OMEO Casa Mariquita — Hotel in Avalon

Received a call from the Omeo Casa Mariquita this afternoon at 3:23pm saying that the reservation I booked at their sister property, Omeo Catalina Island was cancelled and I could stay at their hotel if I wanted... okay this would have been fine, but I did not receive a call until 3:23pm day of check in when I booked this reservation a month ago on Valentines day. We flew across the country to California, arrived at 2am then took the ferry from Long Beach at 9am to the island. We then walked with our luggage to the hotel we booked to drop off our bags. When we arrived a sign said "office closed - call this number" my husband and I called the number provided over 20 times throughout the morning and stayed out front of the building door knocking on the door trying to understand where everyone was. We then sat there for an hour out front until we called the police station since the hotel has an eviction notice and then my husband walked across the street to a nearby hotel and the random hotel front desk said..." oh I think they closed last week" ummm okay, why weren't we notified? it's valentines day and then we had a tour to go to, we had to spend the entire morning finding a hotel because we were now stranded on the island with no hotel room, ferrys were cancelled due to wind, to return back to long beach and no one was at the hotel we booked and no one answering the phone. There were only a few hotel rooms on the island available hat were double the price I paid when I booked the hotel Omeo a month ago in January for Valentines so we are forced to pay an insane amount of money for the room last minute. Then we get a random call saying from the Omeo that we can stay at their property after we already found a hotel elsewhere and paid and when I asked why no one notified us about the hotel closing no email no text...I was told, oh did you get a voicemail sometime last week....? No we did not, we received a hotel confirmation of our booking through email, and when I tried emailing the email provided this morning to let them know we have arrived, it bounced back because they closed the hotel apparently!? I'm sitting here writing this on Valentines day instead of enjoying our time because half the day was spent just trying to ensure we have a place to sleep tonight and not left stranded. I hope someone will reach out to rectify this situation that has caused a massive inconvenience and very costly situation for us. It is...

We stayed at Casa Mariquita in April 2025 for 2 nights. We stayed in Room 2, which is located up a short flight of stairs and has its own small private balcony with a little bit of an ocean view. It's a nice spot walkable to everything. The room was relatively large and came with a fridge and iron and ironing board. The furniture and bathroom had seen better days, but the room was clean and the bed and pillows were comfortable enough and the hot water was plentiful and had great water pressure. We arrived a few hours before check-in and our room was ready so we were able to check in early. The person working the desk let us know at check-in that 1) the wifi repeater was not working, so service would be bad 2) the room was near the road and could get loud, and 3) there is a communal deck above our room that is supposed to close at 9pm, but sometimes people use it anyway and it is loud, so if we want to ask people to be quiet we can (this should really be their job - they should not be asking guests to have to confront other guests). As it turned out, the traffic outside was not bad, but noise from the upper deck was horrible. The hotel needs to put a lock on the upper deck when it closes to ensure a positive experience for guests. The wifi also did not really work, which would have been a major problem if either of us had to work since cell service on Catalina is already spotty. The most problematic aspect of our stay was that it rained while we were there, and the roof of our room leaked very badly in two separate locations. It was clear that the hotel has patched these spots many times before, and when we told the front desk about the leak they responded with a sort of "Oh...yeah..." and it was obvious they knew this was a problem. Thankfully we were able to put trash cans under the leaks and it didn't get the bed or any of our belongings wet, but not cool that they clearly know this is a problem and are renting the room anyway. This room should not be available to guests until this is fixed. I feel for the owners since I'm sure running a hotel on Catalina is difficult and expensive work, but I'd seriously pursue other options on Catalina before...

I don't think you'll confuse this with a high end hotel, but considering that it was among the least expensive options I found for a 4 day trip to Avalon, I was pleasantly surprised. It was sparkling clean, well kept, and had just a few minor issues.||The hotel is a half block from the Avalon Art Museum, and a half-block away from the pink St Lauren Hotel on Metropole Avenue. It's two full blocks from Crescent Avenue (the waterfront portion of Avalon), and perhaps a 15 minute walk to the Casino.||The minor issues in room 422 included:||1. Bad audio in the TV - almost unusable.|2. 63 steps up (no elevator) - I mention this because it didn't deter me, but some might be put off.|3. The shower valve was very difficult to turn - arthritic hands would not be able to manage it.|4. The wifi frequently went out. Oddly the in-room equipment wasn't plugged in or powered on.||However this room had decent views (see photos), a working AC. The room was more spacious than I expected. Mind you all the properties I've stayed at in Avalon are small, so the compact size wasn't a surprise.||Down in the lobby there is a "breakfast" of instant oatmeal, coffee, and a microwave available, but the lobby is only open from 9 to 3 pm. If you need something at other times, there is a number you can call. I didn't ever call it, so can't speak to how responsive they might be, but I found the front desk staff quite friendly.||This property, like many on the island and and in Avalon is at the point of Metropole Avenue where it begins to steepen, but Metropole is fairly centrally located. Properties to the north of it are up much steeper hills. The Metropole "Coffee and Cookie" company is a short walk and had plenty of simple choices for breakfast (sandwiches, pastry, coffee, tea, etc). A popular breakfast place - Jacks - is about 5...