Reviews for Avalon Vacation Rental - VRBO 211679 - 2 BR Catalina Island House in CA, Best Rate for Beach House on Catalina Island

Quaint Cottage

Guest Ann
Date of stay 03/29/13
Review Submitted 04/08/13

This cottage is perfectly located a few blocks up from the beach, shops and restaurants. A brief walk into town, but far enough away from the noise and hustle and bustle. It is a quaint cottage, and the photographs accurately depict the cottage and what it has to offer. The cottage is clean and well-maintained. We loved our stay in Catalina and this cottage contributed a lot to our overall positive experience. We want to rent it again and will recommend this property to anyone we know who is planning a trip to Catalina.

Recommended for: Adventure seekers, age 55+, families with young children, tourists without a car, sightseeing.

Did you find this review helpful? Yes | No Helpful votes: 0/0

Clean and Cozy

Guest Relax
Date of stay 01/31/13
Review Submitted 02/06/13

The inside pictures of this cottage are accurate. There are no longer any plants outside in front of the cottage, but there are blinds on the windows. We had a very pleasant stay and were able to bring our small dog. There are not a lot of rentals in Avalon that allow pets. This was also probably the best rate in Avalon (VRBO and CIVR). It was comfortable and clean. The only negative was no internet. Internet access inside rentals on Catalina is not standard. Internet is available at some local coffee shops, but dogs are not allowed at most eating establishments, even outdoors.

Recommended for: Age 55+, families with teenagers, families with young children, tourists without a car, pet owners, romantic getaway.

Did you find this review helpful? Yes | No Helpful votes: 1/1

Awesome!

Guest Wally
Date of stay 01/04/13
Review Submitted 01/18/13

Awesome vacation and awesome house! Perfect house for our family. Close to everything. Enjoyed being able to eat in or eat out. Will rent again sometime, hopefully soon!

Recommended for: Adventure seekers, age 55+, families with teenagers, families with young children, girls getaway, tourists without a car, romantic getaway, sightseeing.

Did you find this review helpful? Yes | No Helpful votes: 2/2

Great time

Guest md
Date of stay 09/03/12
Review Submitted 09/12/12

We stayed there for two days, this was my fourth time staying here. The location is great, the house is cute, typical cottage by the beach. We did have ONE problem when we arrived, and that was getting the previous people which had stayed there to leave!! or rather come and get their items out of the house....But it was no fault of the owner, and she tried to be helpful in fixing the problem, The place is comfortable and in the perfect location, I love this place wich is why we keep coming back.

Recommended for: Adventure seekers, families with teenagers, families with young children, girls getaway, tourists without a car, pet owners, sightseeing.

Did you find this review helpful? Yes | No Helpful votes: 1/1

Great Getaway

Guest Binky
Date of stay 07/09/12
Review Submitted 07/20/12

Perfect location for walking to the beach, restaurants, grocery, and shops. The house had more than enough room for the 4 of us with 2 queen beds and bunk beds. The house was clean and neat with fresh linens and towels. The neighbors were quiet but friendly. We thoroughly enjoyed our stay and will be back.

Recommended for: Adventure seekers, age 55+, families with teenagers, families with young children, girls getaway, tourists without a car, romantic getaway, sightseeing.

Did you find this review helpful? Yes | No Helpful votes: 4/4

Great house for a stay on Catalina Island!!!

Guest Cari
Date of stay 04/11/12
Review Submitted 04/17/12

I have to admit I was kinda scared to stay here after reading the previous reviews, but it turned out to be a nice surprise. It was a close walk to all activities. A little Von's Express was just down the street, great for buying bottled waters and stuff. Everything was very clean... Fresh sheets, plenty of clean towels. The beds were very comfortable. I suppose it would be a pain if you were going to do lots of cooking, because there is no dishwasher and the stove is smallish, but who likes to cook on vacation right? There is also a bunk bed set in a very small room, but this came in handy for my kids who prefer to have their own beds. I didn't see any stains on the furniture, and the couch and love seat were comfy. All in all it was a great stay, and I would definitely recommend this house to anyone.

Recommended for: Adventure seekers, families with teenagers, families with young children, girls getaway, tourists without a car, pet owners, sightseeing.

Did you find this review helpful? Yes | No Helpful votes: 2/2

NASTY!!!

Guest Fun seeker
Date of stay 03/19/12
Review Submitted 03/30/12

I did not realize anyone would rent a "home" that was so nasty. It had dirty floors, carpets were filthy, couch coverings were filthy, bedding had stains all over, bathrooms fixtures leaked non stop, gaps in doors, windows would not close all the way, nor lock, cat hair everywhere. Dishes were dirty, I would not recomend this place to anyone. It was just plain discusting!! I would give this zero stars, but VRBO does not give you that option. This is absolutely that worst rental I have EVER seen.

Owner response: I stayed at the house one week before and neither I nor my guest were aware of any cat hair.

Did you find this review helpful? Yes | No Helpful votes: 6/7

Filthy, Disgusting, and Gross

Guest doubled
Date of stay 03/19/12
Review Submitted 03/25/12

You enter in the front door that has a 1-inch gap on the bottom to a very small room that had two filthy dirty couches. They have slipcovers with stains all over them. I did not want to sit on them for fear of bugs crawling on me. There are extension cords everywhere. The blinds are covered with dirt and are a good foot short of covering the windows. The cords are broken and tied in knots. The only way to get light in the kitchen is to plug in a cord to lights that are nailed to the ceiling; there are NO light switches. The kitchen stove was an old trailer edition from the 1960's. I was afraid to use it. The whole place was a fire trap. I did check the smoke detectors to make sure they were working just in case there was a fire. I had to go to the store to buy dish washing soap as there was non there, before I could use any of the glasses as I found lip prints on several that were in the cupboard. The bedding had nasty, gross, with stains everywhere, who knows what they were from. I had to keep my shoes on at all times as the carpet was filthy. NOT JUST DIRTY BUT FILTHY. The bathrooms (1 and 1/2) were disgusting. You could sit on the toilet, brush your teeth and wash your feet all at the same time. The bathroom with the shower was about 4 ft. by 4 ft. with a faucet that leaked non-stop. The 1/2 bath had the worst smell you have ever smelled The electrical as stated by the owner was replaced, what a joke. Not sure it could have been any worse. There are overloaded extension cords everywhere. The owner should be embarrassed to rent this unit. There is NO pride of ownership, NONE, and it shows. I had some friends stop by to say hello and they could not believe I was staying there... In fact I rented this unit for 7 nights and left after the 3rd night and it was paid in full. RENTERS BEWARE OF THIS ONE

Owner response: 1. The electrical wiring was inspected by the City of Avalon electrical inspector and approved. 2. There are no extension cords. 3. Smoke detectors are in every room and all work. 4. Dish soap is not provided. 5. The comforters on the beds have been washed. 6, The carpet was shampooed one week before this guest arrived. 7. The kitchen has a ceiling fan/light in the center of the room. 8. The kitchen stove was purchased in 1997 not 1960 and was recently inspected by a technician and works fine. 9. The blinds cover the windows. 10. The "slipcovers" have been washed. 11. A new couch and loveseat have been ordered and will arrive soon. 12. I have not seen any bugs in the house. 13. New bathroom faucets are being installed as soon as the plumber can fit it into his schedule.

Did you find this review helpful? Yes | No Helpful votes: 9/10

Perfect little base to explore the island

Guest Soleuk
Date of stay 03/16/12
Review Submitted 04/11/12

The house is great, it has everything you need to enjoy your stay in Avalon. If you are looking for 5 star luxury and big tv's and modern appliances to cook your own meals this is not the place for you, but if you want a cozy base to explore the island this house is great! It's not at all dirty or filthy as previous reviewers said. The linens and towels were clean and everything worked perfectly well. The location is really good and Debora was very accommodating and a pleasure to deal with. Unfortunately it rained almost our entire stay, so we will definitely go back and stay here again!

Recommended for: Age 55+, families with young children, tourists without a car, pet owners, romantic getaway.

Did you find this review helpful? Yes | No Helpful votes: 1/2

Last Minute Getaway

Guest Andie
Date of stay 03/02/12
Review Submitted 04/20/12

The house was great for a last minute getaway! Close to everything, on a quiet street, clean, and comfortable. We are definitely planning to return later this year.

Recommended for: Adventure seekers, age 55+, families with teenagers, families with young children, girls getaway, tourists without a car, romantic getaway, sightseeing.

Did you find this review helpful? Yes | No Helpful votes: 2/2

Catalina Island - property #211679

Guest tnhlawson
Date of stay 02/24/12
Review Submitted 02/28/12

This cottage was accurately described as being a short distance to the beach, that was awesome! An easy walk to town and great neighbors! We noticed prior to booking that some of the amenities in the photo's looked very obsolete and dated for example: tiny old TVs, 8 track player,VHS etc. However, the owner stated that there would be new photo's coming soon so we assumed (our bad) the minimal upgrades would be the purpose for the new photo's, this was not the case. This cottage was very dirty in every way! There are 3 couches in the unit as described as convertible beds, to use the couch in this manner you would have to remove the very old and dirty slip covers and that would only reveal the nasty dirty couch underneath, I didn't want to touch either. Also, one of the living room couches was not usable due to the insect activity eating away at the wood on the ceiling and leaving behind piles of wood dust on the couch head rest area.The Bathroom with out a shower had a horrible smell perfuming the area, upon investigation we found the source to be a soiled toilet brush and toilet plunger in a black trash back sitting open on the floor next to the toilet with fecal matter and toilet paper all over it, also this bathroom sink fixture is broken it doesn't have cold water only hot. One of the front full length windows to the house does not lock, these windows are large enough for someone to just step right into your house so your belongings will never be secure in this location, not a great way to feel on vacation. There was a review written in 7/2010 that was a very honest review and my husband and I will back this review as we just stayed here 3 years later and the Stereo is still broken with only having a loud setting, the window still not lockable, the BBQ still broken, I could go on and on about this place but I think I have said enough to give you an honest feel of the rental unit. as a warning my husband is 6' 4" and hit his head several times on the shower ceiling as well as the bathroom ceiling beams so if you are tall you will want to take that into consideration. All in all this cottage did not ruin our stay but I found this to be a place that is forgotten and not loved and with some minimal effort and funds it could be a great rental unit. The owner however was very nice and easy to deal with I have no issue there and I hope she understands this is a review of her cottage and not personal.

Owner response: There is a new flat screen TV and a DVD player that has been at the house for about a year. There is another new BBQ as of 3/1/2012. The volume on the stereo in the kitchen has always worked and still does. The cold water in the bathroom works, someone had turned it off down below and it just needed to be turned back on. The window that would not lock has been permanently locked. I am not sure why there was a concern about convertible sofa beds since the occupancy of the house is 4 people and there are enough beds to sleep 6. The construction in the bathroom is a sloping ceiling. There is new paint throughout most of the house. The maids have done an extra cleaning and they have shampooed the carpet.

Did you find this review helpful? Yes | No Helpful votes: 5/6

Cozy and Cute

Guest Giovanni
Date of stay 09/30/11
Review Submitted 10/05/11

My wife and I and one other couple stayed for three days in this charming house. We have stayed on the island before but never rented a house. We have always stayed in one of the many hotels. If you know anything about Catalina you know that most of the hotels and homes are old. One of the many tours we took told us about a fire that destroyed the entire town in 1915 and had to be rebuilt. Most of the homes date back to the late 1915's or early 1920's which gives the town its charm. This house was most likely built around that same time frame. It is in a terrific location and the price is better than most hotels in town which are much, much smaller. A very short walk will take you into the downtown area where the beach is located along with all of the shops and restaurants. We had stayed at one hotel that required us to either hike up a huge hill or take a taxi. You won't be sorry renting this house at all. It was fresh and clean. We shopped at the local store and ate our breakfast and lunch at the house and went out to dinner at night. By Sunday afternoon our feet were tired the men ended up watching football and having a beer or two. It was very relaxing for all of us and we had a great time. We will no doubt rent again when we visit the island. Everything went smooth, from the initial renting of the house to our arrival on the island. You can't go wrong. If you go with one other couple you can split the cost which will be terrific savings over staying at one of the many expensive hotels in town. It is truly a good bargain for the price.

Recommended for: Adventure seekers, age 55+, families with teenagers, families with young children, girls getaway, tourists without a car, romantic getaway, sightseeing.

Did you find this review helpful? Yes | No Helpful votes: 5/6

Gigi (Santa Barbara, CA)

Guest Gigi
Date of stay 09/16/11
Review Submitted 10/03/11

My wife and I have stayed on Catalina Island many times over the years. We have stayed in hotels and other rental properties. This property not only has island charm, it also has a price that is well below what it should be for such a great location. The house is only one and a half very short blocks to the beach, shopping, tours, and restaurants. It couldn't be any more centrally located unless the house was sitting on the beach itself. You won't need any transportation at all if you decide to rent this house. I read the comments made by a visitor from New Zealand and wondered if I was reviewing the same location. We did not find anything mis-represented at all. The house appeared to have a good coat of paint, and nothing was peeling. The kitchen seemed to be a full kitchen from our standpoint. Refrigerator, Stove, Microwave oven, Toaster which all seemed to be in very good working condition. The kitchen also had what appeared to be a fairly new floor and there was no sign of duct tape or tackiness about the flooring. The lighting fixtures had light bulbs in place and the overall lighting did not seem to be a problem at all. Also, we did not notice anything odd about the electrical wiring of the house, but since I am not an electrician or a handyman for that matter, all we can really say is that the lighting was more than sufficient. Oh, and by the way, the DVD player was also present and in good working condition. The bottom line is that you can spend a lot more money somewhere else and be much further away from the action, or you can rent this charming house and be right in the hub of downtown Avalon! I would definitely recommend this house to all of my family and friends. And I also recommend it to you!

Recommended for: Adventure seekers, age 55+, families with teenagers, families with young children, girls getaway, tourists without a car, romantic getaway, sightseeing.

Did you find this review helpful? Yes | No Helpful votes: 6/7

Wonderful vacation

Guest max
Date of stay 08/12/11
Review Submitted 09/30/11

We found the home to be an adorable cottage. It was very close to the beach and shop which made getting around very comfortable and easy. The home was very clean and we liked the new flooring, drapes, and bedding. The rental procedure was easy and the owner was very friendly and helpful. I would recommend this property to my family and friends.

Recommended for: Adventure seekers, people with disabilities, age 55+, families with teenagers, families with young children, girls getaway, tourists without a car, pet owners, romantic getaway, sightseeing.

Owner response: Always glad when guests have an enjoyable vacation.

Did you find this review helpful? Yes | No Helpful votes: 4/6

Catalina Island - property #211679

Guest kj
Date of stay 07/26/09
Review Submitted 07/26/10

The owner was quick to respond to inquiries and made the transaction easy. The location of the house to the main centre of Avalon made it easy to access the beaches and the shops which we enjoyed. We also enjoyed the washer and dryer and the rental cart. However overall the rental property is mis-represented on the website and the condition of the property was sub-standard. Specifically: •There was no deck/patio (as stated on the website)/ •The windows in the front of the house do not lock or close properly; the house was not able to be secured. •Electricity is very old and did not provide sufficient lighting: unsure that the wiring is to code. Many of the light fittings did not have light bulbs; Housekeeping was not helpful in getting replacement bulbs. •The kitchen has only the basics and this was not a full kitchen as advertised. •The BBQ grill was dirty and the cover did not have a handle which made the BBQ difficult to use. •There is no DVD player as stated - the radio has only one volume – loud. •The duct tape used to repair a part of the kitchen floor is a potential risk (for people falling) and a little tacky. •The 3rd smaller bedroom is no more than a closet with a bunk bed on the floor and the top bunk so close to the ceiling it was almost impossible to use without hitting your head. •The pictures posted on the web do not correctly convey the reality of the interior or the exterior of the house and the place is well used/run down with paint peeling from surfaces. The rotted wood in parts of the house is not appealing.

Owner response: The house is a very charming Catalina cottage and consistently receives positive responses from guests. The inside electrical wiring was completely replaced 3/2011. The kitchen is a full kitchen per the VRBO description. There is a DVD player and the volume control on the radio continues to work well. Most of the interior has been recently painted, there is new kitchen and bathroom flooring, and new window coverings throughout as well.

Did you find this review helpful? Yes | No Helpful votes: 41/43

Vacation Rentals by Owner

Best Rate for Beach House on Catalina Island - Call Now! [#211679] | View Property

Traveler Reviews (15)

Quaint Cottage

Quaint Cottage

Clean and Cozy

Clean and Cozy

Awesome!

Awesome!

Great time

Great time

Great Getaway

Great Getaway

Great house for a stay on Catalina Island!!!

Great house for a stay on Catalina Island!!!

NASTY!!!

NASTY!!!

Filthy, Disgusting, and Gross

Filthy, Disgusting, and Gross

Perfect little base to explore the island

Perfect little base to explore the island

Last Minute Getaway

Last Minute Getaway

Catalina Island - property #211679

Catalina Island - property #211679

Cozy and Cute

Cozy and Cute

Gigi (Santa Barbara, CA)

Gigi (Santa Barbara, CA)

Wonderful vacation

Wonderful vacation

Catalina Island - property #211679

Catalina Island - property #211679