The Avalon Hotel

The Avalon Hotel is the kind of island style home-away-from-home that you’d expect in Southern California—elegant, comfortable and thoughtful with a B&B vibe, but close to the beach and far from pretentious. This beautiful Craftsman-style hotel is small (only 15 rooms), which makes the amenities that much more enjoyable. Take a bottle of wine up to the rooftop patio at sunset (coffee in the morning is just as delightful) or relax with a book in the garden courtyard (complete with a koi pond, if you’re into that sort of thing). There’s a free continental breakfast, and the front desk loans out laptops, GPS units and binoculars, too. The hotel staff is friendly and full of good local recommendations. Make sure to ask about the local artists whose pieces hang on each floor of the hotel.