Carmel Valley Ranch is located in the Santa Lucia Mountains six miles from the seaside town of Carmel, California. It is only 13 miles from the Monterey Peninsula Airport. It sits on land that was once the Snively-Ollason Ranch.
Carmel Valley Ranch Resort has incorporated the charm of an adobe farmhouse dating from the 1890s into its design. The historic building serves as a courtside café that is part of the fitness center.
The hotel lodge sits in a refurbished ranch house, also from the 1890s.
The resort offers 144 suites. The older but larger ones were built in the late 1970s and can be found by following pathways through mature oak trees. The new units, built in 1998, are smaller but are built on an open hillside providing more panoramic views.
The 18-hole golf course was designed by Pete Dye and opened in 1981. It runs along the eastern boundary of Snively's Ridge. In 2007, the course and club house were completely renovated.
Only July 4, 2009, Carmel Valley Ranch was sold to the Geolo Capital Corporation based in San Francisco. Geolo spent $20 million to buy the property and plans on spending another $25 million on resort upgrades.
When the Carmel Valley Ranch opened in the 1970s not everyone in the area was pleased. The fight to keep the area rural continued into the 1980s when residents prevented a stoplight from being put in at Robinson Canyon and Carmel Valley Roads. Instead, Carmel Valley Ranch was forced to provide financing for the alternative, an underpass.
