Hotel Mac Rae

This is our go-​to spot when we stay in Avalon, which we’ve done around 20 times over the years. The fantastic atmosphere and luxurious décor? No! But it is clean, extremely well located and, if you ask for a room in the back such as 304, extremely quiet – in general, you don’t hear a thing back there. Plus you get a bit of a view of the hills and the bell tower. Prices are reasonable, at least by Catalina standards.
Staff is reasonably attentive and available, another plus. And they have a TV where you can play your own DVDs (plus a bunch of free ones of their own you can borrow), though this required standing on a chair and a lot of fiddling around to figure out how the @#$$$%% thing worked.

This place has a good price and an ocean front view. Those are about the only good things I can say about it though. The rooms are very small (much smaller than appears in the pictures on the website). We stayed in the Ocean View Queen and there’s about enough room for the bed and that’s it. Also, the Wifi did not work in our room. We were informed that it was because we were too far from the front office (only about fifty feet). Even trying to connect about twenty feet away was difficult with the connection dropping repeatedly. Seems like the router had trouble managing the number of connections. I spoke with the front desk and she told me someone would take a look at it but nothing changed. Finally, the most annoying thing is that the hotel is right on the boardwalk so every night there’s a bunch of drunk people standing right below the window arguing with each other and trying to sing. And there’s a club right down the street with some terrible cover band (or karaōke, can’t tell the difference) playing loud music late into the evening.

I’ve enjoyed this place for almost twenty years. The location is convenient for divers with heavy gear (yes there are stairs!). The ouside courtyard is inviting, rooms comfortable (small) and clean. The ocean view rooms are a treat, but can be noisy. My friends sometimes take up almost all of the courtyard room for a few days. We go out for breakfast, but they have coffee (weak tea, juice and pastries. I would love a toaster and healthier bread or hard boiled eggs, but there are many places to find food.
They provide beach towels and have a place to store your stuff after you check out if you are still enjoying the island (even a bathroom complete with shower to wash off the salt water). I’ll be back!

This hotel was amazing! Location is perfect! The room we had was a perfect cozy size for our couple retreat! Continental breakfast included muffins, danishes, juice, coffee and tea. I would 100% book with this hotel again in a heartbeat. The staff was very friendly and the beds are super comfy! Thank you so much for the hospitality!

Perfect location! The waterfront rooms have awesome views. Customer service is lackluster, unfortunately.

Had an ocean view room with terrific view. Clean (although small) room, friendly staff, cozy courtyard (but without a view to outside/​ocean). For the price, it was a great value. We were there during an unusually hot and humid week… the air conditioner was great and had a thermostat to set for desired temp. Bed was comfortable. Only drawback was the stairs… no elevator (and the hotel was on an equivalent to the 3^rd story), but what do you expect for an older building? (All of the close location hotels have stairs.) It was in a perfect location to walk the town. I’d stay there again.

We haven’t even stayed at this hotel yet but I am already very disappointed. We booked this hotel based on two things: Customer service and the view. Since I made the online reservation of the package deal including ferry tickets from Dana Point, I have received absolutely terrible customer service. My requested time for the Dana Point transport was ignored and so we were not booked at 1 pm but had to accept 5 pm. No apologies were given. The girl on the phone sounded tired. She slurred her words like a teenager and was totally apathetic.
We haven’t even arrived and I’m an unhappy customer. This is, by the way, our wedding anniversary. I hope that your hotel can redeem itself during our stay.

After so many bookings at this hotel for my clients due to the excellent location, my clients and I are finally done with this place. Need to cancel one room out of the 5 rooms, and the owner refused to give my client a refund or a credit for future travel. This is after my client has been there every other weekend, every summer for at least 3 – 8 rooms, for the last 5 years. And since my client booked so much over there, one day she just decided that she was not going to pay me my part of commission anymore. I never received my commission from that last trip.
I have never seen a business owner that was so clueless about customer service. Too bad that they have the best location in town, this generation of owner put their past owner and history to shame.

My family recently stayed at Hotel MacRae for two nights. I will admit, after reading others reviews, I was a bit nervous about it. People must tend to focus on what is wrong with things instead of what is right.
We arrived around 9:30am last Tuesday morning. We walked over to the hotel which the is located on a pedestrian only area of the main boardwalk. I didn’t have to worry about my kids crossing from the hotel stairs directly to the beach, which is directly across the street. We went to the desk and were greeted by a friendly young lady. She had a place to store our luggage and told us to pop back in or call around 2pm to see if our room was ready. We came back at 2:10pm and were given our keys.
We had a patio double, room 201, right next to the stairs. Our room was clean and nicely decorated. It was no Sheraton but we were very happy with it. We were given a wi-​fi code on check-​in as well. Each morning there was a continental breakfast with coffee & flavored creamer (huge plus in my book), orange juice, mini muffins and croissants. There was also an ice machine and soda vending machine.
We slept well and were not bothered by any noise from surrounding restaurants & bars. The beds were comfortable and the pillows were sufficient. They had a bunch of DVD’s you can borrow to watch on the Flat screen tv. They also will give you towels to use at the beach. Now let me say, these aren’t cheesy hotel towels but the huge beach towels you might purchase from costco. You have to leave an id or credit card with them and you get it back when they are returned.
I would have given 5 stars but unfortunately they do not have a medication refrigerator to place in your room. We had to store our medication in the office refrigerator and only had access to it from 8am-​8pm. We had to place it in a lunch box with an ice pack overnight which made us nervous since the temperature of the medication must stay between 38−45*. With all the folks that take medication, I would hope that they would invest in a few small medication refrigerators to provide some peace of mind to their guests.
We were able to store our luggage when we checked out at 11am on Thursday since our boat wasn’t leaving until 4:30.
Overall, we were extremely happy with our two night stay and would not hesitate to book here time and time again!

I stayed at the Hotel Mac Rae last weekend with my boyfriend. The first night we had an ocean view room and it was very nice to have the view of the pier and the sound of gently crashing waves all night. The ocean view room is small but nice. The only drawback to this room is that there are a lot of people on the boardwalk below you.
The next two nights we had a different room because no ocean view rooms were available. This room was larger but not quiet at all! It was right next to the ice machine, office and vending machine. It was loud and we could hear everything and everyone that walked by. I wouldn’t stay in that room again.
The staff were nice and helpful so I appreciated that. But if I was ever to stay here again it would have to be in one of the ocean view rooms only. So I rated this hotel 4 stars for the friendly staff and the ocean view room only.

Perfect location very comfortable and relaxed environment older hotel but has everything you need and very well priced Will definitely be my come to place any time we visit the island!

Not sure where to start! Someone else booked this hotel for us (family) some went along with it since our favorite places were all booked for Father’s Day weekend. We had a few rooms.
When my husband came in, he said it reeks of Urine but by the time I got there, he has opened the door/​window and or the AC on high with fan going so I didn’t smell anything.
The rooms are so old, outdated and beat up ! I saw someone paid 124 for a room on Memorial Day and wanted to know what century ago but if that was just few weeks ago (which it really was) Inflation hit because we paid 318/​a flipping night for this dive! They definitely do my use the money to make updates !
Our shower door was missing… we knew that because the metal trim piece and hole for door clasp were left behind when they took the glass off !
The vanity was all buckled from moisture, chopped on top and the handle was old and tarnished.
The smoke detector was hanging slightly from the ceiling and closets were something out of the 70’s.
The best thing I can say about this place is that it is in a great location!
You will be paying 5 star rates for a less than «motel 6» quality !!
I will upload some pictures

Decent accommodations, don’t-need-to-say-too-much staff, roomy shower, homey little courtyard, and a free DVD rental list that would put your Netflix queue to shame.
Just kidding on the last one. I didn’t look at the DVD list, but it seemed lengthy, and a shame that anyone would want to waste away their Catalina days/​nights by lounging in a dated room watching a cinematic adventure when they could be partaking in real life adventures on the sea or land! However, in case that’s you, they’ve got what you’re looking for.
The rate was reasonable and the package that includes the to/​fro Catalina Express trip made for an easy/​convenient booking. I called instead of booking online since I couldn’t easily figure out how to get the «special» rate they were touting, so not sure if I was just wearing a dunce cap on that day or their website is as outdated as their digs (and I say that the most respectful, don’t fix it if ain’t broke kind of way).
It was right smack dab in the middle of the main street, which was a nice feature, though, this part of the island is maybe a mile stretch, at most, so it’s not like you really won the jack pot there!
If you want somewhere to rest at night, store your stuff, and wash yourself after your day/​evening activities without paying a baller price for opulence or ambiance or a staff in uniform, then this will do just fine.
A bountiful spread of a Continental breakfast is not their specialty, either. You’ll grab a cup of coffee or OJ (maybe a mini muffin) as a little amuse bouche to your real morning meal destination.

Don’t book unless you
Love falling sleep to karaōke! The ocean view room is super loud with no privacy, so if your in Catalina for romance skip
This place! Otherwise the location is super perfect!

Loved our stay at the Mac Rae. Room was tiny but clean. Shower and bed were comfy. Best location & price on the Island. There are stairs to the rooms so be prepared for that. Highly recommended, we’ll be back.

The rooms here are very small and smelly, they also are very dated. The own was very rude she gave me hell because my brother and sister had to stay with me the night because they missed their farrier back to the mane land. I was every upset by her rudeness and lack of understanding, I wish I would have had a better birthday experience

As a birthday gift to my daughter, McKenna Rae, I found this hotel on Trip Advisor and thought what a perfect place to send her and her fiancé’ for her 26^th birthday this weekend.
Never have I been more disappointed by an establishment in the ‘hospitality’ industry. I chose this hotel by the name and convenience in town, when I could have chosen any other hotel at the time of booking since all of them, at the time, we around the same price.
I booked the reservation under my own AX since it was a gift. When I read the fine print of the confirmation, I saw that the person checking in needs the actual card at the time of check in. When I stated that I do not live near my daughter and that would be impossible, the reservation clerk, Billy told me he would send me a credit card authorization and it needed to be filled out, with a picture of both sides of my card and emailed back to them. Once he received it, Billy contacted me and said that McKenna was good to go,
Once she got there yesterday, however, Amanda attempted to check them in and said they cannot check in using my card since that’s against policy. She was extremely rude about it and basically didn’t care whether they stayed or left. My daughter then gave Amanda her card. I called and spoke with Amanda at this time and she said that Billy was fired because he went against hotel policy. And THIS should be MY problem? As a business that should be people oriented, they are a far cry from caring about their customers. Amanda should have been professional enough to honor their commitment and taken my card. Again, she was totally rude and non-​committal about the mistake that HER company made.
Not only that, my daughter said the hotel was a MOTEL, not a hotel and the rooms are small, dingy and dirty. NEVER will I recommend this place to anyone. The pricing was no better than any other hotel and I’m sure the other hotels on the island would be far more accommodating and professional.

For the first time in a while I was actually surprised that the room was better than I thought it would be.
My family and I got a package deal that included an ocean view room plus the cost of the ferry to get over. I was relieved to see that the building is just a few feet from the beach and a short walk from the ferry (but I walk fast). It’s an older building, not to flashy, but enough charm. The staff was very nice and hospitable. It’s not too big, and not too small, but a quaint, community type feel to it.
The room, was the surprise. It was clean, no crazy colors or designs. Nice comfy bed and pillows also. Simple blue and white. The bathroom was decent with skylight so you don’t have to use electricity during the day time. And the room was an ocean view, you can imagine the fresh air and good sleep.
The continental breakfast was okay but hey, it’s continental, it’s free.
Another good thing about this hotel is the location. It’s right in the middle of everything so there is no long walk from the middle of no where to town. Shops, restaurants, and access to festivities is right at the door.
I like security, so at 10 pm the door is locked so any nut just can’t come stumbling in to the hotel on you.
I highly recommend it. I will gladly go back there again.

I was skeptical on booking this hotel online. But with only two available hotels left on the island for the weekend. I ended up going with Hotel Mac Rae because the reviews were decent. I made sure to read reviews and check out travelers photos because for $ 260 a night, I need to be impressed with something! Unfortunately, I was extremely disappointed. First of all, the last ferry to the island arrived at 9pm. When we got to the hotel, we were shocked to see that office was closed. I called and it said that office closes at 8pm. Why would you close the office at 8pm if people might arrive to stay at your hotel an hour later? Luckily for them, they had an emergency bell to ring. If no one was there, my boyfriend would have probably raised hell. Thinking we wouldn’t have a place to stay for the night. Upon finally checking in, I told the guy we needed to check in. His response was, «really? No one told me anyone was going to check in today.» Why would you say that? What an idiot. Then as he’s checking his computer, he asked me, «what’s your room number?» W T F ?! I replied with, «How would I have a room number if I’m just NOW checking in?» He said, «Oh, yeah.» What the heck is wrong with you??? Finally checked in and the ONLY room available was the one right in front of the ice machine and vending machine. We were tired. We didn’t care at that point. We go in the room and this place is NO WHERE near worth the $ 260 per night price. Absolutely nothing is updated and the rooms are extremely out of date. I don’t mind the historical feel of the hotel and room, but come on.
PROS: Bed is decent. There is a ceiling fan in the room and the bathroom has a fan too.
CONS: «patio area» is inside the room (not like all the other rooms where it’s located outside your door). TV is tiny and outdated. Electrical outlets are shitty and can’t even hold my phone charger in place (when I move it just a tiny bit, the charger EASILY slides out). Built in drawer space is ridiculously ugly. The drawer space in the bathroom is even uglier. The floor tiles on the bathroom are all cracked. The window blinds in the bathroom were broken (doesn’t go up or down). The shower had rusted soap holder. The tub is in extreme need of caulking all around. The shower doors were grossly molded at the bottom. Quiet time is between 10pm-​8am but it’s NEVER enforced, especially near the vending machine. My boyfriend kept waking up hearing people get ice either late at night or early in the morning. People at the vending machine were talking loudly with no respect for three rooms there trying to get sleep. Outside out window were other rooms with their patio chairs and tables. People were smoking and the smoke was coming into our bathroom. Windows are so thin you can hear everyone’s conversation clearly, along with their annoying laughs. It’s 7 or 8 in the morning. Wth?
I would NEVER recommend this place to anyone, ever. This place should change their name to MOTEL Mac Rae. It has NO hotel feel to it whatsoever. The one star would be just for the location. But honestly, no matter where you stay EVERYTHING is a small walking distance away. Literally, less than a minute walk. So everyone should do themselves a favor and stay elsewhere, you’ll still be right there at the beach (unless you rent a condo or vacation home). ALL the hotels are pretty much in front of the beach. Don’t waste your precious money on this dump.
PS. Check out my photos for proof of my review.
Edit: one more thing, NO ONE ever comes to clean your room, empty trash or replenish your towels or toiletries (soap, shampoo, etc).

Fantastic experience staying here over Memorial Day weekend. I would definitely stay here again.
–Older hotel with a slightly historical feel, but the building and our room was very well kept and clean.
–Budget-​priced, especially compared to the neighboring hotels. Even though we were arriving the day before their summer sale started, they gave us the upcoming 50% discounted rate, so we paid $ 124 for one night in a room with two double beds. We got this rate as part of a package with two roundtrip boat fares from Long Beach to Catalina island. Whereas are you going to stay for such a price and be basically ON the beach?
–Exceptional customer service and a no-​bureaucracy feel. We checked in with the front desk staff several times and they were always very helpful — even after we had officially checked out of our hotel! There is a storage area near the front desk, so we were able to keep our bags there while we gallivanted hours before leaving the island, and they didn’t mind us coming and going. Also, they provided colorful beach towels and we were on the honor system to return them, even though we were already checked out.
–No problems in the bathroom, plenty of hot water in the shower. No weird cracks or mold on the tiles or anything.
–Beds were comfortable and the room didn’t feel cramped
–Free reliable wi-​fi
–This hotel is located above a pretty happening bar (El Galleon), and we noticed we could hear the karaōke going on from our bathroom, but if you shut the door you couldn’t hear it. You have to walk up a long flight of stairs to get to the rooms and there is an outer door leading into the open air courtyard for extra security.
–Cute mural painted by a Mac Rae family member decorated our room! Made us feel like we were in a 1960’s Hawaii bungalow.