Hotel St Lauren

Had such a great time! bedrooms were clean and cozy. Very nice décor. Working heater working air conditioning plus a ceiling fan. Working wifi and cable! 100 + channels! Hot water. Complimentary soap Shampoo Conditioner Lotion. Complimentary coffee in the morning. Staff is really nice. Short walk to the beach!

I’m giving a 5 star to this hotel mainly because it saved our vacation to Catalina Island. We stayed on the island 3 days 2 nights. Originally booked at Catalina Canyon Resort for the 2 nights but decided to move after the 1^st night (this will be another Unilocal review for that hotel). After having a horrible first night, we were welcomed with open arms by the St. Lauren. It may be frightening when you first walk up because they are going through a renovation but so far what we saw looks great! It’s about 3 blocks from the main «boardwalk» on the water where all the shops, restaurants and bars are. We got to stay in a great room with an awesome view, for one of the best prices I could find in the short time I had to find a hotel because we wanted to get out of the other one asap. There’s definitely a couple things I could point out like the baggage storage like someone else mentioned, but this place is clean, great value, close to where you will want to go on the island and have hospitable people working here (thanks Mark!, GM)

It has a very good location within a short walk from bars, restaurant, the ocean front, etc. Also easy, quick check-​in and affordable rates. Flat screen TV and high-​speed Internet. Absolutely stunning view from the 6^th floor community patio, gorgeous. Cons are the lack of a fridge, it’s a tiny room and the hotel and rooms are outdated in general.

Three stars for the location to the bars and restaurants on the island and customer service at the front desk.
I would have given one star for the actual room itself! It was super tiny and absolutely no view outside the window. When we peaked out the window we saw a brick wall. The room pretty much only fit the bed and tv. I wasn’t too impressed but then again I was just happy to be in Avalon!

Great view and great service! You can see the whole harbor and some mountains to the side from the shared 5^th floor balcony. My girlfriend and I went for our anniversary and were offered complementary champagne with classes. When we actually got there from the port around 10am we were informed that check-​in wasn’t until 3pm. This would have been a problem being that we had a lot of luggage, but they let us use the storage closet until then. This place is older and could use a little revamping to make the $ 375/​night seem a little more worth it, but other than that we had no complaints. Thanks Vickie for awesome customer service!

I’ll give this three stars for a certain amount of charm, a pretty friendly is not visible staff and the view if the harbor from the 6 th floor patio. It is not the nicest hotel on the island, but it’s far from the worse either.
The place is an old Victorian place, pink at the top of the hill. The hill you have to haul your luggage up. The hill you have to make your way up after every trip to the restaurant and shopping area. Not a deal killer. Would be nice if they had way to take you down or pick you up. But this in Catalina and inconvenience is the rule of the day.
The rooms go from small to very large, but you pay for very large. New flatscreen tvs. Reasonably clean by private hotel standards, but far from spotless. Dust and cobwebs in all the high places and the bathroom fan was never cleaned. Ever. A large iron burn in the carpet.
Bed was reasonably comfortable nut the sheets and pillows left much to be desired. Scuffed up furniture was everywhere. Just generally a low bar kind of place. The coffee service was a pot of coffee in the lobby with sugar and pink stuff and dairy dust. Styrofoam cups but no tops.
Just generally nothing outstanding at all. One elevator but it was in good shape.
I can really say it was bad. It just wasn’t good.
But the view from the sixth floor patio made up for a lot of it.

Great getaway! ! Hotel is historical, rooms are clean with vintage flair! The staff is fantastic, they were very helpful making things special to help celebrate our anniversary! From Mark the GM, all the front desk staff especially Vicki, Miguel in security and the housekeeping staff.

We got a great deal through 3^rd party! Scenic room and 6^th floor balcony worth it for sure! Rooms are clean but just need updates. I would still stay again for the same price! VIEW!!!

Excellent Value and Great Stay!
The room & bathroom were spacious, clean, quiet and bright. We reserved a King with no view and still got a really great view of the Avalon Harbor.
Many of the reviews said that the shower & water pressure was horrible — it is Catalina during a terrible water crises after all — but the shower was just fine!
The view from the top deck is awesome. The hotel is a very short walk to & from downtown Avalon and the Catalina Express.
It was the best price and very nice room. I would definitely stay here again!
Only down side is that while they will store your luggage pre or post your stay, it’s in a hall closet that’s accessible to all guests– so not very safe.

«High hopes Crushed on my Birthday. Not worth the $»
I was locked out of my room 3 – 4 times a day for my entire stay at the hotel spoke to every single person who was running the front desk and the issue was never resolved. On one night I returned to my hotel with my dinner in hand ready to enter my room and relax, It took over an hour to get into my room cause who ever was in charge finally admitted there was a problem with the lock and they themselves couldn’t even open the door. By the time they finally opened the door I was so frustrated and upset that all I wanted to do was sleep and could not even eat my dinner as it was now stone cold. I will never return to this hotel and share my experience with anyone one who ever plans to visit Catalina. I spoke to the Manager 2 days later as no one would return my calls he mentioned that the owners of the hotel did not want to offer any sort of compensation or apology but that he would take it upon himself to issue a partial refund which I have yet to recieve P. S. it was my birthday. very disapointed that the owners of the hotel do not care about their guests comfort or wellbeing… GREED

Hotel Manager was accommodating to a much needed change in my itinerary where the travel agency I booked through was not. Have not even reached the date of my reservation but am excited to stay with the Hotel St. Lauren and feel they set a strong standard in hospitality.

Great to place to stay for a weekend get away at Catalina! People are nice and great view from 6^th floor partio!

Only giving it 2 stars because it was clean and I was able to sleep peacefully.
My boyfriend booked a room here for my birthday weekend. Every other hotel was at full capacity, so being this was the only one left, my bf assumed it was because of it’s high price. That being said, he paid the high price with expectation of a luxurious hotel. Quite the opposite. The building is an old, pink Victorian home that had not been updated since what seems to be the 1900’s.
It didn’t bother me too much because we weren’t going to spend much time in the room.
Late check in policy (3pm) was awful– my by and I hauled our luggage around since arrival at 7 am (we didn’t know lockers were available by the Catalina cruise ship). Upon arrival, the hotel concierge was not very personable. I asked for the 10% birthday discount, but it was not honored because you need to book «directly with them». Overall, just a very old building with not so friendly staff. The only person that greeted us there was a Hispanic man– unfortunately didn’t catch his name.
Early check out for the late check in — 11 am.
Positives:
very close walking distance to all the shops and restaurants.
Clean, but outdated.
Bed=comfortable, but sheets need updating.
Had a nice view!

The hotel is a old fashioned but that gives it some of its charm. The view from the 6^th floor Balcony is to die for. Rooms clean, furniture a bit used.
We will go back.
Staff was a little unfriendly but efficient.

This was one of the few hotel options left for the weekend we wanted to stay, so despite the high price for a room, we made the reservation online. From the amount of bad reviews, my friends and I had very low expectations about our hotel. However, we encountered no major issues during our weekend stay.
At Catalina Island, you don’t see a lot of big automobiles. You get a couple of Smart cars and Fiat cars parked on the side, but there are golf carts everywhere! This hotel is definitely hard to miss — the bright pink building is the color of Pepto Bismol and can be seen blocks away!
PARKING
There are not a lot of designated parking. You can park on the street and walk over or just park in front of the building.
INTERIOR/​EXTERIOR
The exterior of the hotel is bright pink — once again, it is definitely hard to miss even with several brightly colored houses around the block. There is a pink cart outside the building, and while the lobby inside is quite small, there are several modern furniture to decorate the place. The armchairs were comfortable and the glass table gives a finishing touch to the modern but antique feel.
I suppose they recently renovated the place. Despite the harsh reviews on the condition of the hotel, the place was not as bad as described. I would say that the place is old, but we didn’t have dirty and stained carpets, our curtains were new, and the bathroom seemed to have been recently painted. While small, we had a flat screen in our room, our beds were nicely made and comfortable, and the closet had enough storage room for our party of four.
They have a patio/​deck at the 6^th floor with an amazing view! Great place to relax and spend the afternoon or evening.
EXPERIENCE
Perhaps we didn’t stay in our hotel a lot that we didn’t experience major problems. We didn’t ask for any maid service or called the main desk for anything. We were in for the night and out in the morning.
PROS:
+ Good location and a short walk to the main street
+ Friendly staff and maid
+ Great view from the 6^th floor deck
CONS:
+ Expensive — the total for our one night weekend stay was $ 384
+ Strict on their no early check in and check out policy
+ Leave your baggage in their unsecured storage room under the stairs until check in
+ Ice machine is only on the 1^st floor

Just arrived, did the normal check out. Most things are clean, but, on first review some serious maintenance needs to be done. I know it is old, however a serious outside paint job is in order. The room is small, so don’t plan on staying long. It is like an old Motel 6. I will update later.

I was honestly afraid to book here after seeing the reviews for not just this hotel on Unilocal but others like it on the island, and am glad to say we ended up here because everything else was booked for our anniversary weekend!
The room was small but not as tiny as so many make of it on Unilocal and the bed, pillows and towels were clean.
They also have a great little patio on the 6^th floor with a view.
Also, they must have renovated since the last time a lot of the photos posted were taken — because our room looked nothing like what’s shown on Unilocal.
If you are not planning a ton of time in your room, or just do not need much to be comfortable — this place would be ideal.
My husband and I would definitely recommend it for a weekend getaway!

This is my secret hide away get away gem of a find hotel. I am soooo glad we stayed here.

Nope.
Saw a groupon for this place, but it was sold out for the day we went. I asked upon booking if they’d honor the price, and they offered us a «huge percentage off» instead. When I checked their website, it was actually just the regular price of a smaller room (and we were in the smaller room). Birthday discount is 10%, but credited back to you like a week later instead of immediately reducing the price.
The view from the balcony is decent, but the hotel advertises itself as a Victorian-​vibe place. The only thing Victorian about this place is its wifi speed.
There’s a distinction between «antique» and «old and beat up». This place certainly falls on the latter side. Curtains have moth holes in them, door has weird rust drip marks, lamps and «rosewood furniture» all chipped and dented, tiny bathroom with a door that automatically slams and no mirror to get ready outside the bathroom, railings all taped off, showerhead about chest height with no water pressure, etc. See photos.
I wouldn’t stay here again, especially for the price.

First time to Catalina so it was difficult deciding which hotel to choose. We found a groupon for this hotel and figured it was worth trying out.
Positives: The outside of the hotel is very nice looking, easy to find! The staff was very friendly. Free coffee in lobby 8am-​10am. A bed to sleep in. Patio on 6^th floor is sweet, overlooks the entire bay.
Negatives: room is small and outdated. Gross floors, felt like we needed to bring slippers in the trip. Zero water pressure for shower, not enough to wash hair or rinse soap from body.