For my wife's birthday, we took the Catalina Express passenger ferry from Long Beach to Santa Catalina Island. It was off-season, so there weren't many tourists there, and during our weekend there were no cruise ship arrivals. We stayed just one night on the island, in the Hotel St. Lauren. We chose it because they offered a discount to guests celebrating a birthday (legal proof of birth date required), in conjunction with the free roundtrip offered by the Catalina Express.

The hotel looks like an old Victorian hotel, but it really isn't. It's newer (maybe 20-25 years old?), and is built on a hillside overlooking the town of Avalon. We walked there in about 15 minutes from the passenger boat dock, stopping occasionally to check out some of the shops along the way. It's painted pink, prompting locals to refer to it as the "Pepto Bismol Hotel." Our third-floor room was small with a queen-size bed, an adequate bathroom and all the usual amenities. The only window looked out toward a space between two buildings, but the entire view had been covered over with plastic lattice for privacy, so we couldn't really see anything through the window. A speedy elevator took us up to the sixth floor outdoor deck, which provided tables and chairs with a spectacular view of the tourist zone of the town and Avalon Bay.

The hotel doesn't have an in-house restaurant, but there was free coffee in the lobby in the morning. We went to one of the restaurants recommended by the Hotel St. Lauren for breakfast, and shared a Belgian waffle smothered in fresh strawberries and whipped cream!

The St. Lauren doesn't have a swimming pool, either, and we learned that most hotels on the island do not have pools. It was too cold to swim, anyway, so we did lots of exploring both on foot and in a guided tour by car.

The front desk staff were very courteous and helpful. Upon checkout, we left our luggage in an unsecured storage room under the stairs, and reclaimed it for the return boat trip to Long Beach. If you're looking for quaint and convenient in Avalon, the Hotel St. Lauren is a good choice.

Hotel St Lauren...This hotel is just a quick walk down the hill to the main street along the harbor. The "Stay Here" point for me is that if you book a room on the 6th floor you can step right outside to a large deck with tables and lounge chairs that has this "BEAUTIFUL" Panoramic view of most everything! It's a straight look out onto the harbor. You can see the old Casino, the Yacht club, the boats, then from the side you can view the mountainous terrain and beautiful estates. It is right in the heart of everything, and the Pink Victorian boutique style rooms are comfortable. The hotel being more of an 'Old House" style lends to the rooms being more like bedrooms than having the feeling of a hotel. I'm not sure if all the rooms are the same; mine was a bit small but had good lighting, and was very comfortable and quiet. There was plenty of hot water and I did enjoy the stay. Best tip though is to get a room on the 6th floor and ask for one of the rooms close to the door to the open deck patio. That is very romantic! Also a good place if your stay is more than a day or two and you enjoy hanging there with friends or family or just want to sun and read a good book.
Reccommend this for girls weekend, solitude for ones'self, or a couple. Large family will find the room too small, but then I dont have a comparison right now to other hotels on the island to know if there is a more suitable hotel for larger rooms. If planning a family get away, please get 2 rooms so you will have the best accomodations.

Hotel St. Lauren has a very cute "Northern California Victorian" look to the outside, and the pink exterior just tops off the fun charm of this hotel. The hotel is much larger inside than it looks from the outside. We booked a stay for 3 nights in November 2012 during the off season and got a wonderful rate. The reviews on yelp and TA had me nervous about customer service, but really we had no issues whatsoever. The night desk girl was always friendly and smiled at us when we checked in and always said "Hello" to us as we were coming or going. I had envisioned a grumpy old ogre growling at us on our arrival, but perhaps the previous reviews have been read and customer service is being improved upon. The morning desk woman was also always kind and told us to "Have fun!" as we were leaving in the mornings on our adventures for the day.

Our room was "small" compared to what most people would think of when thinking of a hotel room and I wouldn't advise it if you are staying with someone you don't much like. You WILL cross paths and you will be forced to make eye and body contact with your roommate. This isn't always a bad thing if you are looking to enjoy some much needed relaxation time with your spouse. :) Most importantly, the room was CLEAN and our room was cleaned WELL everyday during our outtings. Day 2 we had tracked in some sand from the beach and there wasn't a grain of it left after housekeeping had visited.

The carpet showed some wear, there were two spots on both sides of the bed where it looked like an iron had landed. The tv was small, but we weren't there for the television. The bed was comfortable- and had your old school style of hotel comforter on it. The decor is frilly and Victorian like- this isn't your upscale contemporary resort, but it matched and everything kept with the older vintage theme throughout the hotel.

The location is great as it was just a short walk to Vons- the grocery store, or to the main street or beach areas. We walked to Lover's Cove each day hauling all our snorkel gear and wetsuits and had no issues. There is a hill but it creates a great view from the 6th floor balcony- take a few minutes and look out over Avalon. It isn't as dramatic as the view at Hamilton Cove, but it is beautiful and looking at all the homes and mountains was neat!

We picked this hotel because we were looking for "budget" and not frills during this stay in Avalon. We went into it knowing we didn't rent a luxery condo, but a low cost hotel. I think we were pleasantly surprised at our accomodations and I would recommend this hotel to anyone who wants budget with cleanliness.

We booked this hotel last minute, because it was all that was available. The outside is very adorable and looks like an old doll house. The inside is old, but very quaint. It's about a 10 to 15 minute walk from the docking pier, with the last block being slightly uphill; it's 5 minutes away fom the main street (Crescent ave). The room is very small and old, but it was clean. My biggest complaint is the toilet ran for hours after each time it was flushed and the windows are paper thin so you can hear everyone outside. The 6th floor patio is a fantastic view! Overlooking the ocean and city. Staff isn't very outgoing and you hardly ever see them. No breakfast offered. If you get a good deal and aren't expecting a fancy hotel, you will be fine.