Sean H.
Yelp
My wife and I celebrated our 5th anniversary by spending a night in Avalon, one of our favorite places. We have never spent a night on the island together, so after a ton of research on where to stay, we settled on the Edgewater. We were impressed by the good reviews and the fact that they do not require a two night stay, so we were able to spend the night on a Saturday with only a two-week notice. Plus, the rates were very, very reasonable with a lot of amenities for the price. Built originally as a 1920's apartment complex, but thoroughly updated, we found the Edgewater to be a wonderful place to extend our island visit.
The Edgewater is right on Crescent Street and the location is tough to beat. Barbara, the proprietor, has had the Edgewater in her family since her father bought land from the Wrigleys in the '20s and also owns the small souvenir shop downstairs. We found her to be warm and accommodating.
Upon arrival, the first thing we noticed were bright hallways and super-cushy carpeting. There is a small staff on hand and the hotel has a great small town, family-owned vibe. This hotel consists of eight rooms, which include two harbor-view suites, four regular-sized "fountain view" rooms, and two larger rooms with a queen bed with a small adjacent room that has a twin-sized bed - great for small families (which is what we stayed in). Inside the room, you can expect comfortable Ortho-pedic mattresses, great bedding with a duvet and down pillows, a flatscreen TV, and updated fixtures. The bathrooms are a good size with full-size showers and good water pressure.
In addition to the rooms, there is a small "lobby", which has a couch and TV. Even after checkout, they allowed us to use the lobby to rest up and catch the Angels game before it was time to head to the boat. There is also a nice little patio on the back of the building and an office where you can store your bags before or after checkout.
A small kitchen, open to all guests, has a microwave, ice maker, and fridge. They offer a Continental breakfast here in the morning and the fridge is a great place to put your leftovers. Because of the layout and the way the hotel operates, it feels more like a bed and breakfast than just a hotel and is a very relaxing place to come and go at your own pace.
Because of the age of the building, you can sometimes hear doors close and people coming and going, but because there are so few rooms, it was never a problem. Also, the free wi-fi signal is weak in the last two rooms, but again, we just used the lobby if we needed to.
After our first time spending the night in Avalon, we can't wait to come back and do it again. This stay at the Edgewater definitely won't be our last.