Suite Spot: Hyatt Carmel Highlands

[...] another centennial is around the corner, in this case for the former Highlands Inn, which began as a collection of hillside artists’ cottages and, after Carmel founder J. Frank Devendorf purchased the site, opened as a hotel in 1917.

The terraced, weathered wooden buildings of today’s Hyatt Carmel Highlands include 48 hotel rooms, 94 residential-size timeshares and a newly remodeled restaurant that combined two previously popular dining rooms into one.

About a mile south of the entrance to the striking coves and promontories of Point Lobos Natural Reserve, the inn shares its steep, winding driveway on the east side of Highway 1 with the Tickle Pick Inn. .

Families will find the updated townhouse suites and vacation club lodgings with modern kitchens particularly attractive, but the hilly, tranquil setting tends to lure more couples and other adults.

While coastal nights can be foggy or cool, you can take the edge off with the wood-burning fireplaces found in most rooms, not to mention the roaring hearth in the clubby Fireside Lounge.

Order a S’mores kits to use at one of the two outdoor fire pits, which staff will light on request.