Buena Vista Hotel

This old style hotel is the cheapest you can find in this island with the great ocean view. The interior of this hotel is does not feel or look luxurious but for the price compare with other hotels around is definitely a slickdeal plus the is more then 500 square feet. In the room everything looks really clean. What else you can ask for.
Overall the price is good plus all if you bring your own towel it can save $ 10 per night. And the 360 ocean view. I would highly recommend it with you not picky.

Perfect if you’re looking for a place to sleep. Booked for my boyfriends birthday weekend. it’s not the fanciest hotel but the service is so friendly and if you’re visiting the island there shouldn’t be to much time spent in the hotel especially with all the fun activities around the island. Very affordable! and you also get $ 10 off if you bring your own towels.

If you take a look at the prices of all other hotels on Avalon, you will notice that they are all above $ 200/​night, unless maybe your vacation is in the middle of the week. Buena Vista Hotel on the other hand is the perfect deal for people who enjoy taking nice trips without spending their entire life savings.
Yes, maybe the furniture wasn’t purchased from Ikea last night and freshly assembled in the morning, but it gets the job done.
My girlfriend and I stayed in the Henry room in September 2015. The amenities were sufficient and there was a great view! We also got $ 10 off for bringing our own towels.
Look no further. We will be returning in the next couple of months.

You know what? People who come here should not complain. You know what you are getting yourself into! Even the owner tells you on the phone when you book that this place is super basic and not to expect any extra amenities and luxury.
Let me preface this post by saying that I just paid $ 190 (total) for 2 nights where as the hotel next door is charging $ 395 plus tax a night (I asked the lady at the front desk).
Catalina is expensive. Catalina is very, very expensive– especially in the summer. This hotel is the best deal in town if you can snag a room!
Now, down to the details! You wonder why is it super cheap? Well let me tell you!
The rooms aren’t big and are really old. They smell like old wood because the rooms haven’t really been updated in a few decades. The walls are cracked, the bathrooms are small and the shower barely fits one person. I’d figure that if you’re extremely overweight, you would not fit so you would probably need to rent a room elsewhere. The carpets are old and feel damp and dirty because of the usage and many visitors coming in and out of these rooms. The bed is kind of lumpy. The door to the room is a sliding glass door that locks from the inside but requires a padlock from the outside. There are no amenities (however they did give us some plastic cups and 2 small bar soaps). Toilet paper is literally half-​ply so bring your own if you require better toilet paper (I used my baby wipes I brought for my number 2).
There is a TV!
The public beach is right down the street and since this is a little farther than the main strip, the public beach closest to this hotel is less busy!
Somehow, with all of the aforementioned horrible things, I slept like a rock and woke up really refreshed!
The people here are very nice and if you’re out all day (which you should be anyway because it’s Catalina), then the room shouldn’t matter!
I would definitely come back because of the price! I would advise you to think about your priorities before you book your room here and judge for yourself! The money I am saving renting this room is going to other activities on the Island because things aren’t cheap here!

This is a great hotel for a reasonable price. It is not a luxury hotel, but i personally get tired of over priced rooms with a million tv channels and ridiculous mini bars. The BV will make you feel like a local, if only for a short time. The manager knows everything about the island, and of course there are tons of places to go, all within walking distance.

We will definitely be back here! This is a value motel and works well if you are on a budget and prefer to spend more of your hard earned money on food and wine outside! The accommodations are clean which is important. And the friendly family run service makes up for any shortfalls in shiny mirrors and absentee marble floors. Jim is super accommodating and we will definitely return on the account of him. Thanks Jim!

For $ 67.00 a night it was great. It is an old mom and pop establishment that when we walked up to check in smelled like cat urine but we found out that smell was only outside. The room seemed clean but it was fairly run down which was what I expected when I booked so it was fine! We had the room with the twin beds and it had a great view! I would recommend this place if you are looking to save a lot money and are just looking for a place to sleep.

My husband and I really enjoyed this hotel. Great location and not far up the hill at all! If you’re like us where you’re seeking just a simple, inexpensive room then this is it. It’s not a high end place. Yes, some of their furniture is chipped and old, but when you’re on this beautiful island, who needs to stay in their room?! Bathroom and bed with great customer service is all we need. Jim and Christy are awesome! Friendly, fun and always smiling. What you hear is what you get. The site and their voicemail clearly states it’s not a luxury hotel. We stayed in the Henry room with a phenomenal view! So many hotels on this island require a two night minimum. Or if they do allow a one night stay they average about $ 160 a night. For $ 67, you can’t go wrong. The room came with a mini fridge. BYOT. Bring your own towel to get an extra $ 10 off your room. Also bring your own shampoo and conditioner. They will, however, provide you with two bars of organic soap. They’ll store your bags before and after check out. They let us check at 10:45a, just be sure to call a couple hours before to ask for an early check in or ETA. We’ll definitely be back!

We stayed at Buena Vista Hotel on a recent one night trip to Catalina. We had stayed at Hotel St. Lauren last time, but found Buena Vista on Unilocal.It was much cheaper at $ 67 versus $ 110 at St. Lauren, with both trips during the off peak season. The $ 67 at Buena Vista is with the $ 10 off for bringing your own towels. I had never heard of that but sounds good to me! We had a good experience as we knew what to expect. A super simple hotel that is a great budget option instead of spending $ 200 more. The location is very good as its a short walk up the hill. The rooms themselves are very old including the smell. I recommend you check out the website and read the Unilocal reviews and determine if Buena Vista is for you. They don’t try to fool anyone. What more can you ask for this price, which is the lowest I have seen on the island. Give Buena Vista Hotel a shot as long you are prepared!

This place is our little secret so shhh! If you’ve done your research, you’ll notice that rooms in Catalina are beyond expensive and most people aren’t happy with what they get for the price they pay. I was so lucky to stumble upon this little hotel! Not only was it inexpensive, Jim is always super helpful, friendly, and accommodating. Don’t extra much here… Bring your own shampoo/​lotion, leave your cell phones off, don’t rely on TV to keep you company, be prepared to walk, and just enjoy the peace. I feel like this is one giant beach house so come with you towels, snacks, water, personal items… You are here to relax and enjoy the view, the island life. Time seems to move slower and the view you get from this quaint older hotel is beautiful. It’s close to the main drag and right across from a patch of «beach» and Big Olaf’s ice cream.
We’ve stayed in Lyle, but after Jim showed us Mayra, we have to stay in that room each time we come back. The view and size of Mayra is amazing.
Again, don’t expect cookie-​cutter suite style rooms.

If you are looking for a cheap stay for a night but don’t want to pay $ 250-​$ 300 on peak season and don’t care where you stay, this is the place for you!
This place is family owned so they can charge lower. They have no toiletries and you can save $ 10 if you bring your own towel. Very basic and that’s all you need if you are staying one night. They don’t have a 2 night minimum stay like the other hotels. Great for a minication if you live in SoCal.
We booked a month in a advance and the weekends get packed! They only had 2 twins available and we just took it and let him know if there’s a queen that opens up let us know. We arrived and the room wasn’t yet ready but he had a family room available and it had 2 queens, a twin, and a rollaway bed. It was a big family room! He basically upgraded us to a little apartment with no extra charge. Usually runs for $ 165! As oppose to the normal $ 95. Nice. We enjoyed our stay. Water ran hot when it was suppose to, beds were very uncomfortable though, my back hurt when I woke up! Place smells old too. But if you don’t expect anything to be good, you’ll have a good time! But seriously a hotel that allows one night stay and pretty decent! I’ll take it.

Pros:
I very much enjoyed my stay at the Buena Vista Hotel. As I knew before booking it, the hotel is a mom-​and-​pop kind of place. The proprietor is a kind man who is more than willing to help you find a nice place to eat. We arrived way before our check-​in time, but the room was ready for us. Awesome! We stayed in the Marya Room, a single queen ocean view room. Definitely worth the couple extra bucks… although the price was still way, way cheaper than neighboring hotels. Our view was panoramic of the entire harbor, most of Avalon, the old casino, the hills as well as other hotels, which allowed us to conclude that our significantly cheaper stay on the island provided us with a much better view than most of the high-​end hotels in town. Clean bathroom, nice shower. Also, bring your own towels and you save $ 11 off your stay!
Cons: If you plan to watch TV, the set is old school with rabbit ears and tends to fade in and out. Also, the bed was quite uncomfortable.
Overall, a great hotel and a cheaper way to enjoy Avalon, CA.

Paid $ 100 a night to stay in the Henry room.
I’m sad that I have to leave this review. I don’t think a place like Buena Vista could stay in business if this wasn’t a very small island with such limited «independent» competition. You won’t find a chain here. And normal hotel standards are swept out to sea *pun*. The people offering these hard-​to-​come-​by rooms have designated the standard, and it’s a very poor one.
If this is a 5-​star establishment in Avalon, I advise you to make Avalon a day trip only.
You won’t find Buena Vista hotel rated on AAA or even on the Catalina Island website. That’s because it doesn’t meet the typical requirements of a hotel. A 1-​star hotel on AAA literally has more to offer than Buena Vista, which is more akin to a dilapidated hostel than a hotel (except you get meals at hostels?).
I considered leaving 2 stars for the following:
– Quiet.
– Takes $ 10 off if you bring your own towels. Though you definitely should since the cleanliness of this place is suspect.
– Lets you stay for one night during peak season. Though I stayed for two, so this didn’t effect me.
Unfortunately, that’s all I can think of to consider this very dirty and rundown establishment.
It definitely is NOT romantic. Let’s be frank, romance starts with the bed. You do not want to get in the sheets and cuddle up when you’re staying in this room. The mattress is very old, heavy, and soggy. It felt almost damp. This is not the kind of bed that puts you to sleep. I later pulled up the fitted sheet to find a very stained mattress… I’ve seen cleaner beds on the side of the road.
The Buena Vista does NOT have: a phone, air conditioner, internet, shampoo /​conditioner /​lotion, etc.
They also do NOT have window screens. So you can’t even keep your windows open during the night (or when you’re out). Since they don’t have AC, this is a BIG problem. If you’re going to go the «open air» route, at least offer a mosquito net to keep the bugs off at night.
The «digital cable» on the dime-​store TV was broken. It’s actually an antenna that picks up a few random stations that happen to make it across the water.
I really didn’t appreciate the junk furniture thrown about the room. The pieces were all obviously picked up from the side of the road. The desk had signs of severe water damage from rain. The chair looked like it had been eaten in places by rats. The chest of drawers was chipped and useless, with chewed gum on it. Pieces that are broken and dilapidated definitely make one skeptical on overall cleanliness. I understand that it’s expensive to bring pieces over from the mainland, but this is just too much.
Even without the side-​of-​the-​road furniture, the cleanliness was still an issue. I pulled the bed away from the edge of the wall and discovered a spider’s nest. There’s lots of wood rot, etc. I wore shoes in the bathroom and on the carpet. A place cannot be clean if it has no attention to detail. Peeling paint and rust aren’t necessarily germy, but they’re not clean either.
If the owners took the time to add «finishes» to the trim and floorboards, perhaps this place would feel less like an abandoned hostel. My suggestions include:
1) Put a fitted sheet over your boxspring to hide the stains.
2) Replace the 20 year old unsanitary mattresses.
3) Get screens for the windows and maybe the sliding glass door, so there can be circulation in the room. OR get a mosquito net (though your maids will end up cleaning up bugs around the room for sure).
3) Remove the trash furniture. No one is going to use the rotted chest of drawers to store anything. It’s simply an eyesore.
4) Get new décor. You can buy 12×18 picture frames from Michaels for $ 5 and put calendar art in them. That’s almost as cheap as rifling through the garbage.
5) Put a headboard on the bed. This will block that weird pipe you have sticking out of the wall (where I found the spider’s nest) and actually spruce up the look of the whole room in general. You can even build a headboard with plywood, foam, fabric, and a staple gun. Then just screw it to the wall.
6) Put the toilet plunger and toilet brush UNDER the sink. Yes, they actually fit there. It’s pretty gross for a guest to walk into the bathroom and see them on the floor next to the toilet.
7) Repaint. There are several questionable areas that need to be repainted. Some nooks and corners (especially by the ceiling) should be «sealed» with caulking before being painted (because the gaps and cracks are noticeable). These are both very simple things to do and will take less than a few hours in the Henry room.
Anyway, I do hope the owners will read this review and consider making changes. I realize that it’s easy to fill your rooms because there’s not much competition and a lot of demand. But doing just a few of these things would help people really feel like they’re getting a deal, instead of looking at this disaster and wondering why they paid $ 100 a night.

I like to play all day…
and if you are like me, booking this hotel is no biggie. It’s no penthouse suite, but I like it. It’s simple and very very affordable. I booked two nights here in the «Henry», a room that has an awesome beautiful view. Here are the pros and cons to staying here:
Pros:
— The people who overlook this place is awesome. Very friendly, helpful and accommodating.
— The location is perfect! It’s in the middle and everything is within walking distance
— Beautiful view since it is up a hill
— Quiet and peaceful. Serenity at last =) .
— Fridge to stash your water (just buy a case of bottled water from Von’s nearby and you are set for your trip!)
Cons:
— No elevators
— No A/​C (but I’m loving this beach breeze)
— Old vibe (but has a beachy feel)
— Gotta walk up a hill and some flights of stairs (gets tiring if you do it 5 times a day like I did)
— There’s curfew. No loud talking past 10pm and before 9am.
The guy that owns this place is name Jim and we bought his book. He wrote some spooky ghost stories on things that have happened on the island. It’s an awesome book and a perfect read if your gonna relax at the beach or on the boat. Both owners are really cool. I couldn’t be happier staying here. The hotel is kinda hidden behind the Avalon hotel. You’ll be happy finding it though =)

Great hotel! Great Room! super clean! and I loveeeee the view! I hardly recommend this place, the housekeeper its super clean and the owner is really friendly and helpful!

What a great find; I’m so glad I found this place! I was on a hunt to find a hotel that would let us stay for just one night on the island. After many failed attempts to book a room at other hotels — most which make you book a two night minimum — I was about ready to give up. Than I stumbled across Buena Vista Hotel. They’ll let you book for just one night on non-​holiday weekends. Score! When I called, there was only one room left in the whole hotel the weekend I wanted and it happened to be the most expensive room at $ 173. I didn’t care at that point and booked the room. Our room was by far the best in the hotel, we had superb views of the ocean and harbor — I’d love to wake up to that every morning! Stunning. The view made up for what the room lacked.
As for the room, it is a flashback to the 1980’s. Floral bed seats. Floral couch. Floral window coverings. A bunny ear antenna TV that barely worked (but, who cares!). Very 80’s, which I actually kind of liked. All the employees are friendly and remember you (which is rare these days!). They even have «House rules» that ask you to be quiet from 10pm to 9am. Love this since we avoided the loud and drunk people. For what we got, I really enjoyed it. We did get a clean bed and a clean shower, and that’s all we really wanted. The view was an added bonus.
All in all, this hotel is great. They’re cheap and the employees are friendly. Plus, if you bring your own towels, they’ll give you $ 10 off the total of the room! Sweet! I’d highly recommend this hotel to anyone that wants to stay at Avalon for just one night. They won’t disappoint.

This place is super cute for the price.
It’s CHEAP… off-​season, brought our own towels… room with a view, 60 bucks! I’m used to paying 100+ on the island. It’s in a great location — less than a block into the main part of Avalon.
++
It’s cheap!
there’s a mini fridge for your booze!
cute little patio
friendly owners who will go out of there way to hook you up.
–
we didn’t have a door! we had a sliding glass door with a master lock! lol. NBD though.
The bathroom wasn’t closed. Also NBD cause me and the hubby see each other naked daily. and it was a single bed so I guess they assume couples don’t care if you can watch the other pee.
No breakfast and you have to walk by the hotel Avalon’s huge spread when you sulk into town to buy a croissant in the morning.
You can’t get more bang for your buck! Avalon is expensive, so save your money on the place you sleep and spend it on the expensive drinks and food and stupid sweatshirts and chatchis instead!
I love this place. It was my first time (but not first time to the island) but it will definitely be where I stay from now on!
And yes, free wi-​fi… on the whole island!

What a great find! It’s definitely a no-​frills joint (don’t mistake the 5 stars for a «ritz carlton 5 stars») but covers all the necessities. The girl I made my reservation with warned me about how basic it was and I was pleasantly surprised with the size of our room (Lyle), and how comfy the bed was! It was a great place to stay, great location and the patio was perfect for relaxing in between adventures. It’s a great deal too — $ 55 for a Saturday night since we brought our own towels.
Word to the wise: Check their FAQ section about what is provided. I figured they’d have shampoo/​conditioner/​lotion, but alas, they did not. Luckily I was able to score some at the swanky hotel down the street.
I’ll definitely stay here again next time I’m on Catalina.
keywords (this was kinda hard to find on google so lets get a little SEO going here…): catalina island hotel, cheap hotel on catalina, avalon cheap hotel, affordable hotel avalon, avalon motel

Ok, most of the time I am a 5-​star traveler and I was a bit worried when I was booked here on a Scuba Dive trip, BUT honestly it was great. It is a «vintage» hotel with many «vintage» furnishings, but it the views are amazing, my room was cute (see pics of both) and it had what I needed. I was on the top floor (lots of stairs), but it was big. It is a basic place to stay. You can’t beat it for the money — I think my room was around $ 160 (summer rates). I would definitely stay again.

I’ve been to Catalina MANY times (love it), and August 2009 was my first stay at the Buena Vista… Where HAS it been hiding?!? I stayed here for $ 75 (price was $ 85, but I brought my own towels ;-). I asked them why they do that (just SO weird, yes?), and the manager said that they save on water on the island, which is fine with me!
The place is old — classic old, cool old. It was built in the 1920’s and looks it, but it is CUTE. I learned it’s likely one of the 2 oldest hotels on the island. The then-​teensy rooms have been combined to make small efficiency-​type rooms. Many have great views (mine did), and I’ve included a photo to prove it! (I hope I can upload it; I’m new at this… This pic was taken at sunrise, before I went kayaking. Oh wait, I went back to bed for a bit, THEN went kayaking.)
My room had a mini-​fridge, fan, ironing board (?), small but perfectly fine bathroom (shower only — soap included), and a porch! I think that all the rooms have porches. This was a very helpful way to dry my bathing suit.
There is a small, sweet courtyard, with seating. VERY QUIET. Close enough to be near all the bustle (?) of Avalon, w/​o all the noise of the summer evenings. I would have loved to be there with a sweetheart, but it was a solo visit this time.
I had originally planned to stay only 2 nights, but was so relaxed I added a 3^rd night at the Buena Vista. They even let me store my stuff there on my last day. Nice.
No food service, no elevator, and you have to go up a staircase to get to the Buena Vista, but this no-​frills place is worth it, imho (and I’ve stayed in some great and pricey places –and some not-​so-​great pricey places — so I can judge ;-)
You may catch sight of some of the feral and owned cats that reside in the area.
It’s crazy — the hotel next door is $ 400+ a night! I figure I’m only sleeping, not living here, and for me, the historic funky coolness overrules the historic ‘age’ of the place. I really liked it and WILL return. I don’t know if it would be a great spot for everyone’s honeymoon, since they don’t serve food and they’re not ‘beautiful’, but it would be perfect for me and my guy, ’cause we’re groovy like that.
Comfy bed (not Hilton-​comfy, but comfy), and they were able to give me non-​feather pillows. The manager was very nice and helpful, and able to give me some good ideas for visiting the island. (Which was surprising, since I go there a lot.)
I’m going to try to upload a picture here… I hope it works! (Okay, not working yet, but I’ll try again.)