Disclaimer: this is the only hotel I've stayed at in Catalina... because I've only gone there once. That being said, I enjoyed my time at Aurora. The place is quaint and the suite was nice. I loved the private balcony. Maaaybe a little on the expensive side but I don't regret it. Side note, it IS up a hill and you do a lot of walking in Catalina so... prepare yourself. read more

My husband and I liked the Aurora Hotel, didn't love it. The staff made it worth the stay and bumped my star rating from 2 to 3. Also, make sure you're on the right street when you start going up the hill, we got lost and ended up having to make a pretty rough detour. I had problems with the hotel before I arrived-- I made reservations online, but I also called the hotel to talk to the staff. Unfortunately no one told me that 30 days before your stay they charge you for a night's stay, which was all that we were staying. So we paid the full amount without any sort of notice. When I called the hotel they were nice, but didn't understand my concern and thought that I wanted to cancel my reservation. This was, of course, not the case, I just didn't understand why I was being charged $330 for a hotel I hadn't even stayed at yet. The call ended with an apology and everything was fine. Then, not even 2 hours later I got another call from the hotel. I listened to the voicemail and it was another person returning my call from before.This could have been a one time thing, but the communication amongst the staff and with their guests doesn't seem to be too great. Pros: -The staff of the Aurora Hotel is incredibly friendly and accomodating. (I forgot a razor and was going to be wearing a dress for a wedding, I called the front desk and sure enough! They had razors and shaving cream) -They were able to hold our bags all day after we checked out since we were attending a wedding at the Casino. -Free Breakfast, not a huge variety, but free! -Wine and Cheese spread on Friday nights! (We didn't get to partake, but saw it out in the lobby) -Everything was pretty clean (though the carpets were pretty badly stained) -Rooms were air conditioned Cons: -Expensive and perhaps not worth the price. -Tiny rooms. If you're a bigger person (like my husband and I) the bathroom is going to be a difficult maneuver for you-- definitely one person in the bathroom at a time.) -Thin walls. We could hear everything that was going on in the hallway and in other rooms. People slamming doors caused our door/walls to rattle. -Our room was directly next to a house. We really couldn't enjoy the view because we almost always had to have the curtains closed since our window looked directly into the kitchen window of the house. -There was a keurig machine with K-Cups, but there wasn't any cream/sugar in the room, you had to go to the lobby for that and we were on the third floor. -Definitely not handicap friendly. (We're not handicap so this wasn't a huge deal for us). I thought I would include this, just in case. You have to climb a pretty big hill if you're not used to walking up hills (or you're out of shape like my husband and I), then once you get to the hotel there are lots of steps you must walk up (we were on the third/top floor...) and the rooms are much to small for a wheelchair to maneuver. -The outdoor area seemed nice but the furniture looked pretty old and worn. -There was no iron in the room. There's a steamer that doesn't work at all (Saying "who wants to spend time ironing on an island") so our clothes were quite wrinkly for the wedding we were attending. If this is the only place to stay on the island, it's not bad. I understand that most places on the island are expensive, but this hotel is so tiny that it's not really worth the price. read more

Great Place! Very friendly and hospitable staff. I would go back just to see them. They made the stay very enjoyable. The rooms are small as they are in most modern boutique hotels, and yes its on a hill which isn't much for my Seattle legs but I'm not sure why people knock them for this on yelp. They obviously are mad because they didn't do their research before booking. And a little secret... AWESOME roof top deck! read more

Had a great stay at the aurora! Almost got stranded on the island since all boats were cancelled due to winds. Luckily Diana at the aurora helped us out tremendously, calling the boat companies and figuring out a helicopter flight off the island for us when that didn't work out! Very helpful and we appreciated it! :) thanks Diana! read more

We spent two nights. It's a great little boutique hotel up a hill. Rooms offered are updated. The rooms are small but that is expected on the island. The walls are also a little thin you can hear what the person in the room next to you is doing and saying. The room is very thought out. It has everything you could need. They did a good job with the use of the space. The place is clean, staff is friendly. The roof top offers an awesome view of the water. The hotel staff is very effective in taking time to help you book island activities. The only reason I did not give it a five star is the room we got stuck with was a view of a dirt lot. The mini breakfast is decent. Oh and one other thing the walk up the hill and your stairs to your room are a work out! Over all enjoyed our stay. read more

It is very nice, the decor and colors are fabulous. The service was great by some, and ok by others. The internet connection is not very good and the rooms are TINY! I probably will check out another spot when we return. But for the price I paid it was well worth it! read more

Do not stay at this hotel. When we arrived at the hotel our room smelled of urine or vomit. The window was open. We left for an hour and came back and the room still smelled awful. We called the front desk and an employee came up. She was a nice lady. She immediately noticed the smell and told us the hotel was sold out so we couldn't get another room but she would try to clean the room. We went out and she cleaned the room but it still smelled. The manager never contacted us. We requested a refund and they refused. Awful service. The hotel simply cares about money. They did change our room the second night. But when going on vacation no one should be subjected to a room that is not sanitary. read more

Great place that's super close to all the shops/walking around! The staff is so nice, friendly, and helpful! The view from the top is not too shabby either. read more

First time in Catalina Island and perfect choice to stay at Aurora. I was trying to book hotel online but last minute decided to call and it was a perfect time. Lady that was helping me not only gave us amazing rate but also booked ship tickets and provided me with bday package. She gave us fantastic room with ocean view. Our room was next to patio and we enjoyed sitting there and drinking wine while sun goes down. If we decide to go to Catalina Island again I know where would we stay!Thank you for a great experience! read more

Nice hotel but the bed and pillows are horrible! Terrible sleep with old pillows although the rest of the hotel was basic but nice. Great friendly staff! read more

I enjoyed my stay at this hotel, it was quiet and peaceful which is what you need when you're away on vacation. The hotel is clean, cute, and charming. The service is great, we got to the island very early in the morning and they allowed us to drop our luggage off so we could explore the island without all our stuff. the bed is very comfortable, and the pillows are soft, also free breakfast in the morning...The reason for the 4 stars is that the hotel rooms are super tiny (the island is tiny so I understand), the walls are paper thin so that I could hear my neighbors conversation while they were getting ready and I was trying to sleep, the bathroom is so tiny that I hardly had any space to move in there, the balcony was super dark when we tried to enjoy our drinks out there with the ocean view, and lastly that they don't have a bar or a little convenience store like most hotels do so if you want snacks or anything you need to come prepared because once you climb that hill, you don't want to go down to Town again... read more

Very clean, nice rooms although very small. The only downfall is that you can pretty much hear every noise in the hotel as if they were in your room. Not too much privacy. Loved the roof top patio... read more

I received a 60minute massage by the spa owner Kathleen and loved every minute of it. The entire experience from an hassle-free time booking, registering in with the friendly staff, waiting in the clean lobby that had refreshments, to my time with Kathleen. Kathleen is extremely friendly and values creating a relaxing and comfortable experience for her clients. Her massage room was a treat for the senses from the soft lighting, array of essential oils, and plush linens and pillows. I highly recommend this spa!!! read more

We are staying in the celebrity suit and while it's quite large, there are a long list of issues. For starters, you enter the room from an outside walkway that has little to no light at night. So anyone can just be standing around your room entrance at night. There are glass sliding doors for the bathroom, so it does nothing to dampen sound or light. The walls are paper thin so we can hear everything people say around us at all hours. The service staff room is next to us, so we can hear the dryer, the workers on their cellphones, and any other noise. Apparently there is a bathroom on top of the room because we can hear it flush, drain water through the pipes, and then the seat come down. There is also a lot of noise from chairs moving around above us. The fridge they have included in the room is extremely loud. The"celebrity suite" is on ground level and has a view of the wall and roof of the building next to it. The bathroom smells like rotten eggs since we arrived. Lastly, some of the lights don't work and there are light switches everywhere. So you have to walk all over the room to turn them on and off. In summary, this room is completely over priced and nobody should ever rent it. Unless you like to hear noises all night long. read more

Stayed at the Aurora last summer on part of our honeymoon. I will say that the staff was very helpful over the phone in choosing the best available room. We enjoyed our stay there, although after staying at the Metropole this summer for almost the same price, our opinion has changed a bit. We can say that the rooms are very contemporary and well-decorated. However, the rooms are very small, especially for the price. We also had a strange mishap when they stowed our luggage on the last day, where they practically insisted someone else's luggage was ours. However, in general the staff was decent and friendly, the location is good if you don't mind a short uphill walk, and it is a cute modern boutique hotel. However again as we discovered this year, there is better out there for the price. read more

We actually did not end up staying at the aurora! However, the staff was amazingly accommodating! Great recommendations for food and activities to occupy our time until a friend of ours got married! Great people at the aurora! read more

Fantastic place! Super friendly staff. Always fruit and coffee available. Very comfortable room. Mine was just the right size. No complaints. I spent a lot of time on the roof deck overlooking the harbor, and since I went during the off-season it was never crowded. Clean, reasonably priced and just far enough away from the downtown. I will definitely return. read more

We stayed here one night from 06/09/2014 - 06/10/2014. It was a very clean and modern hotel. Majority of the things you'd want to do in Avalon is easy to walk to from here. The only slight challenge is going up hill to the hotel, it's a pretty decent incline, but doable. (We only had backpack for the night.) The service was very friendly and helpful. Majority of the stores and restaurants close by 9, so we bought a bottle of wine to cap off our night and enjoyed it on the rooftop (also a nice setup) of the hotel. Thanks Aurora, we plan to stay there every time we visit Catalina. P.s. Room with partial ocean view is worth the extra $. read more

Aurora is a cute little modernized hotel. Stayed here recently and totally loved it! We stayed in the suite which has a carwash for a shower lol was very nice. Also loved the rooftop in the morning. Love Richard at the front desk! He helped us with everything and he's awesome if you just wanna sit and chat with him :) The staff made us feel right at home. Ill definitely come back read more

This was a nice place to stay in Avalon. We were really impressed with the staff who went out of their way to make this the best stay possible. The only issue is that the walls are really thin and so you hope you have quite neighbors. With that said most hotels in Avalon have really thin walls. read more

We loved the Aurora! We took a little weekend trip to Catalina to celebrate my birthday and when we arrived they not only upgraded our room to an ocean view but also gave us a bottle of champagne to enjoy on the rooftop during their Fridays wine and cheese happy hour. Amazing view from the roof! The staff was all very welcoming and helpful, especially Richard. We loved the free breakfast as well, and took our plates up to the roof to dine and enjoy the view each morning :) We will definitely be back to the Aurora! read more

We stayed here using the mid-week special during "off" season, right after Valentine's/President's Day weekend. I would DEF recommend this place and will be back! 1. Mid week special was AWESOME! $399 for 2 nights, 2 ferry tix, and taxi service to the hotel after the ferry. This was easy to book with their friendly staff and an EXCELLENT PRICE!! I was easily able to add additional nights to extend our stay! 2. Breakfast included! And, a good one, at that! Hard boiled eggs, bagels, english muffins, muffins, other pastries, jam, PB, yogurt, fresh coffee/hot water for tea, milk/creamers, juice, and fruit! AMAZING, esp considering some continental breakfasts can be pretty mediocre. I was quite impressed! 3. Roof top deck with a GREAT view. Nice place to enjoy the free breakfast or have an after dinner drink while looking out at the incredible views! 4. I don't know why people complain about the LITTLE hill...we had no problem even carrying our luggage up/down the hill! I guess I had read reviews, so was prepared 5. This is a boutique and modern hotel. Some yelpers comment on the small size of the room. We had no problem with the size! The standard room easily accommodated 2 people, had a fridge, Keurig, hair-dryer, and fancy robes to wear! 6. The only reason I gave them a 4 instead of a 5 is that our first room seemed to have thin walls. Maybe I am super sensitive to sounds, but it seemed that we could hear the TV and the conversations of the guests next door, who weren't necessarily being particularly loud. When I brought it to the front desk person's (DIANE's) attention, she immediately offered to move us rooms and even checked to see if she could upgrade us to a suite for a small fee! After she showed us the suite, nestled back in the corner, we moved immediately! The remainder of our stay was perfect! OVERALL: accommodating and friendly staff, nice modern hotel/rooms with excellent amenities, great FREE breakfast, beautiful roof-top patio, reasonable price. We will def be back and would highly recommend. THANK YOU DIANE!! read more

I stayed at this hotel over the weekend and had a great stay! The hotel is newly renovated and the rooms are fresh and nice. They are on the small side so don't bring a child or friend and expect to fit a roll-a-way. The complementary breakfast is great and they had a good selection of things to choose from and there is a mini fridge and microwave in your room. They also have a small keurig machine with coffee and tea in your room so lots of good choices! There is also wifi included in your rate which is nice as cell service is spotty on the island. I will definitely stay here again in the future! read more

The room was small but you expect that for being on an island. I don't have one complaint from Enrique who helped to bring my bags up to Diana the lady who booked my reservation and checked me in as well as saw me off. The customer service was impeccable and they really let you just enjoy yourself. I will be staying there next time! They even credited me back for a round trip ticket because my friend didn't make the ferry in time. So considerate. Thank you Diane read more

Very satisfied with the quality of the rooms all though it didn't have a hair blow dryer, I'm sure if I would've asked for one they would've provided me with one. They also have a sun deck, it has an awesome view of the coast. Customer service was also very good. They offer a great complimentary continental breakfast every morning. I will go back to the Aurora on my next trip to Catalina. read more

Aurora Hotel - View from sun deck - Hotels Near Me - Avalon, California

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Very nice boutique hotel with cool decor. We were fortunate to be in the Avalon suite. The bathroom and Tempurpedic bed were fantastic. We really loved the gliding reclining chairs in the living room. Very nice touches throughout the hotel, but prices seemed quite high ($595/night) but luckily got it for 1 night only. read more

Aurora Hotel - Aurora Suite living room - Hotels Near Me - Avalon, California

Can't rate because I didn't stay there...wanted to..but it was full. Love the colors they chose to decorate with..very relaxing. I will stay there next visit, mainly because of the most excellent massage I had there. A local islander referred me to LaVina to get a massage. It was the BEST I've had! I told her of all the massages I have had over the years, that this one was the most healing. Slept extremely well that night and my body pain was releived by about 80%. AMAZING!! THANK YOU, LAVINA !!! PATTI FROM ALL OVER U.S. read more

My husband surprised me with a trip to Catalina for our 3rd anniversary. We stayed here at the Aurora Hotel and had the nicest time. Sure, the rooms are on the bit smaller side, but then again you are on a small island and everything in the area is on the smaller side. The internet signal in the rooms was low and its kinda awkward when you want to go hang out on the roof and theres alot of guests in a small space and being loud, its kind of hard to relax. The staff was really friendly. We had to check out and wait awhile before the ferry left, and spoke a little bit with Diana, who was very sweet. Overall we had a very nice time and would definitely stay here again. Oh and ppl complain about the hotel being on a "hill," seriously, what do u do in Catalina other than eat. You can handle a little hill. :) read more

We stayed on 2 different rooms on our last stay both were amazing, excellent friendly customer service. Great views, very relaxing spa treatments and close to all the activities. Richard gave us great recommendations for food and fun and my son loved the sun deck. We can't wait to come back on our next trip to Avalon. read more

The aurora hotel was really nice! Staff very down to earth. Paid $600 for 3 days and 2 nights - mid-week from wednesday to friday, for two people. The rooms were really small of course it's a small island what do you expect?! Pros - Service, cleanness and modern look of the hotel. Roof top - great view of the island. They served wine and cheese on the roof top. Cons - hill you have to walk up to get to the hotel (3-5 min walk though not biggie) Nothing else? Overall my boyfriend and I loved the hotel and since it was my first time on the island I believe they did an excellent job! I recommend this hotel!!! read more

The staff was great. The hotel as very clean and updated! The staff went overboard, felt like we had personal assistants during our stay. I will stay again!!!!! read more

We loved this beautiful hotel! The location was perfect (one block from the main street and up a hill for impressive views). The staff was friendly and helpful with great attention to detail. Our room was clean and charming with a super comfortable bed. The complimentary breakfast and beverages were great. You can't beat the rooftop deck with a view of the whole harbor, complete with loungers and cabana beds. We will definitely be returning! read more

Lobby sets the whole place off. Very chic, great layout. Hailey was the best! She was fun, personable, helpful. She was a great introduction to a charming hotel. Rooms are small, yes, but has everything you need. Everything on Avalon is small! Microwave, in-room safe, robes, mini fridge, tv, shower and memory foam bed! OMG, never slept on memory foam before. It was truly heaven! There is massages available but we didn't get one. Prices weren't bad though. Rooftop deck was great. Beautiful view and nice to sit out on at night. Ask the front desk for beach towels - nice girl with the brown hair was very nice, even gave us a cute tote to take them to beach with. Location is at the end of the shopping walk. I liked that better. Although all of Avalon is constantly moving, every place I have stayed is kinda noisy, Construction, golf carts zipping along, etc. I liked being at the end of town, a little more away from the hustle and bustle of the city center, Clean, clean, clean. The two lovely housekeepers were great! Kept everything spotless and were very personable. They work very hard and just had smiles on their faces the whole time. The whole staff was great. Diana checked us out and helped arrange the reservation. Very pleasant and look forward to working with her next time we come back! read more

This was a lovely hotel. It was clean, posh, and it had an AMAZING view from the rooftop deck, which was furnished with comfy couches and tables and chairs. Definitely will stay at this hotel again. One complaint is that the water was not hot enough. It was overcast at some points and all I wanted to do was take a hot shower, but it only got slightly warm. I also got a couples massage with my boyfriend, and it was not entirely enjoyable. It was kind of aggressive and I would look over at my boyfriend and she was going slow and smooth and I could tell it was relaxing. Otherwise, it was nice! read more

My team retreat was held at the Aurora. We had a lovely time, facilitated smoothly by Diana. While other hotels on the island turned us away, Diana was able to think creatively and accommodate our small group meeting in the suite. She worked with us prior to our meeting to coordinate meals, entertainment, and the ferry. Our entire team was happy with our rooms, and the service was friendly and helpful throughout our stay. The rooftop deck is gorgeous. read more

Great hotel for the price. The rooms are small, but they still have plenty of amenities including a fridge and microwave. The view from the rooftop balcony was worth the stay, you can see most of avalon and the beach from the roof. read more

I have to say for my first time on the island. My experience at this hotel was absolutely wonderful. Alberta made our visit at the Aurora very welcoming. I did my research before making any reservations anywhere for my boyfriend's birthday and this hotel just seemed real nice and reasonable. The rooftop balcony was simply breath taking. The rooms are small, but honestly, it was nice and very cozy. Thanks again Alberta for your wonderful customer service... you can expect us to come back again soon. read more

Love this hotel. Comfy bed , lovely decor. Great view. Friendly Service and loved that there was coffee available 24-7.

This is our first time in Catalina. I spent a lot of time researching a decent price hotel that looks nice and has a lot to offer. Aurora Hotel seemed to meet our price range and standards. Now... we are here and we are very happy with our decision! The decor is modern and I love the color scheme. It is a small room/hotel but it doesn't feel small. The Keurig coffeemaker is a nice surprise! The staff is also very friendly and helpful. It's not on the main street so you get the peace and quiet but you do have to walk up a hill to get here (Not easy while dragging a big luggage). Oh and one last thing... if you have the time, treat yourself with a massage. We did (after walking up that hill. LOL!). I must say, it was the best massage I've had. read more

The rooms were tiny, the service was horrible. I regret staying here. Disappointed. The people were deceitful. They lied about the rooms. They were also impatient with us and unwilling to grant us the basic services we were promised. Our room was tiny despite the fact that we were promised something much larger and the shower was just pitiful. The only enjoyable thing was the outdoor patio area. read more