. The beach was great and we enjoyed going for walks and collecting sea glass and sand dollars. We even got to see people on horseback on the beach. The layout of the house is wonderful and we had everything we needed. The beds are very comfortable and it was nice to be able to control the temperatures in individual rooms. This is a really special place and we are really happy we were able to stay for three nights. Our daughter is a student at CSUMB, and we hope to make this our spot when we come up from San Diego to visit. Thank you for being so responsive and helpful.

Staying at Seascape was the perfect kid-friendly vacation. The pool was easy to access from our condo and the views were beautiful. The condo's set-up with two bedrooms and bathrooms upstairs and a half bath downstairs was great for our family of 5. The private beach was beautiful - we saw otters, whales, and my son found two perfect sand dollars walking down the beach. It was a little bit of a trek to get down to the beach with three little kids and all the beach gear, but once we were there no one wanted to leave. Several near-by restaurants were delicious, especially the newly opened Dos Pescados. It was fairly easy to get into Santa Cruz too, but we did have to time traffic or it would double the drive time (to almost 45 minutes).

Everything was advertised. This unit had it all. Very comfortable for 2 or 3 couples. The location was spectacular.

The place is great! Beautiful location and great access to private beach. It’s one room as described, equipped kitchen and dining. Although it says for 4 people, 2 people have to use the sofas to sleep. Good for couple and 2 children. I would definitely recommend this place and location.