Rediscover Catalina Island

Rediscover Catalina Island as it Launches over $11 Million in New and Upgraded Activities and Facilities

AVALON, Catalina Island, Calif. – Santa Catalina Island is preparing for a renaissance as it launches an $11 million project that will add sophisticated sightseeing, adventures, and amenities to the island. Santa Catalina Island Company (SCICo), which will launch the new attractions, has also planned renovations of Pavilion Hotel, formerly Pavilion Lodge, and facilities at Descanso Beach.  It will also add a new restaurant in town.  The company new mission statement focuses on preservation of Catalina Island’s character, sustainability, quality, and customer service.  The company’s intent is to attract people who have never been to Catalina Island or who have not visited in many years, says Brad Wilson, chief marketing officer for the company. He adds that the goal of the extensive renovations is to greatly enhance the visitor’s experience on Catalina.

Work began in November 2009 on the new Avalon Grille, an American pub-style restaurant on the waterfront, as well as on major renovations of the Descanso Beach Club and Pavilion Hotel. SCICo has already begun construction of a Zip Line Eco Tour and Sea Trek Undersea Adventure and the more leisurely GPS Ranger Walking Tour, which is expected to open this winter. The new restaurant and remodeled facilities will capitalize on Catalina’s appealing climate by bringing together a synergy of indoor and outdoor living. Airy, open design elements coupled with island resort-styled fixtures will create an environment where guests can immerse themselves in a high quality, island living experience.

The new Pavilion Hotel, formerly the Pavilion Lodge, 14 steps from the beach, is a 71-room, two story hotel being completely renovated and remodeled for 2010. The upscale design will take advantage of the huge garden courtyard area by creating a private lanai, or outdoor living area for most of the ground level rooms. These new rooms will feature large sliding doors leading into the lanai making it the only hotel in Avalon where guest can relax in the comfort of their own private courtyard. The new hotel will also offer two luxury suites with splendid ocean views.  Plans include other high-quality additions, such as an elegantly landscaped garden sitting area with fire pit, indoor lounge and internet café, wine and cheese bar, and open air ocean-view lounge area near the front lobby.

Situated in the center of town across from the Green Pleasure Pier, the new Avalon Grille, an American tavern styled restaurant, will open in late spring 2010.  This original restaurant will feature a menu of unpretentious yet delectable appetizers and entrées paired with a world-class selection of micro-brew beers, wines and cocktails. The family-friendly location will feature waterfront dining with indoor and outdoor patio seating surrounding a central bar. High, open architecture and airy features will invite the al fresco out-of-door atmosphere to blend and mix seamlessly, no matter where one is seated.

Nestled in a private cove just past the famous Casino Building, the Descanso Beach Club will undergo a complete transformation for 2010. Besides being the only beach in California where you can be served a cocktail in the sand, the renovated facility will feature new high-end amenities such as private cabana and chaise lounge rentals. The open-air restaurant will offer daytime and evening dining with fire rings on the beach, and two outdoor bars. Weekly music on the lawn and an expanded beach area will provide for ample enjoyment of the seaside location. A new activity center will houses one-stop shopping for activities at the beach club and around the island, including; zip line, Sea Trek, kayaking, stand-up paddle boarding, snorkeling, Snuba, massages, golf tee times and all Discovery Tours. The Descanso Beach Club will also serve as the home and staging area for the new zip line and Sea Trek adventures. An exclusive locals-only program will be introduced to give special discounts and offerings to residents of Catalina Island.

Bringing a new element of adventure eco-education to Catalina Island, the Zip Line Eco Tour and the Sea Trek Undersea Adventure will allow visitors to explore and learn about two of Catalina Island’s greatest attractions, its unspoiled interior and magnificent undersea kelp forests. Starting almost six hundred feet above sea level in the hills near Avalon, the nearly 4,000 foot zip line, comprising five separate zips across Descanso Canyon, ends by the seashore at Descanso Beach. Zip line speeds reach over 45 miles an hour at heights of over 300 feet above the canyon floor. Each zip ends at a specially designed platform with views of the surrounding Island interior and ocean, below. Platforms will have special interpretative signage highlighting the unique flora and fauna of the Island along with historical elements unique to Descanso Beach. The tour begins and ends at the Descanso Beach Club and is expected to take around 2 hours and will be priced at $89.00.

For those seeking the wonders of the ocean world, the Sea Trek Undersea Adventure is an undersea adventure using specially designed diving helmets that allow guests to walk along the sea floor.  Trekkers do not need any prior diving experience and do not even need to know how to swim. Guides will direct guests on a specially designed underwater trail leading them to towering giant kelp forests, pointing out the abundant sea life along the way. Each diver will have a laminated fish finder to help them identify the unique marine life found off the shore of the island.  The Sea Trek Eco Tour will last about 1 1/2 hours, including approximately 30 minutes underwater and will cost $89.00

For the new GPS Ranger Walking Tour, which meanders through the streets of Avalon, visitors will have their own personal high-tech guide enabling them to experience the sights at their own pace. The high-tech GPS enabled multimedia units will lead the way pointing out interesting landmarks and historical points of interest utilizing audio, video, and photos to tell the story. The tour will accommodate up to six people per unit, and guests can take nearly as long as they like to complete the tour. The cost will be $26 to use a single unit for up to four hours.

Santa Catalina Island has been a favorite getaway destination for generations of visitors since the late 1800s. By maintaining the Island’s unique charm and character while educating new visitors to the island’s singular ecology and distinctive personality, the Santa Catalina Island Company’s renovations and upcoming offerings are certain to draw a new generation of families, adventure seekers, and people wanting to get away from the hurried pace of life on the mainland.

For more information on the projects, contact Brad Wilson, Chief Marketing Officer for the Santa Catalina Island Company at 310-510-2000.