Ivy W.'s Profile

If you're like me and somewhat picky about hotels, then you'll have a hard time trying to choose a place to stay during your stay in Avalon. There aren't many to choose from and most of them are old and run-down. I had originally wanted to stay at Hotel Metropole but the rates were out of my budget, so I narrowed it down between here and the Pavilion hotel. After much contemplation, I chose here because I thought the Pavilion looked too touristy and like they cater to families and older couples.

Upon arriving on the island on a Sunday, we had no problems getting to the hotel -- everything is walking distance. The place is right next to Vons, which was very convenient, small, homely, and very cute; loved the beach-y decor and muted tones of blues and whites. Check-in is 2:00 pm but we checked in at 12:30 pm and was given our room keys with no problems.  Be careful about carrying too much luggage, or if you have a bad leg, or you are handicapped because they only have stairs, no elevators.

I made reservations for room 333 (king bed with ocean view balcony) for $150 which was a great deal (I wanted a room on the 4th floor but I made my ressies a month in advance... which was too late -_- so I do recommend booking your room online 45-60 days in advance). Our room was great -- roomy, clean, and I loved our view.  My only complaint is that either the ceiling was very thin or the people above us were obese, because we heard them walking around the whole night (Wtf? Another reason to get a room on the 4th floor). And then during our first day, there was a random, large thump on our door? Scared the crap out of me...

There are a lot of reviews complaining about small bathrooms and sinks in the actual bedroom area, but in our room we had no problems with that. Our bathroom and shower were both large and had more than enough space for two people. My only complaint is the shower has no door... but this weird half-glass divider. Not a bright idea because water got everywhere, so I had to place lots of towels on the floor so we wouldn't slip and fall x_x  Also, I noticed that the complimentary mini bottle of lotion in the bathroom had been opened and used before. I was disgusted by this. My boyfriend called front desk to let them know and they told us if we wanted a new bottle, we had to go down to the front desk to get it. What... Is this common at most bed and breakfast joints? Because I thought it was kinda whack that we had to go down to correct their mistake.

There is complimentary Wi-Fi but their directions to connect to the Wi-Fi aren't very clear and we had trouble with it even though we're not noobs when it comes to technology. And while I was doing work, I realized that we were connected to another person's computer and had access to all his personal files, such as his bank account number and password (fool had it saved as a document on his desktop, wtf dumb). We don't know if this was the dude's own fault for making a public connection or if it was because of the hotel's Wi-Fi, but to be safe, we immediately disconnected from the Wi-Fi.

On the bright side, complimentary Continental breakfast is provided. I went down around 9:00 am to see what they had and considering it's comp, it was pretty decent. They had orange juice, coffee, tea, muffins, apples, and a lot of pastries. They do provide trays, which was awesome because I went to town and grabbed a little bit of everything. Check-out is at 11:00 am, which is a bit early in my opinion but no problem. They do store your luggage if you have a tour and you don't have anywhere to place your luggage. Great idea but they don't have a secured area to store said luggage. They just place it next to the front desk and around the lobby if there isn't enough room... Not very safe imo, so something to keep in mind (since we were going zip lining, I took all my most valuable stuff with me and stored it in the lockers provided at the zip lining tour).

I liked Catalina Island Inn but not enough to give them 4 stars due to an accumulation of little no-nos: no elevators, no customer service, paper-thin ceilings, and no secured luggage storing. Another thing I didn't like is that there is no 24-hour staff available. The front desk closes at 10:00 pm and if there is an emergency, there are emergency phones on every floor to contact the night manager. This, plus the fact that the front door of the hotel is unlocked 24 hours, it didn't make me feel very safe... Regardless if Avalon is a safe town or not.  

This place wasn't bad, just not the best compared to my other experiences at other hotels and bed and breakfasts. I do recommend it if you're on a budget because their rates from Sun-Thu are great. However, next time when I visit Catalina, I'd rather stay at a different establishment.

I'd never been zip lining before doing it here, so I don't have anything else to compare to; but based on the experience itself, it's not quite 5 stars.  I surprised my boyfriend with zip lining on Catalina Island for his birthday 'cause he likes this sort of stuff. Even though I'm afraid of heights, I was happy to go.

I recommend reserving a spot online as these tours get booked very, very quickly in advanced. I originally wanted to go on Sunday but because I booked too late (a month in advance), there was only room for Monday's tour. I also recommend being there at least 20 minutes before your scheduled appointment and making time to get there especially if you're walking to Descano Beach Club. We didn't realize how far it was of a walk and got there 5 minutes before our scheduled time and were the last ones in our tour to arrive.

When you get there, you fill out very short liability forms, get weighed in, and then strapped into your zip lining gear. They provide complimentary lockers to store your personal belongings and I don't recommend bringing anything but a (small point & shoot) camera and/or phone with you because you sorta need both hands when zip lining. They spend about 10-15 minutes briefing you and your group on what's going to happen, what to do, and what not to do. Then off in the bus you go!

Our tour guides were Denny and Jimmy and they were really personable and funny, cracking jokes with us and each other along the tour. When they weren't being funny, they informed us with facts about the wildlife, flowers, and the island. We even learned that Rachel McAdams went on the night zip lining tour the night before us!

As for the zip lining itself, the scariest lines are probably 1 and 2. The first one especially if you haven't done it before... so I was terrified to the point where I almost pissed myself. I'm afraid of heights and the idea of voluntarily jumping off a platform into NOTHING while holding on to a measly thing attached to a thin line almost had me crying, begging, and holding on for dear life. Denny did a great job trying to make me feel as safe and comfortable as he could. The 2nd line is scary only because it's the longest (1300+ meters) and if you aren't in the proper formation, you might not make it across. And then you'll be that idiot stuck halfway on the line who didn't listen to the directions, while everyone's laughing at you.

The first 3 lines or so were fun, and then it got kind of boring to be honest.  I think it's because the weather wasn't that sunny that day and being so high up in the mountains, it was absolutely freezing.  After the initial shock and adrenaline of zipping down a line at an incredibly fast speed died down, I realized I was freezing and the only thing on my mind was getting back down, putting on my jacket and getting warm. On a colder day, I recommend wearing jeans and a sweater. If it's hot, you probably want to wear longer shorts (you don't want your straps digging into your thighs). Also, I recommend using the restroom before your tour begins because there are obviously no restrooms up there and the tour is roughly 2 hours long.

At the last line, they take a photo of you going down and to be honest most of the photos were pretty unflattering LOL.  Either it was an unflattering open crotch shot, or someone's fat was spilling out from their jeans and gear (*cough, def not me...).  You have the option for buying the photo from them for $17.99 but due to my ninja skills, I snapped a quick one of the real thing with my cell phone.

Supposedly, they're building more lines for another tour, a more advanced one so I'd definitely come back to try that one. They also have a night tour, which sounds terrifying but exciting.  Otherwise, I think once on the regular line they have now is enough for me. Personally, I think it's pretty pricey and only recommend it if you have the funds to try it.

The first time I visited Avalon was when I was under the age of five. Obviously I didn't remember anything, so I decided to surprise my boyfriend for his birthday and take him here. Since I didn't remember anything, coming here and seeing the island seem entirely new to me and I absolutely loved it.

It's clearly a tourist town, but it's so small and slow-paced, it was such a refreshing change from fast-paced Los Angeles. Most places are within walking distance and the main mode of transportation is by golf cart. Even the Fed-Ex truck is super mini and my boyfriend joked that if you lived on Avalon and ordered a TV, they probably couldn't ship it to you since it wouldn't even fit in the truck.

Being in Avalon felt like you were in a completely different place and it's hard to believe that it's only an hour out from Los Angeles. The community is so small that we saw many tourists visiting more than once and kept bumping into them throughout our stay. One of my favorite things to do was walking along the tiny beaches at night, eating Mexican food, and listening to the waves crash in. It's like being on Santa Monica beach at night, but safer. Or even Hawaii, but on a smaller scale and less "tropical".

There are an abundant of things to do on the island, from relaxing and sunbathing on the beach or Descano Beach Club to being a daredevil and going zip lining. They have many tours on land and in underwater and activities such as scuba diving, snorkeling, and parasailing.

The architecture is also amazing. There are many homes on the hills of Avalon, which makes for a perfect scenic photograph. Even though I've never been, it was very reminiscent of Santorini in Greece (my boyfriend dubbed Avalon as a poor man's Santorini lol). I only wish we could've rented a golf cart to drive around town and further out to see more of the island.

Catalina Island really is a special paradise.  If I wasn't a broke college kid, then I'd make it a point to visit here at least once a year.  But since I am, and it costs $70 r/t, I probably wouldn't :"(  If you have the time or money, I really recommend visiting, even if it's just for a day!

I love this El Pollo Loco! Well, I love El Pollo Loco in general. This is also the closest one to my house, so I love it even more.

I like going in and ordering instead of going through drive-thru 'cause I always take a long time weighing my options and ordering. Depending on their promotions and deals, I usually get the 8-piece legs & thighs chicken meal with extra flour tortillas and corn on cob and sometimes mac n' cheese (which totals to less than $20 and feeds a family of 2-3, but I just usually eat it myself...).

They're quick and the food is always fresh. And the employees are always patient with me considering I take forever to decide what to order lol. One of the reasons I love El Pollo Loco though is because of their House Salsa. It's truly one of the best salsas I've ever tasted and to be honest, everything else I've ever had pales in comparison to it.  Some may argue it's Americanized, but whatever, I don't care!

I've been coming to this particular Wendy's for as long as I can remember, ever since I was a little girl. I loved getting their chicken nuggets kid's meal, dipping my nuggets and fries into the Chocolate frosty it came with, and then taking a sip of soda. However, I stopped coming here by the time I hit my preteens.

Recently I came here 'cause I was in the area and craving soft serve and didn't know where else to get it. I went through the drive-thru and the girl taking my order was almost incoherent. I asked her how much a small soft drink was and she gave me the price of the medium and then said she really didn't know. Obviously I don't expect much from an employee working at a fast food chain, but come on -- really?

I ordered a small soft drink anyway (it's huge by the way, I thought it was a medium at first) and a small Chocolate frosty. Total was less than $4, so it's a great value. When I got my food, I asked the same girl who took my order if my drink was the right size and she replied yes very shortly. I would've given this place 4 stars if it wasn't for this employee... she just made my overall experience pretty crappy.

Why does this location have such poor reviews? :(

This is the nearest Pizza Hut to my house and it's super convenient. Staff is always pleasant and they have great deals on pasta and pizza. Even though I love Papa John's pizza so much more, the reason why I keep coming to Pizza Hut is because of their pastas! When eating, I like having options and mixing my food (alternating bites) and I love that you can mix and match two pastas of your liking. I know Domino's has pasta too, but their pastas just don't compare (also who wants to gain a million pounds from eating pasta in a bread bowl...?! Carbs upon carbs). Their Cinnamon Sticks are pretty good too but I really can't eat more than one at a time. Pizza Hut as a company though should really work on changing their breadstick recipe... it's so gross :/

My best friend Jessica C. loves coming here and that's the only time I ever visit. Otherwise, I wouldn't come here at all. This place has changed their name, interior, and management so many times, it's hard to keep track.

My best friend used to love their dollar days where you could get a crepe for a dollar, but since they're under new management, they no longer have that. Or stamp cards. And prices have gone up. We came here earlier last week and for a crepe with strawberries, nutella and ice cream, it was ~$7 WTF?

Also, I guess because they're under new management, they don't open until 2:00 pm. We went at 1:50 pm and they wouldn't let us in at first because they said they open at 2. We thought it was stupid because you could at least let us in and have us wait inside rather than outside looking like idiots, and refused to leave. They eventually let us in and informed us that the grill was still heating up, which was fine 'cause my best friend couldn't decide what she wanted.

The only thing I super don't like about this place is the false advertising. They have this glass display case of crepes and ice cream in cones. Thinking they had cones, I was super excited and wanted to order one. They told me they don't have cones... so you're falsely advertising ice cream cones? Dumb.

We came here earlier during the week for brunch and this place seems bigger than most Denny's. I got an Avocado Breakfast Burrito and I was surprised by how much nicer and bigger-portioned it looked here compared to other Denny locations (I'm looking at you Arcadia Denny's). I usually can't finish their burritos but I did here 'cause it was pretty good.  We also ordered a side of onion rings and they were just as good. I finished my orange juice and asked our server if they do free refills. She said they don't but she could give me a half size one for $0.99 since I didn't want a full glass. In the end, she didn't even charge us for the half size glass!

I would come back again :)

I've only started coming here more often because this is the closest AMC to my boyfriend (I prefer only AMC and Landmark theatres). It's a pretty large theatre with many screens, with the biggest screens having stadium seating.  I'm not a fan of stadium seating, but I think most prefer it.

I usually visit on a weekday night, so it's pretty empty and it's not a hassle getting tickets and what not.  The only thing I don't like is that on weekdays, after a late showing (ending at 12:00 am or so), they close the front and you have to exit through the back on the first floor, which means if you parked on the 2nd floor, you have to walk around the mall to get back up to where you parked.  Not cool.

P.S. I recommending getting your AMC tickets at Costco.  Soooooo much cheaper!

After hearing Scoops compared to Milk and other ice cream shops, I knew I had to come here and try it. I actually forgot I'd been here and wondered why I hadn't visited yet... then I remembered I came here a couple months ago -_-" That says a lot about Scoops already, I think.

The shop is small and looks like an old school ice cream parlor. They offer many, many, many... unique and interesting flavors. Maybe I'm just not adventurous when it comes to my desserts, but I like my typical ice cream flavors and had a hard time deciding which flavor I wanted. I don't even remember which one I ended up getting, so again, I think that says a lot; especially considering I have a memory of an elephant.

As I dig deeply into my memory trying to remember my experience here, I also remember that staff wasn't that friendly. I asked for a million samples just because I was afraid of picking something I hated, and I remember the dude seemed so uninterested in my questions and bored. He was also super preoccupied with another staff member and having a conversation with him, as I was trying to choose a flavor.

I most likely wouldn't come back...