The Pavilion Lodge was a very pleasant surprise. While on the outside it looks like a 50s motel, the rooms have been remodeled and have the feel of a contemporary boutique hotel, with the same attention to detail.
While the hotel offers a free baggage service to and from the Avalon Boat Landing, it is a VERY short walk. The hotel is located at the very beginning of the "strip." If you have a roller bag and haven’t over packed, I say just take the stroll. Check in was smooth and efficient.
As you walk to your room, you’ll notice that what was possibly at one time the hotel pool has been filled in and provides a nice grassy area to have the complimentary continental breakfast while reading a paper.
Our room was a very pretty and relaxing room. The rooms have obviously been recently remodeled. The room is decorated in cool blue green shades, with coordinating photographs in shades of green (as opposed to B&W). Very soothing. The room is on the smaller side, but not cramped. And it is about average compared to the rooms we saw at the Glenmore Hotel.
The vanity and sink are very spacious and the fixtures new. The bathroom is average sized, but immaculate and also newly redone. Nice touches include Crabtree & Evelyn toiletries and a shower curtain that bows out to give you extra room while you shower. My wife hates having strange shower curtains stick to her while showering.
The room has the standard amenities: coffeemaker, refrigerator (not a mini bar), TV and DVD player. You can check out movies at the front desk for free and you get free high-speed Internet. The bed and linens are very comfortable. We actually slept through an evening out with friends and woke up 12 hours after what was supposed to be a short nap.
Rates vary throughout the year, and sometimes a two-night minimum will be required. We booked through
www.visitcatalinaisland.com and got the Internet special. It included round trip passage on the Catalina Express ferry ($54/person) as well as our choice of two tours ($30 value per person). The hotel was extremely accommodating in scheduling the tours. In the end we wound up paying $149/ night including taxes during late April.
The only drawbacks are thin walls and the proximity to the main drag. But this is apparently a common complaint among many of the hotels from my research.
Overall I highly recommend the Pavilion Lodge as a reasonable, well appointed, clean, friendly, and centrally located stay.