Carmel, Monterey Are Hoteliers’ Top Picks

So where do California hoteliers go when they want to act like tourists instead of wait on them? To Carmel and Monterey, according to a recent survey by the California Lodging Industry Assn.

More than 14% of the hoteliers who were surveyed picked those scenic hamlets as their favorite getaways. San Diego and San Francisco were next, followed by Lake Tahoe and Palm Springs.

As far as regions go, hoteliers prefer the beach, then the mountains, but the desert didn’t make the list. Nor did any cities in Orange County.

Hoteliers said cleanliness and courtesy were the most important factors in choosing accommodations. Price was one of their least important criteria, which means that getting away from it all means losing touch with reality for many of the state’s innkeepers.

Marla Dickerson covers tourism for The Times. She can be reached at (714) 966-5670 and at