Pavilion Hotel - Avalon, California

Erin F

Other than the beautiful location. Just about everything here has not gone well. There is luggage service to help get your bags from the ferry to the hotel, but we couldn’t find the guy at the dock and neither could another elderly couple that was looking for him. When we finally found him, he told us he couldn’t transport our small cooler because there was drinks in it. We took the easy stroll to the hotel but then our luggage didn’t show up for over an hour and a half and then we finally asked where it was and they brought it up to our room. During the complementary wine and cheese perception they quickly ran out of cheese. This morning they ran out of breakfast items and were not kind when people were inquiring for more food. My son wanted to get a cup of hot tea but they had run out of hot water. They told him that there would be no more hot water this morning. At this price point you’d think the service would be better. We’ve only been here for one night out of two so hopefully things improve quickly.

Alexander F

Yola was our desk agent and was so attentive and helpful. She was able to hold our bags for us on departure day so we were able to explore the island more. Housekeeping does a fantastic job of keeping the rooms clean. We stayed in the Moonstone Suite and it was nice, however, a little outdated. The balcony was fantastic but maybe not quite at the price point we paid. We were able to attend a free wine and cheese tasting where the wine was delicious and the cheese tasty. For dinner we went to their restaurant Pier 24 and charged dinner to the room for a $20 credit. ||TL:DR: Service great, Rooms clean, Would recommend

J Augle

The service here falls short, and the staff isn’t as welcoming as they should be. Our request for baggage assistance was completely mishandled, and we ended up carrying our own bags due to their lack of follow-through.

While the grounds are well-maintained, the rooms are quite outdated. Given the rates they charge, room updates are urgently needed.

There’s only one entrance and exit, so if you’re in a room near the noisy back street, you’ll have a longer walk each time.

No microwave in the rooms for traveling family that needs to warm up baby milk. When I ask the front desk if they had a microwave they could loan us they said no and they didn’t even point us in a direction to where we can find a microwave to warm up our babies milk.

They also have a text service you can text in if you need anything don’t bother because they never respond.

There are certainly better options on the island, and as regular visitors, we likely won’t return to Pavilion.

The breakfast is disappointing, with just frozen pastries and limited coffee options—only almond milk and creamer available.

Dirty rusted lamp base and rust in bathroom.

So much potential but sadly they are missing the mark’

Ivan A

The room was immaculate and amazing. Service was excellent. They went out of their way to make sure we were comfortable. They picked up our luggage on the boat and delivered to our rooms. They stored our luggage after we checked out so we could explore the island until our boat arrived. The stay is worth the price. Will come back again to this hotel.

Sue S

The location is perfect for getting around town. Just a 5-6 minute walk from the ferry, it's directly across from the beach with shops and restaurants just steps away. The rooms are very comfortable and roomy. We were on the second floor (there is no elevator) and the beams on the ceiling make the room seem even larger. The gardens are beautiful and well-maintained, with a nice firepit for the cool mornings and evenings. They serve a continental breakfast consisting of muffins, bagels, OJ, etc. and wine and cheese in the afternoon. The staff are very courteous and helpful and always have a smile for you. Our TV connection went out and Demi ensured that it was fixed quickly. We will stay here again!

Pete L

Nice hotel in a good location. Front desk service was below average.||We arrived on the afternoon ferry. No one from the hotel was there to meet us despite the hotel sending us a text instructing us to look for their representative. ||We wandered around the pier for fifteen minutes and called the hotel 3 times - all calls were unanswered. I sent a text - no answer. We found a representative from Avalon Blue Line Baggage who called someone and told us a representative from the hotel would be at the Ferry Terminal in 5 minutes. I am unsure why the hotel rep didn't tell the Avalon Blue LIne Baggage person to take our 4 bags since we were guests. ||We waited for 10 more minutes, called one more time - no answer - and finally gave up and walked to the hotel, rolling our four bags.||Once we arrived at the hotel, we asked the front desk representative about the person who was supposed to meet us, and we were told that the person was unavailable. If that was the case, why did we get sent the text telling us to look for their guy? And if the guy was sick or something, why not send us a text or call us telling us not to wait? The front desk person shrugged and said sorry. The luggage service was obviously part of the price of our room and we were offered nothing to make up for our time wasted or this service failure. By rolling our own bags we saved the hotel $40 ($10 a bag per the website) - but all we got was a shrug and sorry. ||Once in my room, I texted the concierge per the instructions on my check in form. | It says you can call the concierge, visit the front desk, or text them at the number provided. I texted asking them for a restaurant recommendation since all their partner restaurants were closed on Tuesday. ||No reply after 30 minutes. I went to the front desk and asked if they got my text - they looked it up and said yes - they saw it, but even then, they never answered. ||After these two concierge fails, I no longer contacted the front desk to avoid further disappointment. ||The wine and cheese was nice. The rooms were nice and clean. The location was great. The morning continental breakfast was good.|| I decided not to use the luggage service when I left as I had little confidence they would deliver the service offered and didn't want to worry about my luggage not getting delivered. ||So ......||I didn't get the luggage service on arrival, and the $20 food credit was unavailable since all their restaurants were closed on my first night. I hate paying a premium price for a hotel that doesn't deliver all the extras promised. ||I won't stay here again as there are plenty of other hotels on Avalon at this price point that will hopefully have better concierge service and deliver the service advertised.

Mike Wood

They charge a $40 destination fee per day. This used to include Catalina Island spa access and a full breakfast. But it doesn't anymore.
Good, friendly service. Clean, comfortable rooms. Great location. But they need to get rid of this fee.
Update: Their reply is basically a lip service reply. I asked to have the resort fee removed and they refused.

Richard Bowen

I want to start by saying this is a larger review of Catalina itself. You get the feeling that they really don't care, or don't want you there. Most of the island, stores, and hotels are owned by one major corp, so it seems like Disney land in all of the bad ways. They have you captive on the island, everything is very expensive, and there seems to be a shared kitchen for many of the restaurants.

The hotel itself was nice, and the staff seemed nice and helpful, but they just seemed to be trained in the ability to tell you to move along so they could get on with the next transactions. The whole strip by the shore is very transactional, and they want to move fast. They are turning people over, either every day or every couple of days. I might have had a different experience if we had stayed up higher on the hill.

Speaking of the 'shore', there is none. It is really a place where they park boats, and they threw some sand on a platform and put a ladder down so you can swim in some pretty murky water. I cannot imagine why people want to come lay on this tiny strip of sand, and swim in rocky water.

So the hotel is very pretty and well maintained. They have services for the beach (first come, first served, which is something they say about everything). They will give you towels and sometimes setup an umbrella for you. They have a free glass of wine and crummy snack plate each evening. The continental breakfast is just prefab pastries and some bagels. Coffee was fine.

The room is a standard hotel room, but the temp control randomly turns itself back to some default setting, so every night I would wake up sweating at 4am. I did not figure out what was happening till my last night. Awesome.

For more, see my reviews on the golf cart experience, and the 'Casino' / theatre (old timey spelling). The theme of all of these reviews is, "Catalina Island sucks! Don't waste your time or money."