Malibu, California
Malibu Beach Inn
SoCal Stunner
What it is
A 47-room hideaway on Billionaire’s Beach.
What it isn't
Gaudy. This is a clean, warm, modernist version of La-la-land escapism.
What we think
If Malibu Barbie were a real, live lady, she would undoubtedly hole up here. Cuddled in her custom robe by the slate fireplace under the exposed beam ceiling in her 400-square-foot, Waldo Fernandez-designed seafront room, it’s the perfect place to listen to Top 40 on the Bose speaker, and contemplate why exactly she is still with Ken while sipping a delicate white personally picked for her by the house sommelier (the eight (8!) consecutive Wine Spectator Awards are no joke). Locals find the CURE Daily Spa to be the ideal place for morning beach yoga and HydraFacials, and you might indeed spot a Barbie-esque starlet waiting for her Get Up & Go IV drip in tranquil repose.
You're here because
It’s close to all the Tinseltown sights without being among the madding crowds. On the white sand beaches of Malibu, you begin to understand what the Beach Boys were singing about for all those years.
The Moment
Locavores from all over SoCal make a beeline to Carbon Beach Club restaurant for two reasons: one, it overlooks Carbon Beach itself, which is as cinematic as seaside bites come. And second, the food is—as some Hollywood agents would say—“to die.” Tonight, you order the whole branzino a la plancha for two people, and a Yippee Ki-Yay cocktail (with mezcal, allspice dram, meyer lemon, angostura, and absinthe spritz), just like a certain Malibu Barbie might do.
Restaurants & Bars
Carbon Beach Club Restaurant - Creating seasonal land and sea menus.
Location
A quick skip from Surfrider Beach and the Malibu Pier, not to mention the “secret” beach—secret to everyone but seagulls—at Malibu Lagoon. LAX is just a 36-minute drive away (err, on a good day).