AVIA Long Beach captivated me right away. The place felt refreshingly modern after hanging out at expensive luxury Orange County beach resorts. AVIA Long Beach along with three other AVIA properties in Savannah, Georgia; Napa, California and The Woodlands, Texas signed on with Hyatt Hotels September 1, 2011. This past week I stayed at AVIA Long Beach and absolutely loved the hotel value I received. I stayed at convention size Hyatt Regency Long Beach last year and the boutique AVIA Long Beach hotel is the upper upscale preferred property choice in my opinion.
The junior suite we stayed in had a swivel TV for facing either the sitting room or the bedroom. The curious feature of the TV cabinet is the backside had mirror image writing.
Don’t wake me up.
Don’t wake me up if I’m dreaming
California dreams
Just let me lay here in the sun
Until my dream is done
Palm trees, ocean breeze
Let’s go cruising ……..
I added the “e” to breeze. Not really sure if that is artistic freedom or a screw up.
Long Beach had clear skies in the day and colored lights at night.
The Queen Mary can be seen in the background of the photo. There is fixed-platform viewing binoculars for gazing around the hotel vicinity on the 8th floor rooftop pool deck.
The lobby has several relaxing elements…
from the blue colored bar…
to the bare lobby tree.
We stayed in the 532 square feet Master Suite which is basically a studio suite or junior suite since there was no door between the bedroom and sitting room. The room was comfortable. My only complaint is the electronic mini-bar and ice machines only on odd number floors (and I was on the sixth floor).
A glass divider separates the room entrance from the desk workspace. I was surprised to see I never took a good photo of the glass. I kept thinking I was going to walk into it as I moved from the desk to the front door. Pretty design etched in glass.
The sitting room had a couch, chair, coffee table and lighting.
The desk area had mini-bar, coffee maker, ice bucket and glasses.
Bedroom
The bathroom was the standout feature of the room.
There is an immense parking garage across the street from the hotel where self-parking through the hotel was $7 per night.
Unfortunately that was our primary room view, but the real views are from the rooftop of the hotel.
AAA Breakfast rate
This hotel was $98.10 on a AAA rate with breakfast. As a Diamond member who already receives complimentary breakfast I could have booked the AARP or Costco rate and received an additional $25 hotel credit.
Hyatt is sometimes unbeatable. $98 for the room and I received a Coppola 2009 Chardonnay 375ml with cheese plate and a $40 breakfast at the AVIA Kitchen restaurant where we both ate crab omelettes. I needed a fix of crab since Dungeness crab season started two weeks ago in California, but the fishing is just starting today after a 12-day strike as wholesalers and crabbers split the difference between $2.00 and $2.50 per pound. News is $2.25 per pound and crab in the stores tomorrow.
There is a fitness room and outdoor deck off the lobby area. A couple of computer terminals were also available here.
The area surrounding the hotel is the revitalized waterfront with loads of residential buildings, entertainment and dining, and tourist areas across Shoreline Drive along the waterfront. There really is a Long Beach here near the hotel, however, Kelley and I spent time walking the beach last year and oil tar is present in the sand. She was scrubbing her feet in the hotel room last year. It is not like our feet turned black from tar – just a little sticky. Oil rigs are just offshore here, but cleverly disguised with concealing artwork and palm tree island structures.
Long Beach is a major city of nearly 500,000 people and there are plenty of activities available in the tourist area like the Queen Mary, the Aquarium of the Pacific, boat cruises to Catalina Island, museums and water sports.
AVIA Long Beach provides a good base for a stay in Long Beach.
Hyatt’s AVIA Long Beach is a Gold Passport category 3 hotel at 12,000 points per night. The rates currently tend to be lower than Hyatt Regency Long Beach. One advantage of Hyatt Regency Long Beach is a Club Lounge.
Take advantage of AVIA Long Beach while the rates are low. I have a feeling they will be inching up once more Hyatt guests realize the value here.
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