We've arrived! Aboard the Catalina Express.
Piloting out of Avalon Harbor aboard the Catalina Express.
The Pavilion Hotel our safe port for the next three days.
Flowering plants and seating are abundant in the courtyard of the Pavilion Hotel.
There's a wine and cheese happy hour every night.
The guest rooms shine with updated coastal-inspired interiors.
Bamboo and botanical accents give the Pavilion Hotel a beachy vibe.
More greenery and views from the Pavilion Hotel.
Many rooms have their own private patio.
At Descanso Beach Club the view is not a bonus so much as the point.
The long view, walking to the Descanso Beach Club.
Pacific Swordfish Sandwich with Sea Salt Fries and an attitude adjuster an Espresso Colada.
Have a seat, literally on the water at Pier 24.
Alcohol is not necessary with the Poseidon’s Passion, a mocktail made with passion fruit, apple juice, mint, honey and club soda.
Chicken and Date chopped salad and Spicy Bison Meatball Pizza from Pier 24.
Titan, having a great time playing with his ball at the Wrigley Ranch.
The Bison were hanging out along our tour route to the Wrigley Ranch.
The fully restored Flxible bus that was our carriage on our journey to Wrigley Ranch.
The Mountain Wagon one of the many treasures at the Wrigley Ranch.
Echo Lake.
Ryan welcomes everyone to Flx Biergarten.
A beer and a cider with a pretzel on the side at Flx Biergarten.
It's a long way down but a breathtaking view of the Avalon Harbor.
Avalon Harbor framed in one of the many Spanish-inspired architectural details.
View of the harbor from the courtyard of the Pavilion Hotel
One last look as we leave Catalina for the main land.
The pleasure of Catalina begins before you arrive. It starts with the crossing, with the mainland falling away and Avalon still out of sight, and with the rare feeling in Southern California that getting somewhere is part of the vacation rather than an obstacle to it.
I boarded the Catalina Express out of Long Beach and settled into the Commodore Lounge, which, as far as I’m concerned, is the only way to make the crossing. The upgrade came with reserved seating, a beverage of choice, including beer, wine or a cocktail, and a few salty snacks for the hour-long glide across the channel. From the moment we sat down, the trip felt effortless.
Catalina has long traded on its familiar charms: the harbor, hillside homes, golf carts, beach clubs and the feeling that Avalon exists slightly removed from ordinary time. But on this visit, the island also felt freshly tuned, from the refurbished Pavilion Hotel to the restaurant scene and a vintage Flxible bus tour that carried us beyond the postcard version of town.
A short walk from the landing brought us to the Pavilion Hotel, close enough to the harbor to feel connected to Avalon but tucked away enough to offer a sense of retreat. After a year-long closure, the mid-century modern hotel reopened in April with updated coastal-inspired interiors, upgraded guest rooms and enhanced courtyard spaces. The outdoor areas, with palms, flowering plants, shaded seating areas and bright turquoise lounge chairs give the property the feel of a private island courtyard just steps from the harbor.
The same care showed up inside the guest rooms. The bamboo woodwork throughout our room brought a tropical vibe as did the botanical touches and coastal colos. The in-room coffee area felt planned rather than tacked on, with a Keurig, good coffee, good creamer and a drawer stocked with sugar and sweeteners. The Wi-Fi was strong enough to stream shows and keep up with the work that always seems to follow no matter where we are.
The hotel also builds in small rituals that encourage lingering. Each evening from 4:30 to 5:30, guests are offered wine and cheese, a civilized pause before dinner or a walk through town. In the morning, a continental breakfast is served from 7:30 to 9:00, making it possible to start the day without immediately joining the search for coffee and a table elsewhere.
That slower rhythm carried into the rest of the trip: step out into Catalina, return to the garden, then step out again.
At Descanso Beach, Catalina embraces its resort side. The restaurant sits above the sand with every table facing the ocean, which means the view is not a bonus so much as the point. From our seats, the beach spread out below us: palms, umbrellas, lounge chairs, swimmers and the blue channel beyond.
The service was attentive and the food was solid, led by an Espresso Colada that delivered a cold, creamy rush of coffee and vacation attitude. I followed it with the grilled Pacific swordfish sandwich, dressed with cilantro marinade, creamy pineapple and red cabbage slaw on a brioche bun, with sea salt fries alongside. It was the right order for the setting: fruits of the sea with just enough richness to make lunch feel satisfying.
If Descanso Beach is Catalina in full resort mode, Pier 24 brings the experience back to Avalon’s harborfront center of gravity. Billed as Avalon’s newest waterfront restaurant, it offers the kind of broad menu designed to satisfy a mixed table: salads, seafood, pizza, burgers, paninis and sandwiches, along with a substantial cocktail list. The setting does much of the work, with harbor seating that puts diners directly above the water, boats in view and Avalon’s hillside rising beyond the railing.
I started with Poseidon’s Passion, a mocktail made with passion fruit, apple juice, mint, honey and club soda that was bright, sweet and easy to drink. I intended to choose between the pizza and the chicken and date chopped salad, then gave up and ordered both. The salad, with red leaf lettuce, heirloom cherry tomatoes, toasted almonds, sweet corn, avocado, goat cheese crumbles, garlic croutons and champagne vinaigrette, was substantial but refreshing. The spicy bison meatball pizza, with mozzarella, bison meatballs, Italian sausage, caramelized onion and pizza sauce, was rich and satisfying, especially with the Calabrian garlic chili oil which I had served on the side to personalize the heat.
The Explore the Wrigley Ranch Tour, also operated by the Catalina Island Company, opened up a different Catalina. The three-hour tour carried us from Discovery Tour Plaza into the island’s rugged interior aboard a fully restored 1950s Flxible bus, a rolling piece of island history that felt like part of the experience rather than just transportation.
Our guide and driver, Cyndy, was well-versed and impressively at ease behind the wheel. She handled the vintage bus over the island’s old stagecoach roads like Mario Andretti, guiding it through turns, grades and narrow passages with practiced confidence. The trip lasted three hours but felt closer to one, partly because the vehicle itself was part of the pleasure and partly because the island kept changing outside the windows.
The route carried us away from Avalon and into hills where bison still roam and the island feels far larger than it does from the harbor. At El Rancho Escondido, the Wrigley family’s “hidden ranch,” we got close to Arabian horses housed and trained there and watched an exhibition by Titan, a horse with enough skill and personality to hold the group’s attention on his own. He was charming, clearly well trained and just as clearly aware that he had an audience.
Later, Flx Biergarten picked up that transportation-history thread although more chill. The island’s first and only biergarten pays homage to the Flxible buses that once traversed Catalina and turns that history into an outdoor space built for beer, games and hanging around. There are beers by the glass or flight, plus ciders, kombucha and seltzers, and a small menu of nibbly things, with a hamburger and hot dog for anyone who wants more.
I went with Firestone Cali Squeeze Blood Orange Hefeweizen, a smooth, citrusy beer that worked for someone who likes beer in small doses, and a soft pretzel served with plenty of mustard and beer cheese. Between the string lights, fireplaces, beer pong, other games and banging music, Flx gave the trip a welcome jolt of fun.
By the time the boat carried us back across the channel, Catalina felt both familiar and newly expanded. Avalon still offered the charms that have always made it easy to love but this trip also revealed a more layered island, one that felt refreshed, playful and still rugged once the road bent inland. The pleasure began with the crossing, but it lasted because Catalina gave us more than one version of itself.
The 411:
Catalina Island Express: 320 Golden Shore, Long Beach, (310) 519-1212.
www.catalinaexpress.com/long-beach-port/
Pavilion Hotel: 513 Crescent Ave., Avalon, (855) 601-2109.
www.visitcatalinaisland.com/pavilion-hotel
Descanso Beach Club: 1 Saint Catherine Way, Avalon, (310) 510-7410.
www.visitcatalinaisland.com/dining/descanso-beach-club
Pier 24: 230 Crescent Avenue, Avalon, (310) 510-0008.
www.visitcatalinaisland.com/dining/pier-24
Flx Biergarten: 301 Crescent Avenue, Avalon, (310) 510-2000.
www.visitcatalinaisland.com/dining/flx-biergarten
Explore the Wrigley Ranch: 170 Sumner Avenue, Avalon, (800) 619-1793.
www.visitcatalinaisland.com/things-to-do/wrigley-island-tour
NOTE: Catalina Island Company uses a cashless payment system and only accepts credit cards, debit cards, and mobile payment options (such as Apple Pay and Google Pay) for all transactions. There are Cash-to-Card Kiosks available in Avalon in the lobby of Hotel Atwater and Descanso Beach Club.
