Calm your election night nerves with a Catalina getaway

Are you feeling cautiously optimistic, somewhat pessimistic or just plain sick to your stomach with nervousness regarding our country’s future presidential leadership? Well, there’s nothing like a little travel to put a mind at ease. A midweek mini-vacation to Catalina Island could be just the way to relax your own jitters while having some fun watching the returns.

Book a room at Aurora Hotel or the Avalon Hotel for the night of Nov. 4, and you will be welcomed with themed gifts and incentives to watch election returns over food and drink. Guests who are Democrats will be greeted with a stuffed donkey, while Republicans receive an elephant; the unaffiliated or undecided folks get an island dolphin. All guests receive a bottle of champagne — though it’s unlikely that everyone will feel like celebrating by night’s end.

Rooms start at $150 per night (pre-tax) at Aurora, and $195 per night at the Avalon. All come with flat-screen TVs, but watch at the nearby Landing Bar and Grill for a 15% discount on food and beverages.

Does this leave you time to cast your ballot? Absolutely. Hotel check-ins are not until 3 p.m., a ferry trip from mainland L.A. area is just one hour, and Catalina Express offers a few departures from San Pedro and Long Beach before 2 p.m. (There is no service on the Catalina-Marina del Rey Flyer on Tuesdays.) Polling stations open at 7 a.m.

Contact: Aurora Hotel, (310) 510-0454; The Avalon, (310) 510-7070

- Susan Derby, Special to the Los Angeles Times

[Photo: "Undecided or politically divided?" by Jesse; Your Scene / Los Angeles Times]

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This entry was posted on Sunday, November 2, 2008 at 7:11 am by Susan Derby and is filed under California, Catalina Island, Hotels, Islands & Beaches, Last Minute. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a comment, or trackback from your own site.