Booked this "greater downtown" hotel through Hotwire and was horribly disappointed! The hotel is a good 2-3 miles from downtown and isolated! Not even a convenience store anywhere close to buy a soda. No vending machines. Taxi fare is around 18 dollars one way. There is a shuttle with limited hours that runs to downtown that you can book. Parking is 15 dollars a night. The hotel itself is in good repair with a nice fireplace to warm yourself in the lobby. There is a slightly overpriced restaurant next door, but the service was great and the food delish. :) Okay... now about the rooms. Ours was a handicapped accessible "hillside" room. It overlooked a warehouse and an alley.I didn't see a hillside... It had a queen sized bed, loveseat, desk, and tv cabinet. There was a mini - mini snack bar with the normal outrageous prices. The bed was comfortable, but the blanket was disgusting. The bathroom had no tub and the shower was dirty. The water glass was chipped. There was nice soap, bath gel, shampoo, and conditioner, but they didn't refreshen or replace anything the second day. The towels were rough and worn. We called and asked the front desk clerk for another room and he flat out told us that they give the Hotwire customers "the last pick of the rooms". He also told us that they save all the view rooms and the nicer rooms for guests that pay more. I repeated his comments back to him twice to make certain I was understanding him correctly. The hotel manager quickly denied it the next day... hmm... my bet is on the evening desk clerk. Why would he make that up? There is a spa with more overpriced services, but the people we saw leaving it looked very happy. I would say the best thing about the Avalon is the complimentary breakfast. It is served on each floor by the elevator. There was fresh fruit, yogurt, cereal, cheese, peanut butter, and a sweet type of bread. Also, a special coffee maker that made individual cups of excellent coffee. It really was the highlight of our stay. Sadly. I would not ever recommend this hotel to anyone.
