A Room
With a View
Carmel’s Tickle
Pink Inn
By Michael Cervin
was a nauseating saturation of pink
everywhere, from sheets to towels
to even the pens. “When in doubt,
pink,” says Gurries who assumed
control from his pink-loving uncle in
1989. “The name does conjure up
perhaps a risqué place, but it really
works and it’s a name you don’t
forget,” he says.
In the 1950s the senator’s home
was razed and commercial lodging
was built on the site. “My
grandfather owned paper on the
Highlands Inn next door (now a
Hyatt property) and originally built
the Tickle Pink Inn as an addition to
the neighboring Highlands Inn,” says
Tickle Pink Inn owner Al Gurries.
But that deal fell through and the
place was reinvented as the Tickle
Pink Inn, the only family-owned
lodging south of Carmel and north
of Big Sur. The Inn has always been a
source for rejuvenation and retreat
from a busy world, and after new
upgrades to this AAA Four Diamond
property, it’s better than ever.
The selling points of being here are
summed up in two words: view and
retreat. You can not talk about the
inn without mentioning what is
arguably its best feature; the views
are insane: uninterrupted ocean,
rugged cliffs with trees clinging
to the steep hillsides in defiance
of gravity and aggregate rocks
dotting the surf.
First off, let’s dispense with the
obvious pink and tickle references;
it’s all been done before. Wisely, the
Inn begged off its former kitschy
pink theme and, yes, at one point it
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Each of the 35 rooms has views,
some with balconies 25 feet long and
glass windows and slider doors to
match. Yet the inn, basically three
levels cut into the side of the hill,
still has a retro feel, what with the
painted cinder block walkways and
strategically placed ro [