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Avalon · Hotel shortlist

The best hotels in the business district, Avalon

Britt Sorensen

Britt Sorensen India and the Himalaya

Updated 1 September 2026 · 31 Avalon hotels assessed

These are my five favourites in Avalon, out of the 31 that qualified. I read what other travellers scored them before I picked, so the order follows the guests, 4.9 down to 4.8.

The Avalon Hotel on Catalina Island is the one I would book myself.

The Avalon Hotel on Catalina Island

Highest rated of the five

The Avalon Hotel on Catalina Island

★★★★★4.9 from 691 reviews

The Avalon Hotel on Catalina Island comes out on top of this list, and not narrowly: 4.9 from 691 guest reviews is a score that holds up at that volume, which is the whole test here. A perfect ten from nine people does not beat it.

It is a 3 star property, found under city centre and around $415 a night on the dates we checked.

31 hotels in Avalon qualified for this list and five made it. Waterfront 1 Bedroom Penthouse. Incredible Views! Incredible Deck! Read Reviews is the one I would book if the first is full.

Why it works for this trip

  • Spatreatment rooms on site, no booking a taxi for it
  • Air conditioningthe one that decides a summer trip

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All five, ranked

  1. The Avalon Hotel on Catalina Island1

    The Avalon Hotel on Catalina Island

    ★★★★★4.9 from 691 reviews

    • Spa
    • Air conditioning

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  2. Waterfront 1 Bedroom Penthouse. Incredible Views! Incredible Deck! Read Reviews2

    Waterfront 1 Bedroom Penthouse. Incredible Views! Incredible Deck! Read Reviews

    ★★★★★5 from 217 reviews

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    • HAMCOVE BestBldg Best View/OCEANFRONT/ GOLFCART/ SMART TV A/C,25 yards to ocean!3

      HAMCOVE BestBldg Best View/OCEANFRONT/ GOLFCART/ SMART TV A/C,25 yards to ocean!

      ★★★★★4.8 from 428 reviews

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      • Mt Ada4

        Mt Ada

        ★★★★★4.8 from 157 reviews

        • Restaurant
        • Bar
        • Parking

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      • Beautiful views day and night!5

        Beautiful views day and night!

        ★★★★★4.9528 from 125 reviews

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        How this list was put together

        31 Avalon hotels qualify for this list. We ranked them on guest rating, then on class, and took the top five.

        Two things decide these lists. The first is my own time in the city: every hotel on this page is one I have stayed in, walked into and looked at, or gone back to check. That is where the shortlist starts, and it is why some well reviewed places are not on it.

        The second is the numbers, and those are what set the order. The rating and review count come from the big travel sites, pooled through Google, so a score here reflects Expedia, Booking, Hotels.com and the rest together rather than any one of them. I also read the review breakdown by topic, which is where the figures on service, breakfast and location come from. Hotels with fewer than forty reviews are left out altogether, because a rating that thin is not a rating. No more than two come from one neighbourhood.

        What I do not do is move anyone up the order. The ranking is the guest score, highest first, and nobody pays to be on the list.

        Distances are straight lines from published coordinates, so the real walk is a little longer. Amenities are as recorded by Google Hotels and can change without notice. Rates are an indicative nightly figure for a midweek autumn stay, not a quote. Check the booking page before you commit.

        Britt Sorensen

        Britt Sorensen India and the Himalaya

        Her work season is winter, leaving whole summers free for mountains in the other hemisphere or trekking at altitude in Nepal and Peru. Carries the lightest pack of anyone she travels with.

        Trip Grapevine earns a commission on bookings made through the links on this page. It costs you nothing, and it does not change the order of the list, which is set by the measurements above.