By 5 p.m. on a Thursday, Bud’s Bar was clearly the place to end one’s day in Carmel-by-the-Sea, California.
The wood-paneled room sits tucked away from the rest of La Playa Hotel and opens onto a back terrace built for watching the sun drop into the Pacific, and the crowd on my visit skewed local, from book clubs to friend reunions to happy hour revelry. I ordered a Bud’s Martini — made with gin, vodka, and Lillet — along with some delicious fries with truffle shavings, and settled in to watch a place that had long been high on my to-visit list.
You may know Carmel-by-the-Sea as the town that elected Clint Eastwood mayor in the 1980s, which tells you plenty about how seriously people here take a second act. The village has long drawn those who spent years in demanding careers and came to the Monterey Peninsula for a change of pace. Jessica Beauchamp knows the pattern firsthand.
The founder of Lighthouse Wellness Studio told our group she moved to the area after a high-energy career in tech, and she now spends her days helping other people slow down. You almost certainly have clients still in the throes of corporate life, and a long weekend here lets them try the burnout-free lifestyle on for size.
The timing also works in your favor: Virtuoso’s 2026 Luxe Report, built on a survey of more than 2,400 advisors, named wellness-focused travel designed to restore balance among its five key trends for the year.
Where to Stay
I checked into Le Petit Pali at 8th Ave, a Palisociety property set just off the village’s main thoroughfares and within walking distance of the beach, restaurants, and shops. My room, The King, was cozy and well stocked, with Diptyque bath amenities, a minibar of local treats, and Marvis toothpaste, otherwise known as everyone’s go-to buy (or what should be a go-to buy) in a European pharmacy. The hotel runs on the little details: Mornings bring a scrumptious continental breakfast, evenings mean cocktails in the snug lobby or at the outdoor seating, and cookies arrive at your door before bed from a jovial member of Le Petit Pali's stellar team. It suits the client who values charm and location over a long list of facilities.
For those who expect more formal service, L’Auberge Carmel, a Relais & Châteaux member, is a contender for the top hotel in town. I only made it in for a cocktail in The Salon, which was enough to put it first on my list for a return trip.
Catching up on sleep was one way to unwind, but the most useful self-care hours of the long weekend were spent back with Beauchamp at Lighthouse Wellness Studio, which she launched after dealing with burnout herself. Sessions run from one to three hours and center on restoration and reflection, and ours focused on resetting the mind and body through meditation and rest.
Beauchamp’s résumé will sound familiar to a lot of your clients, and so will the stress she teaches people to address before it becomes a bigger problem. Be sure to book a session for those looking to use some of their getaway to re-center.
Where to Eat
During my visit, mornings started at Mad Dogs & Englishmen, my favorite coffee shop in town for both the delightful java and the canine-themed merchandise. (Yes, I walked out with a T-shirt of a poodle on a bicycle for my husband.)
Chez Noir, from Jonny and Monique Black, delivered the best meal of the trip, a verdict the locals I met were in agreement. The four-course prix fixe leans French by way of the California coast, and my friends and I ordered nearly all of it so we could try everything: the beef cheek tortelloni, the sea urchin tagliatelle, and the trout, to name a few. Don’t hold back, either: Start with the grilled oysters and the caviar funnel cake add-ons, because who knew carnival fare could be so refined?
For those looking to imbibe, the martini list is a showstopper before you even reach the first course. Our table tried the Pintxotini, a briny mix of gin, anchovy vermouth, and pickled pepper, and a blood orange vesper softened with olive oil and vanilla. This is the hottest table in town, so book well ahead.
Jeju Kitchen, closer to the center of town, is another local favorite. The space inside Carmel Plaza is boisterous and whimsical, and the menu is just as playful, with dishes like creamy miso cacio e pepe and kimchi mac and cheese.
La Bicyclette made for an easy final night, with bistro atmosphere, wood-fired dishes, good wine, and an appetizer of mushrooms done escargot-style I still find myself craving several months after my visit. I’ll also admit I went back to Bud’s the following day purely for the Bud’s Burger before my departure to Big Sur — a little guilty pleasure before a few more days of wellness-minded travel down the road.
Carmel-by-the-Sea offers a mix of splurge-worthy retail downtown and waterfront real estate worth drooling over, and both are best taken in on foot. Keep afternoons flexible to soak in the art galleries — the thread paintings, pet themes, and embroidered taxidermy found at Antieau Gallery will surely leave you pondering a purchase for weeks and months to come.
But also keep an eye out for the names residents have given their cottages. The town went more than a century without street addresses, and with numbers only just beginning to arrive on homes this month, the names remain the more charming way to find your way around.
I flew in for a long weekend before continuing to Big Sur, and I’d sell it to your clients the same way: two or three nights in Carmel paired with a stay down the coast for those looking to go a little more off grid.
Just hold one evening open for that burger at Bud’s.
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