The Zane Grey Pueblo Hotel

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While in Catalina this past week, as much as I wanted to stay at the Pavilion Lodge, my family instead opted to book a room at a little place called the Zane Grey Pueblo Hotel.  And even though it’s never been a filming location, because the hotel was once the private residence of world-renowned author Zane Grey, I deemed the site to be blog-worthy.  🙂  For those who have never heard of him (like myself prior to my recent stay at his former home), Zane Grey is the best selling author of 89 Western style novels, including Riders of the Purple Sage, The Lone Star Ranger, and Call of the Canyon.  Zane, who was born on January 31, 1872,  actually started out his professional career following in the footsteps of his father as a dentist.  Zane’s true passion was always writing fiction and playing baseball, but his father vehemently discouraged both pursuits.  In fact, when Zane was a young boy, his father discovered a story he had written and not only tore it up, but severely beat him because of it.  After marrying his wife, Dolly, in 1905, Zane began to finally pursue writing as a career.  It wasn’t long before he became a household name and one of the first authors in history to earn a million dollars.  At one point in time, Zane was also America’s highest selling author.

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In his lifetime, Zane Grey published over one hundred novels which in turn sold over forty million copies.  While most of his works were Western adventure stories, Zane also wrote books about his other passions, including sport fishing, hunting, and baseball.   Zane’s novels became so popular that after his death in 1939, his publishing company, Harper & Brothers, continued to release one of his unpublished manuscripts each year for the next twenty-four years.  All were wildly successful.  Fifty of Zane’s novels were turned into one hundred different Western movies and he has over 120 writer, director, producer and actor credits on IMDB.  What I wouldn’t give for that resume!  Zane even formed his own production company at one time to handle the high demand for movies based on his books.  One of Zane’s novels, The Vanishing American, was even filmed on Catalina Island. Legend has it that Zane brought in a herd of fourteen bison for the filming and left them there after the production wrapped.  The bison took to Catalina quite naturally and spawned into a herd of over 150 buffalo that now call the island home.

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In 1926, after falling in love with Catalina Island while vacationing there, Zane bought a parcel of land high on a hill in Avalon from William Wrigley and built a pueblo.   Zane called his home “a place for rest, dream, peace, sleep”.  Sometime after his death, Zane’s heirs turned the Pueblo into a small hotel.  What a FABULOUS idea!  I wish all celebrity heirs would follow suit!

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The tiny hotel features only sixteen rooms, each named after one of Zane’s popular books.  And while all of the rooms boast a view of some sort, none have a television, a phone, or a clock – an idea my fiance wasn’t too keen on.  The whole point of staying at Zane Grey is to really get away from it all.  The place touts itself as a quiet, peaceful retreat where you can spend a few days in total relaxation.  And I have to say it was pretty darn amazing!

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The hotel’s setting is simply breathtaking, with sweeping ocean . . .

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. . . and mountain views,

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large adobe verandas;

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a living room featuring Zane Grey’s original furnishings and a grand piano,

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and wild animals roaming the property.    My fiance woke me up extremely early one morning to show me a buck he had noticed wandering the grounds (pictured above).  The hotel is also blissfully quiet – whispering in common areas and out by the pool is encouraged.  Because I am not big on noise, I LOVE quiet, peaceful hotels.  In fact, the more quiet and peaceful, the better.  And it doesn’t get much quieter or more peaceful than at the Zane Grey.  Ironically enough, the only people not adhering to the “quiet” rule, were the people who worked on the property.  The receptionist and housekeeper were SO darn loud, it was almost comical.  So, other than wanting to strangle the two of them during most of the trip, my stay was highly relaxing.  And I would recommend the Zane Grey to anyone.  Even though the accommodations are a bit run-down and the service is highly sub-standard, we really enjoyed our stay there.

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A bit of celebrity trivia for you – directly across the street from the Zane Grey hotel is a huge, modern style home that, according to several people I talked to on the island, Sharon Stone was interested in purchasing at one time.

Until next time, Happy Stalking!  🙂

Stalk It: The Zane Grey Pueblo Hotel is located at 199 Chimes Tower Road in Avalon on Catalina Island.  You can visit their website here.  The accomodations are very basic and sparse, so if you are looking for a fancy hotel this is DEFINITELY not the place for you.  For higher end accomodations, I’d instead recommend the Inn on Mt. Ada.  The house Sharon Stone thought about buying, but didn’t, is located directly across the street from the Zane Grey Pueblo at 124 Chimes Tower Road.

Catalina’s Hamilton Cove

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While vacationing in Catalina this past week, I, of course, spent much of my time asking the local merchants which celebrities had been spotted on the island.  And I just about died when one store owner told me that Michael Buble, who has recently replaced Josh Duhamel as the celebrity love of my life, had vacationed there!  Sigh!  But MB is hardly the first celeb to visit Catalina.   I was actually quite shocked to learn of the sheer number of famous visitors that the island has seen over the years.  In the Golden Age of Hollywood, stars such as Charlie Chaplin, John Wayne, authors Zane Grey and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Mary Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks, John Barrymore, Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, Jean Harlow, Mickey Rooney, Clark Gable, Orson Wells, Judy Garland, Robert Mitchum, Henry Fonda, and presidents Ronald Reagan, Richard Nixon, Calvin Coolidge, and Herbert Hoover all spent time on the island.  In more recent years, Nicolas Cage, Lisa Marie Presley, Barbra Streisand (my least favorite celebrity of all time!), James Brolin, Sharon Stone, Gwen Stefani, Gavin Rossdale, Edward Norton, Rob Lowe, Paul Newman, Robert Downey Jr., Bob Saget, Diane Keaton, and members of the Spencer Davis Group rock bank have all been spotted on Catalina.

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For those who have yet to visit, Catalina is a very small, quaint little island measuring 22 miles long and 8 miles wide with a population of only 3,696 residents.  Only a small number of cars have been allowed on the island, which has resulted in local homeowners and tourists relying on gas-powered golf carts for transportation.  The use of golf carts instead of cars coupled with the fact that there are no chain stores or restaurants of any kind on the island – not even a Starbucks! – has allowed Catalina to retain its quaint, charming feel.  In fact, when William Wrigley Jr. – the chewing gum entrepreneur – purchased the island in 1919, he went to great lengths to keep it from turning into a bustling tropical city a la Miami or Honolulu.  But because Catalina has been kept small, there are no resort-style hotels whatsover on the island.  Most of the hotels are actually very small, bed-and-breakfast type establishments. So, I couldn’t figure out exactly where a visiting celebrity would stay that would afford them some modicom of privacy.  Until I learned about a gated, guarded resort-style community named Hamilton Cove (pictured above).

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Hamilton Cove is located just a mile and a half outside of Downtown Avalon.  The upscale, extremely private, gated condominium community offers a private sandy beach, a sparkling pool and jacuzzi, complimentary golf cart use, a croquet court, an 18 hole putting course, sand volleyball court, BBQs, private dock, three story clubhouse, tennis courts, a gym, and amazing views.  And, a majority of  the Cove’s “villas” are available as vacation rentals.  According to pretty much every local I spoke with, Hamilton Cove is THE place to be on Catalina Island.  So, if you want to spot a celeb while visiting Catalina, book a room at Hamilton Cove!  Unfortunately, being that the community is closed to the public, I wasn’t able to visit it.  🙁  But I did manage to snap a few photos of the Cove while traveling along Catalina’s coast on a boat we rented one day.  Even from far away the place looked beautiful.  The 1, 2, and 3 bedroom villas rent for anywhere between $175 to $1000 per night.  I am really pushing for my family to book a room at Hamilton Cove for our next Catalina trip, more for the celebrity sightings than anything else, of course.  🙂  

Until next time, Happy Stalking!  🙂

Stalk It: Hamilton Cove is located at 23 Camino de Flores Street in Avalon on Catalina Island, but it is a private, gated, guarded community that does not allow visitors of any sort.  So, NO TRESPASSING!  The only way to gain admission to the complex is to book a stay there, which you can do via this website and this website.