We like to think we get more than our fair share of accollades at the Tradewinds, and often from some pretty exhalted publications. Few of them, however, are pieces of literary art. Below is an excerpt from a recent article by Charles Marowitz, called “Becalmed in Carmel”, in which the Tradewinds features almost as a literary character. The full article can be found here:

“One’s sense of being immersed in a kind of esthetic wonderland extends even to the town’s transient accommodations. I was steered to the Tradewinds hotel by a deeply entrenched native who swore an elongated stay there had cleared up his diabetes. The atmosphere is heavily scented with Japanese touches. The courtyard contains delicate bamboo structures amidst leafy fronds. In the rooms one finds magical fireplaces that suddenly flare up and, when a certain temperature is reached, just as suddenly extinguish themselves. In the interior one finds antique furniture from China and Bali. The hotel projects an atmosphere that induces satori and a sudden opening of the Third Eye.

There is a calm about the place that makes it feel like a refuge from the hurly-burly of metropolitan life; the kind of bustling buzz you usually cannot escape in Holiday Inns, Hyatts, or Marriotts where busyness is the order of every day and cleaning ladies are continually coaxing you out of your room so sheets can be replaced. The Oriental flavor of the place was established in l959 by the parents of its current director, Susan Stilwell, inspired by the many years they spent in the Orient. A recent four million dollar renovation has reincarnated the Eastern spirit of the place and somehow it harmonizes with the calm that pervades the city of Carmel itself. “