Monterey Plaza Hotel & Spa

You don’t get to be the grand dame of Monterey Bay by accident, and there are a lot of reasons we keep coming back to the Monterey Plaza Hotel & Spa. For starters, there are more than a hundred years of hospitality on the books here: they’ve had time to perfect their unique brand of personalized service. Then there’s the location. This isn’t just coastal property — the hotel was literally built over the bay’s crashing surf, a glittering centerpiece of the historic downtown Cannery Row. But above all, it’s the unrelenting California-ness of the place that gets you.

This is one of those hotels where you should probably go ahead and upgrade to an ocean view — you won’t have a balcony experience quite like it anytime soon unless you’re on a cruise ship. If you’re feeling ambitious, the presidential suite comes with a 500 square-foot sun deck with a whirlpool and 180-degree views of the bay. But even the entry-level rooms have a presidential feel to them: The design looks not unlike that of the Oval Office, with gold-striped wallpaper and red curtains. Of course, that could be entirely a coincidence — but as with more than a century of visitors, if President Obama’s design team ever visited Monterey Plaza Hotel & Spa, it certainly made an impression.

The Cannery Row location is unparalleled, and you’ll find yourself just steps from some of the finest shopping and dining in town. But you also don’t have to leave the hotel to experience Monterey at its best: This hotel is also home to one of the top spas in North America, and it’s a favorite of travelers and locals alike. It’s on the top floor of the hotel, and half of the draw is the panoramic view of the bay. Trust us, you won’t get tired of this view.