We stayed there this past weekend. I live in San Diego, and travel to Catalina often. The location of this hotel can't be beat when it comes to being close to the beach, shops and restaurants. The downside was the noise and lack of sleep because of it.

We stayed in one of the ocean front rooms, and the noise from the bar below it (music / karaoke) went on until about 2:00 am. The people from the bar would also stand outside on smoke breaks yelling and screaming right outside our windows. I was very close to actually calling the Sheriff's department because some of them were yelling at the top of their lungs for hours. My wife and I did not get any sleep.

If I was planning on going out drinking till 2:00 in the morning I would probably stay there again. If I actually wanted to get some sleep I would either pick another place, or ask for a room in the back away from the bar. Nice place, nice staff, but very noisy. Something to think about if you are going to stay there.

This is a very pleasant little hotel right on the bay front, easy walk to everything in Avalon! As someone else wrote, very handy for pit stops while out enjoying the beauty of Catalina Island. Great places to eat and walk all around. I rated the rooms a bit low only because they are small and decorated with unnecessary silk flowers. But our room, facing the courtyard, was perfectly comfortable. The staff was very nice, and gave me extra towels and an extra pillow on request, and offered to put our left-over pizza in the office fridge. Great value, very comfortable king size bed, good TV, nice hot shower (no bathtub, but fine with us). We will definitely come back!

Hello, my wife and I stayed at the Hotel Mac Rae for her birthday in
August 2010. This was our first trip to Catalina Island and we were only staying for a couple of days.

We wanted a hotel that was reasonably priced and close to the water. All of the hotels in Avalon are relatively close to the beach but the Hotel Mac Rae is literally right across the street from it. And the " street " really wasn't a street at all but more of a boardwalk open only to pedestrians. From the front of the hotel to the sand is about 25 - 30 feet. There are a ton of shops, restuarants and bars located on the boardwalk on each side of the hotel which made playing tourist very easy.

Almost everything on Catalina Island is expensive and the hotels are no exception. The Mac Rae is the least expensive and we were able secure a Courtroom View room for about $100 a night.

You enter the hotel via an archway and short corridor right off the boardwalk This was neat because it gives you the feeling that you're " getting away " from the hustle and bustle of the boardwalk. You then climb a short flight of steps to the second level ( the hotel is on the 2nd and 3rd stories ). Check in was easy and our room was ready. Next to the office they had a variety of bagels and donuts and orange juice for free. I would suggest getting them early because the hotel staff leaves them there for a few hours and they get hard after awhile.

If your room is not ready then you can leave your belongings in an un-secured shelf next to the office. Personally I would not recommend this because there is a room right next to the shelf and your belongings could develop legs.

Our room was very small, but very clean and well maintained. It had a queen bed, small round table with a single chair, small TV hung on the wall and a dresser located in a closet with two mirrored sliding doors. The bathroom was recently re-done and was pretty cool. The tile was brand new and had cool designs on them. The toilet and the sink were also brand new. There was no bathtub, only a shower with a curtain. The shower's warm water was a welcome delight after swimming in the cold ocean. The room had a skylight in the bathroom for better lighting and a single window that looked out onto the hotel's courtyard.

You can rent a variety of DVDs for a small fee from the main office until 8pm which you can play in your room. There is a bar next to the hotel that has Karaoke at night that I know some people have complained about. We honestly could barely hear it and so it did not bother us at all. The only real complaint we had about the room was the small size, but it suited our needs.

Overall, the Hotel Mac Rae was a nice place to stay on Catalina. The hotel is not fancy by any means but we enjoyed ourselves and recommend it to others. We will stay there again on our next trip.

Stayed here two nights 12/26 & 12/27/2010. Both my wife and I have wanted to go to Catalina Island for a long time. We wanted to stay in a hotel right in the middle of town and on the beach. This is a nice older hotel, but the price was right and it was very clean. Small rooms, but good king bed, and very small bathroom. Lots of steps so if that is a problem, avoid it. Catalina Island is part of Los Angeles County, but you would think that you are in another part of the world while there. Sort of old world. We were not that impressed with the half submerged boat ride to view the fish. The Wrigley Memorial Botanical Garden was a very nice three hour self guided tour. The ride to the "Airport in the Sky" in a 50's era restored bus was fun. Renting a golf cart and touring around ourselves was a blast. The "Casino" is not a gambling establishment, but houses a fantastic 1200 seat restored movie theater and a beautiful ball room upstairs. GO!!!