Great Location

john, Fort Myers, FL

The Country Club next door has Early Bird Specials.

Catalina Island and the quaint village of Avalon were a pleasant surprise. The Best Western was freshly painted and very comfortable. Located high up the hillside, its a long walk from the Ferry Dock. Suggest using the Hotel Shuttle or a Taxi.

My review of Catalina Canyon Resort & Spa

wayne, 2007-02-20

Needs maintenance but structure is attractive and in a nice location. Dining room closed and continental breakfast so,so, we went out to eat downtown. It appears that the owner doesn't have all the money necessary to make improvements. Room cleanliness was okay but just not top of the line. The price for off season was fair, so if people want a place to stay with a nice view, not far from downtown,at a fairly reasonable rate, this facility would fit the bill.

Not a personable staff

Anonymous, 2006-06-07

Go on the inland tour. It's informative and interesting. Next time I'll get a permit and hike down from the sky airport after taking the shuttle up.

The hotel sits on a hill away from the village of Avalon. Neither the room nor anywhere on the property has a view of the Ocean. It was too cool for the pool but it looked inviting. We never ate at the onsite restaurant because we could never find it. The front desk on our check-in was surly and acted as though we were interrupting their day by checking in. Our luggage was stored in an unlocked unsupervised room until we could checkin. There is a shuttle to go to and from town. It was convenient, but the driver told us to call if we needed a pick up in town. When we did the same hotel front desk person was surly and annoyed. She said that the shuttle ran all the time and we didn't need to call. In all I wouldn't visit Catalina again. My husband put it well when he called it "Gatinburg by the Sea" It's full of tourist junk shops and too many cruise ship passengers. We did enjoy the inland tour and dinner at the Italian restaurant on the main drag. Overall this was not my thing and the hotel did not improve my impression.

Remodel in Progress

Joe, 2006-05-26

The Best Western Catalina Canyon and Resort was an adequate experience. At one time it must have been one of the best on the island. They were in a total remodel mode which reflected greatly on our stay. First the carpet must have just been cleaned, but wasn't totally dry. Walking on the carpet with socks one ended up with you can imagine. Upon arrival in the room, there was a note on the patio door stating, Don't use the patio, it's under repair. Actually they were putting a slurry coat of cement on the old patio cement. This they were doing while we were trying to take an afternoon nap which was a noisy experience for a brief period of time. Within ten minutes of being in the room, my wife called the desk to ask for a room change. Approximately 30 to 45 minutes later they called back and said we could have the room next door. The problem was our total wing/floor was being refurbished. In fact, they had a note on the wall as you entered the wing, that this area is temporarily closed, yet they put us in one of the rooms in this closed area. The one strong positive feature was the shuttle service. staff was the van drivers picking you up in the village so one didn't have to walk up the steep hill to the facility. They were on a good schedule and you could depend on them being there. We reported all the negatives including the wet floor.

away from the caios

Teri, 2006-05-02

Hotel shuttle very quick to take you to restraunts and shopping areas. Good location for pick up when your ready to go back to hotel.

The staff was very friendly and we liked the shuttle service the hotel provied. The only thing we noticed is that the ground were not very well maintained. Not very pretty when you arrive at front entrance.

Very Friendly

Anonymous, Dallas, TX, 2005-10-12

All shopping and restaurants are within 10 minutes drive.

Very satisfied with all amenities. Rooms are spacious and views are excellent.

Quiet, secluded location

Sally, 2005-09-23

All shopping and dining is within a short distance from the hotel. The hotel itself has a nice restaurant with good food.

I like this hotel because of the location. It's far enough away from town that there's not alot of late night noise. It's also close enough to walk to town. They offer free shuttle service as well that runs every 15 minutes. The room was comfortable with a nice balcony. The view was calming. My husband and I did have a wonderful massage at the hotel's spa.

Review

Anonymous, 2005-08-22

A van was continually taking people into town which was less than five minutes away. There was shopping, entertainment, and recreation less than five minutes away.

Over priced - sub standard resort

Ann, 2005-08-07

Good shopping Enjoyed a tour of the Island with Catalina Adventure tours. Enjoyed the beach located a short walk past the Casino where we rented kayaks.

On August 5 to August 7, 2005, I visited Avalon with my sister and 2 daughters. I had never been to Catalina Island before and made my reservations on-line. Since I was unfamiliar with Avalon I made the reservation relying on information from the Catalina Island�s Official Website, the reputation of Best Western, and the 3 star AAA rating that the Best Western Catalina Canyon Resort advertises. I had talked to the Resort twice, when making the reservation and just before our arrival on the island. Both times I received their assurance that I would get a room with two queen size beds. When we arrived at the resort they said all that they had left was a room with one King bed. The desk clerk managed to find someone who had checked in a few minutes earlier and she agreed to change rooms with us. We waited almost an hour for them to get her belongings out of the room and prepare it for us. This never happened but they did find us a room with two queen beds and we checked in about an hour after our arrival. This did not leave us enough time to go down into the town because the shuttles stopped running. The Room: The carpet was so disgustingly filthy that we kept our shoes on in the room except when in the shower. The air conditioning was placed so that no matter what we did it blew on the head of the person sleeping in the bed next to it. We finally used the ironing bed to deflect the air flow. The telephone did not work. The lock on the room door required me to place my full body weight against the door in order to lock it. Unlocking it required even more effort and at one point I thought we were locked in the room. The only lock on the door leading to the small terrace was the security chain. There was a large crack in the ceiling of the bathroom. The bathtub had apparently also had a crack and been repaired by pouring a can of what looked like white glue on it. The sink drained so slowly that we had to wait between uses. The toilet seat was loose. The outside corridors were very shabby. The corridor ceiling had a large patch of mold, the stucco was peeling, and appeared to have been applied over mold and more peeling stucco. The floors, appearing to have been constructed in the same manner, were soft and gave the impression that one might indeed fall through. Because of the poor quality of the hotel, we stayed out of the resort as much as possible therefore we did not see the grounds, eat in the restaurant, or use any of the other facilities. We were told that the hotel had a new owner and we�re wondering if Best Western is aware of this hotel�s condition since the sale of the property. I talked to the desk clerk and tried to get the name of the owner of the resort. I was told that the General Manager, spoke for the owner but that she was unavailable. The staff would not provide me with the name of the owner. Since I had prepaid, I felt trapped in a very bad situation. On my trip home I stayed in a 2 � star Marriott Fairfield Inn. This 2 � star inn was so far superior to the 3 star Best Western that I could not even begin to make a comparison. We would like to have our money refunded or at least part of it. We would not be able to use coupons or the like because we split the cost of the room and because we live in four different time zones we are rarely able to spend time together. The poor quality of the Best Western Catalina Canyon Resort & Spa put quite a damper on our weekend together.

Review

Anonymous, Oxnard/Ventura, CA, 2005-08-03

Walking down the hill was the easy part however if the shuttle is not available bcz he has a full load and/or you have to wait on the 2nd or 3rd pick-up, the hill back up to the hotel in the heat can be quite a challenge for those of us that are not use to walking uphill. Like me.