Catalina Island Casino Ballroom
Catalina Island Casino Ballroom
Catalina Island Casino Ballroom
4.5
About
Few words can describe the ambiance of the Catalina Casino: it epitomizes everything glamorous and romantic about Catalina Island. The one-of-a-kind venue is simply stunning inside, outside, and all around. If the meticulously decorated walls could talk, they’d tell countless stories of romance and celebration gathered from decades of memorable events. The immense, Deco-themed ballroom is large enough to contain weddings, large meetings or lectures or musical events. The Casino has retained its signature lavish style: a stunning medley of rose-hued walls, an arching, 50-foot ceiling with five Tiffany chandeliers, an elevated stage, raised seating areas surrounding the wooden dance floor, and a vintage full-service bar anchoring the back. A sweeping veranda surrounds the ballroom with stunning 360-degree views of Avalon Bay.
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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
Popular mentions
4.5
298 reviews
Excellent
218
Very good
52
Average
14
Poor
9
Terrible
5
Amanda V
Orange County, CA201 contributions
May 2022
We attended an Art Deco dance in the casino. It was amazing to see 700 people all dressed up in period costume dancing to a live big band. I highly recommend taking a tour so you can see the ballroom and movie theatre.
Written May 17, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
CyndiMom
Manhattan Beach, CA307 contributions
Jan 2014 • Friends
Liked the venue but the food was only fair and the waiter was rude. The event is quite pricey. Nice one time event but not something I would repeat.
Written January 4, 2014
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
TriplePisces2
San Diego, CA24 contributions
Oct 2015 • Family
Very rich tour filled with the unique history of the building. Go on the one titled "Behind the Scenes" tour!
Written October 6, 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Knick S
San Diego, CA45 contributions
Aug 2013 • Family
Don't see the value of how it is currently being used. Seems like there could be a better everyday use for this besides tours and a movie theater. How about some sort of Musical Theater throughout the summer.
Written August 17, 2013
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
sittingonready
North Carolina87 contributions
Aug 2013 • Family
We were very disappointed during our "day trip" to Avalon on Catalina Island on Wed., 8/28/13. Having taken the 10:00am Catalina Express over from Long Beach, we expected to spend to enjoy lunch then do a couple of tours, including the Casino, and some walking around, gallery visits and shopping. There are 2 tours available at the Casino, one for $10 (basic tour to enjoy the art deco styling, etc.) and one for $25 ("behind-the-scenes" tour -- not sure what could be very "behind the scenes" considering the use of the Casino today, so didn't expect it to be worth $25). Our group of 4 was going to do the basic tour after having done lunch and a city tour earlier and spending some time "walking the town". We expected to do a late afternoon tour, arriving at the Casino around 3:15 to purchase tickets for the next available tour. To our surprise, the last basic tour started at 2:15pm -- the last tour? Really?? Who stops tours in the early afternoon, especially the week leading up to Labor Day weekend? There was a $25 tour later, but the last of that type started at 3:00pm?? We were very disappointed, especially after learning earlier that the two restaurants at which we'd hope to have lunch both closed at 1:00pm! It lead us to the conclusion that the island folks aren't really thinking of tourists visiting, but apparently like to close in the early afternoon for a little "siesta" before the night life begins later in the evening.
Written August 29, 2013
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Radsnowgirl
2 contributions
Amazing Casino- BUT we had same experience as previous reviewer on Feb 27th. It started at 2p and ended at 224- that included short talk up front, in theater, hike all the way to the top, and then few minutes out on balcony. Second girl running tour was rude as she wouldnt let us even stop and look at pictures along hallways. She told us that pictures were also down in museum and that we needed to go pay to look at them there- and it was $3 to get in with the ticket stub.
Self guided would be better as the ballroom and theater are spectacular!
Self guided would be better as the ballroom and theater are spectacular!
Written March 10, 2013
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Doctor S_Saddick
San Diego, CA85 contributions
Feb 2013 • Couples
We took the "40 minute" casino tour for $ 10.00 per person. Tour guide RUSHED through the tour and barely/inadequately covered the information that was interesting (e.g., history of the casino). She said nothing about the big bands that had once played at the casino. Her delivery was monotone and boring (sounded like a recorded speech with no soul). I could have done much better as I already had read up on the history of the casino and on the important facts. We were restricted from doing anything other than just follow the tour guide. Took some beautiful photos of the place. Views of the bay from the casino are stunning. The casino itself is truly beautiful and well worth seeing. BUT you can only see it with a tour guide (no self directed tours). Finally, the tour was advertised as being 40 minutes long. It did not last more than 30 minutes. Of those 30 minutes, 7-8 minutes were spent outside of the casino building standing around by the front gate while the guide gave a speech about some of the early days of the casino. I would love to take a self-directed tour of the place. However, a tour guide run tour? Forget it. Not worth the $ 10.00 spent per person. It is a rip-off
Written February 27, 2013
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
wbtelly
Corona1 contribution
Went to a concert on Catalina Island at the end of November. It was supposed to be Beatlemania. Instead it was like a cheap club band wearing wannabe beatle costumes. They sounded horrible down to the phony Liverpool accents, let alone the musical inadequacy. It wasn't a rock concert - it was more like a cheap disco. Even the cheap disco lights were cheasy.
The island is always cool - been there for vacations, diving, summer fun etc. The venue was ultra cool, always wanted to go inside that big building. But after the cost of the boat ride back and forth, plus $45 tickets - we sure did expect alot more from catalinaconcerts.com.
The island is always cool - been there for vacations, diving, summer fun etc. The venue was ultra cool, always wanted to go inside that big building. But after the cost of the boat ride back and forth, plus $45 tickets - we sure did expect alot more from catalinaconcerts.com.
Written December 27, 2007
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
822JohnS
Scottsdale, AZ148 contributions
May 2019 • Couples
Fun with big bands but old facility limited bathrooms, not enough or zero food; Lots of potential falling flat; BIgger and more events needed there;
Written May 20, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
luna
11 contributions
Feb 2019 • Family
Frankie gave us an afternoon tour and we came back later that evening to enjoy the movie! It was so fun. I wish we could have heard the organ, but it was Super Bowl Sunday
Written February 5, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Thank you for touring with us! Although we are sorry that the organ was not playing that evening, we are happy to hear that you enjoyed your time and would love to have you visit us again.
Written February 7, 2019
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
The Casino pipe organ is massive. Very similar to the Spreckles pipe organ in Balboa Park San Diego. I did not get any photos but the often do concerts for the public.
Written September 5, 2018
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