Ok, so being one of the last rooms on the island for not nine million dollars , here is my review. I grew up in Avalon in a fancy house on the flats so take my word for it. Legit review. It's a steep hill so if you don't want that, don't come here. Rooms are outdated but again, you're in Avalon the most beautiful place on earth. Do we really care about the room as long as it's clean? Room- clean and tidy and a kitchenette. I had issues twice with my keys and Ivan immediately arrived to fix it for me. Shout out to Ivan as both times it was off hours for him. Ivan tries really hard. So, being a girl that grew up on Descanso Ave ? Which house now goes for 1425.00 a night ? Absolutely go. For the money, it's worth it. read more

I arrived around 2:30pm to check in and there was no staff onsite. There's a note on the window counter that says they are "out to lunch" and our room key was there along with several other people. This seemed very odd as wouldn't other people have potentially have access to our room? I called and texted the listed phone #, never got a response Bathroom: shower was horrible. While taking a shower, it would spray scorching hot water for 10-20 seconds, then it would spray cold water for another10-20 seconds. It would alternate back and forth for the entire duration AC unit: the temperature was not consistent with what the thermostat said on the AC unit. It was either too freezing cold or not cold enough Front desk staff: unprofessional is an understatement. My kids and I came back from a bike ride and were heading back to our room. The hallway leading to our room was on the ride side of the hotel where the office entrance was. My kid was straddling the bike and walking it. It was then when the front desk man's girlfriend out of the office door and almost collided with my son's bike. The office man YELLED at my son and said he wasn't allowed to ride his bike on the hotel property. My son was not pedaling. Even if bikes were not allowed, he didn't have to yell. My son is just a kid. All you had to do is speak normally. I didn't say anything as I didn't want to cause a scene. On the final day, the same office man and I had a verbal confrontation. We are hotel guests but we felt mistreated and disrespected. It was my kids' first time in Catalina Island, and this hotel ruined their experience. read more

I don't normally leave reviews but the front desk was very unprofessional, when we arrived, no one was at the front desk, so my fiancé called to ask if anyone was available to check us in. He simply said, "Is anyone here? We've been waiting for a while." He was calm, polite, and never raised his voice or demanded anything. The front desk employee responded with a rude and arrogant attitude, lecturing us about how to speak and implying we had no manners. My fiancé even apologized in case there was a misunderstanding, but the employee continued with the bad attitude and even threatened to cancel our reservation. At that point, we chose to cancel because the situation was completely unnecessary. I never expected a simple call asking for assistance to be met with such unprofessional behavior. read more

The expedia photo is not what you'll get. The rooms are outdated. You hear everything that the neighbors are up to, walls are not sound proof. No one at the front desk all weekend of our stay. The shower is grimey. read more

stayed here over a holiday weekend. first room we were given had roaches in the kitchen. revived a quick response when we contacted the after hours line and they offered to move us the next morning and refund one night. we did get moved to a room without roaches, but never received our refund even after calling and texting many times. to this day i have received no response from the hotel on that refund. read more

Hello! If you want to be scammed and manipulated by this place's irredeemably god-awful customer service, go ahead and stay at this garbage excuse for a hotel. Not a single person was around to help for the entirety of our stay. When booking in advance on the hotel website, my singular written total at the bottom of their online check-out page was $245 PERIOD - for the 1, Single King Bed room I had sought out to purchase for a single-night stay for a local wedding (Room #104). My SUM total at the site's check out page did not state $245 TWICE. It did NOT show a combined $490 for "two rooms" together at check out, as they claimed and charged me for. This would undeniably appear as a one sum total payment before I pressed submit if two rooms were actually combined for a singular purchase on one credit card, like every other check-out page I've ever used in history. But it did not. $245 TOTAL is what was stated when things were all submitted and processed on the confirmation page for Room #104. However, I was somehow incorrectly charged for two rooms next to each other, and was told that I was the only one who could've made that mistake after calling about it. We had two hotel cards for #104 and #105 waiting for us at the front when we arrived instead, which seemed to us to be an obvious mistake my partner and I were very perplexed by. There was no one physically around for our entire stay to settle this confusion and mistake with us. Once we "checked in" - aka we grabbed our cards sitting by the desk that had nobody around at all - we had to leave shortly after to a wedding for a few hours, and did not have time to attempt resolving things in that moment until we returned at night. We used Room #104 of course, which is the singular room we tried to order in the first place. When we returned, my partner called them that night around 11pm - which is logged. Straight to answering machine. This mistake seemed so blatantly confusing and wrong to us, that I'd falsely hoped I could just try and reasonably settle or explain this issue shortly after our stay then, since no one was actually ever there to talk to about this. I was just bluntly and sarcastically told on the phone later that there was a number I should've called which was "definitely in sight," something she actually tried to no avail. What kind of hotel doesn't have a single on-site customer service rep around for troubleshooting available for the entire stay??? I explained we did not step a single foot in Room #105, which was clearly and visibly apparent, because we simply didn't ask for it. Only #104. No room for nuance, no room for situational grey area, no acknowledgement of anything on their part, just blunt sarcasm and a fuck you. Any decent place would try to at least meet in the middle, conversationally and situationally. However, these trash customer service reps choose to behave in the clearest and bluntest of black and white to simply keep all your extra hundreds of dollars at whatever cost they can get away with. Not even a single consideration of something like a partial or half refund, absolutely nothing. Their greedy, sleazy and money-grubbing priorities as a hotel are transparent and clear. I hope, for other customers' sake visiting this beautiful island, that El Terado Terrace may choose to change their service attitude and approach towards their guests, and attempt to redeem their reputation as a hotel worth staying at. Anyways, for now - enjoy this 1-star scam hotel during your Catalina stay, featuring near non-existent customer service, as well as seedy, old, beaten-down rooms with mold and barely functional AC. Godspeed. read more

Everything, starting with the reception guy, no help at all. The room was clean but the TV and the coffee machine did not work, on Saturday someone went inside to make our bed nothing else the next day i couldn't find my small perfume, glad I didn't take the large bottle I wouldn't recommend this place at all. read more

Price wise it's excellent, especially compared to the places around the area for affordability, but it's cheap price is reflected In the building itself, the uphill walk is nothing to complain about, but our room had several outstanding issues; The sink was plugged up and I had to pry the plug open with a knife just for it to drain, the table was a foldable one yet didn't have stand underneath so it wouldn't stay open, the blinds were filthy, the remote for the Samsung TV didn't work, the fan was MISSING its switch so we couldn't turn the fan on, the door locks weren't really secure, the TV box was laying on top of the TV very half-assed. All in all it was the bare necessities, so we really appreciate the stay, but I definitely don't recommend it, and to top it all off nobody checked us in, our name/room cards were just out on the desk for ANYONE to take if they wanted to. Extremely thankful again, but also rather disappointed read more

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Loved this place. We stayed overnight and didn't need any extra perks. The walk down the hill wasn't long and was only moderately grueling heading back up at sunset. Our room was clean and comfortable. We never saw any one at the desk on the way in or out, but that wasn't an issue, as our keys were magically there when we arrived. We had two comfortable queen beds. The bathroom was basic, shower only, good water pressure, but even though I'm only 5'7" I was bending down to wash my hair. Lotion, shampoo, makeup remover provided, but no conditioner. You can see I am stretching to come up with any issues with this peaceful corner of paradise read more

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Climb on up the hill~ Affordable, well-AC'd lodging option at Catalina: * YES - Clean, very simple rooms with good AC * YES - Flat screen wall TV * AOK - Standing shower in small bathroom * YES - Microwave, mini fridge, small side table * FYI - Just make sure after a day of fun on Catalina, you're ready for the trek uphill (quite a nice lil workout)! read more

Found two cockroaches in the kitchen downstairs. Also the upstairs was so hot. There was only two small ac units in each room and the breaker kept tripping when we had both on at the same time. We called and were told to keep the rooms closed at all time (inconvenience) and they showed us how to turn the breaker back on. Power went out several times. Including middle of the night. Wasn't fun waking up drenched in sweat. Not to mention the cleanliness of the inside and outside of the facility is not good at all. Paid too much for this place to have this poor of service. read more

El Terado Terrace - Cockroaches - Hotels Near Me - Avalon, California

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WARNING!! Do NOT stay in this old outdated and unclean hotel. All of Expedia and their website photos are old and NOT current. Conditions at this place are poorly maintained and unclean. Dirty old restrooms fixtures, toilets and shower. See pictures below for proof! Their lobby guest services is a red phone hanging outside front wall in order to try and get a hold of someone for guest services. Poor toothless guy named "Russ" is trying to do all the cleaning, housekeeping by himself throughout this hotel. This place is a Joke and don't recommend it all. read more

El Terado Terrace - Cigarette burns on bed headboard - Hotels Near Me - Avalon, California

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Please do not pay full price or market price for this hotel. They are trying to upgrade things but there is no customer service to speak of that warrants top dollar. Cable went out twice and WiFi is too slow to stream anything. Kitchen was well stalked with plates but many electrical sockets did not work and were old and pushed in. Toilet Lever was broken. Exhaust fan didn't work. Moved bed to plug in cpap and the dust bunnies and stains embarrassed me for the staff. Btw the cleaning staff was nice. The owner/manager on the other hand seemed to think because there is a sign on the front glass that it was our responsibility to read it all and understand its intent. That he is a busy guy and marketing and customer service is not his thing. Asked for a discount for amenities not working. He ignored my text. At one point I was told something would be fixed in 20 min and then after waiting 2 hours was told oh we fixed it already. Communication is not their strong suit. If you go, look at market rates and then pay half that. read more

when i think i got the best deal in town turned out to be the worst deal in town ! and im not kidding i wish i had took pictures / videos to prove to you it was not safe at all , the door could barley get it open felt like i was breaking to my own hotel on top of that had this wierd funky smell that i couldnt stand but it does not stop there! when you go into the bathroom it was just filled with mold i just did not know what i signed myself up for. it doesnt even stop there as soon as i go down to get some rest i turn the TV on and it was broken the channels were not functioning i mean common even motel 6 does a better job and i wouldnt even recommend neither . on top of that my mother barley could get the coffee maker going she was not pleased at all. us both hate complaining or demanding a refund so we ended up sticking through all of this without asking for the refund . PLEASE if this is your first time do not ever go here ever again i wish i read the reviews before booking . im not sure if they will ever fix the dark things behind this hotel... BE SAFE All in all catalina island is beautiful will definitely come back just not to this nasty,rusty,dusty, ass place !!! read more

We are huge fans of this place. Ivan was very helpful. We took advantage of an upgrade and stayed in a corner suite. Our first time to Catalina Island and he and his staff made us feel very welcome. We'll be back read more

I want to start off this review by giving a shoutout to the hotel staff; they were extremely friendly and accommodating. On the other hand, this place is way below the standards given what we paid for. Not only was the room incredibly run down, it was unhygienic. There were stains and hair on the sheets, pillows, and comforter. In addition to that there is mold under the sink. Needless to say I am extremely disappointed in the quality of the hotel. If it wasn't for the staff, I would of gave this place 0 stars. read more

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On the upside: location is close to Casino end of town where the Avalon Ball took place. Sadly, I got room 119 which needs a full remodel and a full length mirror on the back of closet door -please! These are cheap at Target, for goodness sakes. The only mirror was in the bathroom, so nothing to see how your outfit looks. I could not use the shower - the ceramic was peeling off of the tub, so I was afraid to stand in it. Also, the bathroom sink's water faucet would not shut off completely (lots of water waste, which is especially bad in our drought prone CA state). In short: Room 119 is in a state of decline. I hope the owners of this place will spend some money on remodeling it soon. I did notice that another room was much nicer/updated. I do not know why the girl who checked me in selected an icky room for my stay. Oh well, staff was kind overall. Perhaps they have no say in how the owner maintains this property.... but when a room is like this, you should not be putting guests in it. read more

The room was clean and had everything we needed. The beds were comfortable. We were on the side with a beautiful ocean view and it was quiet. It's a long hike down the hill and even harder going back up to the motel. We learned about the local Circuit/Coast public transportation - available through their app only - little electric cars for $2/person in Avalon. We wanted to go down to the main street that evening to do karaoke, have a few cocktails, have some fun. Unfortunately, they close at 9:00 PM as does the one taxi service so unless you want to make the hike up and down that steep hill at night in the dark, you're stuck in the room after 9 PM. Next time, I'll stay closer to the town center. read more

For the value, El Terrado was great. Ivan at front desk was welcoming and great. The property is clean and tidy. There's extra sunscreen set out for everyone to use. The room is..... adequate. I mean, it's Catalina Island and by no means is this listed as a modernized luxury room. So, it's just not. But it's clean and checks all the boxes. One star removed because ceiling fan couldn't be used due to having no remote. Everything else was in good working condition. Room 104. read more

One of the reasons I am giving it a 3 star review is because of the communication. It was a bit hard to get ahold of someone to confirm days before my arrival. The hotel & room itself is not bad. You get what you pay for. Room is equipped with utensils, fridge, microwave, stove, cups, treys to cook in. In other words, a mini studio lol Keep in mind it is uphill so I recommend to keep that AC on if you plan to walk back to your room from the beach. You will thank me later! Hotel is a 5 min. walk to the beach. Quiet environment so that was great since I went to relax my mind! Not a bad place to stay for a mini get-away! read more

El Terado Terrace - Cute little view from the hotel room. For clarification, this is what they mean when they say "Ocean View Suite" ..honestly not bad. - Hotels Near Me - Avalon, California

Bed moves around a bit when you roll over, but, it is very comfortable! Walk around the hotel taking pictures here and there and you are bound to see some white-tail deer in a neighboring yard!! My only complaint would be the shower head! Decent place & price. read more

Our stay in El Terado Terrace was simply put ok. It wasn't horrible but it wasn't great. The location is up a steep hill so when we arrived we had some trouble walking up with all our luggage, but we did it :) We were beyond grateful that we we were able to check in early at no cost to us & the staff was friendly. What I really liked was when we walked inside our room it looked very clean & smelled of fresh linens. There wasn't anything too special about the room except a cool fold out table that we enjoyed some of our late night meals on. I would've given a 4, but the WiFi didn't work at all on our visit. I called the front desk to let them know this & the guy said he'd restart it, but that did nothing. The bed was comfortable however & the price for the room wasn't horrible. If you plan on staying I suggest you definitely rent a golf cart or if you want to work them glutes by all means walk the hill. read more

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I started a review and forgot to save it but back then I had this hotel down as a 4 . Location is an uphill battle but right when you think you've lost, you reach a plateau and then the hotel comes into view. The kitchen has all the basic tools and utensils for cooking and eating in. The room is spacious and there is a table for eating. There is plenty of room to unload your suitcases if you like to make yourself at home. Our room has an ocean view and waking up to that sight was awesome. The shower pressure and temperature is amazing, the fan doesn't work that great so you need to use the blow-dryer to get to the mirror. That's a non issue for me but might be an issue for someone else. The reason I dropped my rating to a three is the noisy heater that felt like it was giving me and my husband allergies and the bed. We have a purple mattress at home and this bed was really hard on our backs. Also not having access to a golf cart was a pain at some points like after shopping or being tired from excursions. If you have kids find a place that has separate rooms because we have been going to bed when our baby goes to bed. read more

PLEASE DO NOT STAY HERE FOR YOUR OWN SAFETY I have only ever posted one yelp review but never have I felt morally called to leave one like this. My partner and I are scared and I do not want others to experience this as well. Someone came into our room while we were out at dinner and turned the stove on, letting the gas fill the room. We checked in around 4 and did not touch anything in the kitchen, we had no reason to. We were in the room for at least two hours and would have smelled gas in that time frame. A maintenance man came to our room to provide a tv remote that made us very uncomfortable. When we came back from dinner the place reeked. I called the front desk and calmly/respectfully voiced my concern and the man I spoke to IMMEDIATELY threatened to call the cops on me because we were "going back and forth". We have nowhere else to stay tonight as most places on the island are not available during this time. I am genuinely scared and can't comprehend the experience I've just had. read more

I can't get a hold of any body to cancel my booking. I have left several voicemails and sent 2 emails. Horrible service.

Spent a night here while on the Island for work. If you have not been, keep in mind it is up the hill from the beach/town center, so you need to lug everything uphill, as well as lug yourself uphill every day. It isn't a terrible walk, I did it several times, but if you have small kids and/or lots of luggage, figure out how you are getting here. On the plus side, the room was nice and the small full kitchen would be a boon for families to save a little cash and eat some meals in the room. read more

First off: The steep walk? Whatever...It's hard only one way. And if it's to difficult? Then pay for a $5 cab ride for a very very short jaunt. However, the walk will do you good. Second, I'm absolutely confused about the other yelpers comments with the hotel. It's suits all our needs. Clean, nice room, everything functions and nice size room. For the price you can't beat it. If your expecting a view, this isn't the place. It's a place to rest your head and enjoy the island for what it has to offer. I for one, I highly recommend this place read more

Terrible experience. Unfriendly staff, the property is literally falling apart due to lack of maintenance. Here are some of the "highlights": No WiFi in our room, TV also no internet so no Amazon or Netflix, just regular programming. Shower dripping all night. Heater didn't work, but eventually got fixed. We were greeted by an ice cold room. Dirty: Black hair in the bathroom, the floor was filthy, a cup in the kitchen was dirty. Roof leak... midnight, needed to put a bucket in the middle of the room. There was a lake on the floor. Really unfriendly repairman. "I don't know what you're talking about!" No manager present. Just a red phone outside at the "reception". read more

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There is no service after checkin. There's literally nobody here. You have to call on the phone. The man who answered was really rude. Checkout time was 10am! In my 65 years on this planet I've never seen a 10 am checkout. I got it only extended to 11. I asked for later but they refused. Our boat isn't until 4 pm. They also refused to store our luggage. The toilet broke. The walls are thin so you can hear the neighbors. And it's up a very steep hill. We certainly didn't get our 971 worth for only 3 nights. Avoid this place at all costs! read more

We booked to stay here for 3 nights. When we checked in the front staff was friendly and our room was ready for us early. After being given the room keys and entering the room, an extremely strong odor of air freshener came rushing to my nose. The room was musty and dated and smelled like perfume and air freshener. One of the bathroom towels had a black hair hanging from it, 3 of the bathroom lightbulbs were out and there was no window and poor ventilation in the bathroom. Because of the run down conditions and awful smell of air freshener, we requested a refund and moved hotels. I recommend spending a bit more and staying somewhere nicer. read more

Had major issues with gnats in the room. I am not too sure if the previous guests had left food but there were so many gnats when we checked in. Talked to the manager about it and she brought some kind of essential oil which did not help at all. We had to swat the flies on our own since they were so many of them and couldn't go to sleep. We talked to another person the next day to see if there were any sprays or accommodate us with another room but they said they were fully booked. I appreciate the manager bringing us the essential oil but I think they really need to find a better way to resolve that issue. read more

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We arrived about an hour early. I understand they have their timeline with the housekeeping staff. On this occasion my wife want feeling good at all & it was a super hot day. We asked to check in early & were told our room isn't ready. I was hoping they would be able to have housekeeping do a quick clean to help accommodate us or even switch a room that is ready. I only asked because it was terribly hot, my wife needed to lay down & the walk back was down a steep hill. All I got was No's. I feel they could have been more customer service oriented especially as there was no one else waiting to check in. Review is based on customer service. A few minutes into our wait a younger couple came & tried to check in early and their room was immediately ready to go. I'm generally not overly demanding or not an understanding person but they could have accommodated us... Especially charging $300+ a night. They did offer water & a seat at their patio. read more

My experience here was really good. No problems with anything. I did go through the back which is on W Whittley Ave, just keep walking straight and you'll see the front window. My key to the room was on the table by the front window which I thought was fast and convenient. The room was clean upon entrance and smelled clean. They do have grills to use which we did. Overall my husband and I had a good time in Avalon. read more

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Visted Catalina Island for the first time and stayed at this hotel. I must be honest when I say it was ok but who really needs a fancy hotel when all the activities are out doors. With that being said the little time we spent in the room I must point out a few things I did not care for the walls were really really thin! I wont go into to much detail but it was almost like we were in the same room as our neighbor. Kinda gross! The plumbing was a little off since sink focet didnt work correctly in the bathroom and you can not take a bath. Went to the front desk to have them print out some tickets I had for a tour and the printer was broken. If you do stay here not all rooms come with kitchens and you must must must rent a golf cart because there is a pretty steep hill to climb up. On the bright side with it being up the hill it was very quiet at night which was a plus and the bed was super comfy, which made this a 3 star review. read more

This hotel is clean, but a hotel? I'd list it as a motel instead. The location is a bit hard to reach by foot if you have a bag (especially if its filled with shoes and wine like mine always is) and it shares the building with full time residences that aren't affiliated with hotel at all. It's a decent stay but for what you're paying, look into something closer to the water. read more

El Terado Terrace was perfect. This was my first time to Catalina and I didn't know what to expect. El Terado Terrace was the ideal place to stay. It's a little ways up from the main strip - Crescent Ave. This was perfect because we got to see more of Catalina than just the touristy part. We were a bit up in the locals' parts. In the mornings, when we would walk down, we were greeted by the perfect view of ocean. Awesome. El Terado Terrace itself was ideal because of the kitchen area, the views, the friendly staff, the Starbucks coffee and the overall vibe. Everything was so easy... and that was much appreciated on a trip that was new to us. Not the most stellar place, but quaint and welcoming enough. The place seemed a little rigged and the TV remote and heater were hard to use. The heater clicked at night, which kept waking me up. Overall, I would definitely stay here again. read more

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This place has a kitchen- I should have used it for every meal. The front desk guy is cool. I can confirm that there are loud children running around on the lower floor- a lot. It's up a huge hill- be ready I had a great ocean view and it was perefct for me and my two kids. I would come back- all things noted! read more

Room was good and check in was easy. The only thing that really sucked about this hotel was the location. It's up a hill and if you're not old enough to rent a gold cart, you have to walk up. The walk up during extremely hot weather is extremely tiring especially if you are carrying any bags or luggage. read more

Really happy with my experience at this hotel! This is our second time staying here and both times have been great. Very friendly staff, large room with indoor kitchen, stove and full size refrigerator. Room was very clean and bed was extremely comfortable. One of the better night sleeps I've had in a while. Will definitely be coming back! read more

We booked over the phone before coming, but due to construction/renovations we had to relocate to Holiday Inn for 2 nights. We ended up staying another 3 nights at El Terado and Ivan made sure we were taken care of. Highly recommend having a spacious stay with many amenities. Joe and Russ were also very helpful. The walk up the hill is a bit tiring, but out of the 3 hotels we've stayed at Avalon this week, El Terado is the winner. See you guys again soon! read more