Malibu has long drawn celebrities and the affluent and famous, inspiring artists.

Three understated hotels are now providing travelers with a taste of the southern California dream.

April Hotel

A sensation memory was starting to surface from deep within my hippocampus, making it start to feel familiar. That road's pronounced curve appeared in the chase scene from that movie, am I correct? The Creamsicle sunset fulfilled the song's promise of being fascinating. Was that scent, Ms. Didion, star jasmine or eucalyptus? Truth be told, it was both.

I headed west. I had Los Angeles at my back, the Santa Monica Mountains to my right, and tens of billions of dollars' worth of oceanfront property to my left—all of which had been financed by even greater billions in box office receipts. The sharp rocks and ominous sky up ahead made it difficult to maintain a bearing, and with Apple Maps in a dead run (phone reception in Malibu is notoriously patchy), I turned into a gas station to ask for help.

The man behind the bulletproof glass yelled, "Point Dume is where God would construct a house, if he was rich enough! A torn Netflix cap was slipping from his tanned forehead as he howled in delight. "Hello, man. Welcome to the nice part. Continually travel west, keeping the sea on your left.

I had driven from Los Angeles in October to escape a heat wave. I reached "the most Malibu of Malibu" after a series of predictable traffic delays between the intersection of the 10 and the 405 and where the Pacific Coast Highway meets Rustic Canyon.

I was well past Cher's home, which is currently listed for $85 million, Dr. Dre's mansion on Carbon Beach (also known as Billionaire's Beach), and the Malibu Country Mart, with its mother-daughter pairs carrying matching chicken Caesars from Randee Gerber's Café Habana, 18 miles into the 21-mile stretch that makes up the seaside city. This was the Malibu of Neil Young in the year of his 1975 album "Zuma," of lonely beaches like Point Dume Reserve, the setting of the first Planet of the Apes in 1968. The 10-foot-tall privacy hedge is like a Malibu. Bob Dylan still resides in the $100,000 Malibu property he purchased in 1979. The three-acre, country-style estate of Barbra Streisand and the three-home neighborhood of Julia Roberts are the Malibu.

However, there has only ever been one hotel, the Riviera. Dylan penned "Blood on the Tracks" there in 1974; it was constructed in 1949. Its 13 rooms received a glow-up around six years ago, and the Native was given a new name. Then, in 2021, it underwent somewhat of a makeover, becoming Hotel June Malibu, a member of the Proper Hospitality company, with fewer Airstream trailers and pink walls, the same amount of Aesop products, and the addition of handmade hammocks and baguette sandwiches from cult deli Gjusta (best known for the Kelly Wrestler swank in its boutique Proper hotels). The three names of the hotel may be seen stacked on top of one another on the sign at the beginning of the driveway if you squint. (The PCH's original neon VACANCY sign helps maintain the no-tell hotel feel.)

Across from the new heated pool and sofa-like deck chairs, Room 13 at the very end is where I checked in. Dylan used to own it. The new rooms are beautiful but sparse, with concrete floors and redwood timbers, so despite the addition of tempting patio hammocks, they aren't for lounging. You're meant to leave, not stay. Surf. Swim. eat tacos of $40 barramundi!

The rain fell throughout night. The next morning I picked up a Gjusta croissant from the front desk to go with the low clouds and dismal skies. (There is no restaurant or room service.) Through my partially open Dutch door, a thicker top note of that Malibu eau de perfume entered on the fog. An hour later, when I was sitting shotgun in a Subaru station wagon with Sam Shendo, one of the Hotel June co-owners, and her associate Travis Collings, the scent became more overpowering. We descended after ascending, heading toward Zuma Beach and the Point Dume homes. Collings remarked, "This is the Malibu of locals." He grew raised in this area. His first position was as a bartender at the renowned Duke's. The Nobu and everything else is in a different location.

Shendo and Collings brought up the Woolsey Fire of 2018, which claimed three lives and scorched about 100,000 acres. They pointed out which homes, streets, and yards had been damaged or destroyed as we drove past tiny family homes passed down through generations and celebrity-owned mansions. The vegetation we are permitted to plant has altered as a result of the fire that occurred here. stated Shendow. It altered us, The mega-producer Rick Rubin's house burned down, but the nearby native plants, which acted as a natural flame retardant, kept his studio from burning to the ground. Rick Rubin is best known for his work on records by Adele, Johnny Cash, and the Beastie Boys.

Traditional Japanese minimalism meets effortless California style at Nobu Ryokan Malibu – the perfect getaway if you are seeking privacy, tranquility, and gracious service. You will receive Virtuoso amenities including upgrades, breakfast daily, $100 hotel credit, and much more. pic.twitter.com/qZHEIhHbcw

— All World Travel Amarillo (@Awtraveltx) December 2, 2018

Continued: Malibu, Shendow, and Collings were forever changed as a result of the epidemic and fire's one-two punch. The pandemic, which caused some weekend homes to become year-round residences for some people, followed by the fire helped transform the area from a primarily seasonal destination into a true year-round community. There are established hotspots like the Sunset Restaurant on Westward Ocean, where every table with a view of the beach is now usually taken at sunset, as well as new hotspots like Broad Street Oyster Co. and the recently launched Malibu Brewing Co. The Andrew Garfield's are here now, Collings added. In Point Dume, you may find practically every WB network actor from the 1990s. It appears as though everyone you have ever met has decided this is the place to be.

We stopped to say hello to a supermodel and a professional surfer who were out with their dogs close to Johnny Carson's former cliff-top residence. We were given access to one of three private trails that go down to Little Dume Beach, which is only reachable from nearby public beaches during low tide, thanks to a key fob. Someone had created a number of hand-drawn manifestations, including Joy, Gratitude, Present, Honesty, Peace, and, oddly enough, Daddy, on the roughly 30 sand-covered steps that led down to the ocean.

When we got to the ocean, the tide was just starting to come in, and a surfer came in from the water. He resembled a centaur with his wet suit exposed to the waist. A key fob jangled from his bicep, according to some residents, adding $10 million to the listed price of a property.

That afternoon, as I drove east while listening to Dylan, a sunshade pelted my car with rain, so I put on my sunglasses.

Ryokan Nobu Malibu

A mile or so along the Pacific Coast Highway, between the paragliding school and the pier, seems to be the location of all of our champagne and caviar fantasies. Flip-flops and Patek Philipps, Maserati's, paparazzi, and some of the most expensive real estate in the nation can all be found here. It's a heartening reminder of California's egalitarian attitude to know that CEOs on Carbon Beach and surfers, stoners, and drifters living in camper vans along the PCH are each enjoying the same vista.

Nobu Malibu is the equivalent of the town center here. Scott Disick is in valet getting a jump start. Hey, it's Jada Pinkett Smith and Will Smith making a comeback to the spotlight. Cameron Diaz, happy birthday! Good morning, Selena Gomez. I almost ran into Rosie O'Donnell as I entered the restaurant for lunch because she had just moved to the area during the pandemic. She exclaimed, her face brightened up by the clear sky, "What a terrible day in Malibu!" as she made her way to the valet.

The hardest reservation to secure in southern California is a spot at Nobu's seaside restaurant. It certainly helps to stay at the 16-room Nobu Ryokan Malibu, which is two doors down. As a collaborative venture between Nobu Masahisa, Robert De Niro, and Larry Ellison, the hotel debuted in 2017. The accommodations, which have a two-night minimum stay and start at roughly $2,000 per night, can have an ocean view, a beachfront location, or a garden view.

The porter gave me an iPad to order from the restaurant (everything but the oases is accessible from room service) as I entered Asahi, my limestone-walled refuge, and then he unlocked the sliding glass doors. The space is filled with the charged cadence of crashing waves in a Dolby surround sound that resembles a scene from The Perfect Storm. The porter said, "Some folks do get kept up by the waves. I noticed a hoverboard surfer racing across the horizon while shrugging off the waves as I peered out.

The Chumash, a Native American tribe, controlled this territory for almost 4,000 years. They gave it the name Humalog, which means "the surf shouts loudly" in English. In the early 1800s, Spanish colonizers transliterated it as "Malibu." Actually, the Malibu of popular imagination wouldn't exist until Gidget (first portrayed by Sandra Dee, then Sally Field) entered the American consciousness. And the Pacific Ocean was the first thing that the filmmakers shot.

Is this where I describe it, or what? Green, no, blue, occasionally maybe even purple. It turns tangerine at sunset for a brief period of time. Next, it turns ink black. Additionally, the water is often around 60 degrees, making it ideal for a late-afternoon walk down the shore without shoes. (However, wear a sweatshirt around your waist; you'll need it the moment the sun sets.)

Leeches Beach, off Broad Street, is a spotless, feels-a-world-away option. Malibu has 27 public miles of sand, ranging from the isolated to the busy stretch in front of Nobu Ryokan. I exited my yosegi box-shaped room, took off my shoes, put on a swimsuit, grabbed a hoodie, and went down the hotel's gated staircase to the beach.

Malibu's beaches are almost all open to the public, but access is not, and this may be quite problematic. Along the region's beaches, a lot of fictitious legal signs reading "RIGHT TO PASS BY PERMISSION AND SUBJECT TO CONTROL OF OWNER" are displayed. The Little Beach House Malibu branch of Soho House and Nobu, which both appear identical from the shore with patrons holding Aperol Spritzes and chopsticks and getting as close to the water but not the sand while looking down on the proletarians trudging through the surf, are the two restaurants I passed after turning left.

I kept walking while the water played with my ankles. I moved closer to Carbon Beach and the mansions there owned by David Geffen and other alpha males. I observed two persons entering the water while wearing wet suits. They plunged in and began to swim, moving toward the horizon as they pursued the setting sun. The hoverboarder I'd earlier witnessed racing back and forth across the waves from my hotel room was back. Gidget was restarted.

The tide began to swell. Less beach was available for walking. I turned around to return to the Ryokan just as the water smashed up to my knees, knocking me off balance, but I couldn't find a public gate to get back up to the street, so I was thrown off balance. My sweatshirt became unfastened and washed into the ocean. An Oscar winner passed by smoking a marijuana as I struggled to free it from the current.

He laughed and continued on his way, "You need a water suit instead of a hoodie, buddy."

The Malibu Surf rider

In Malibu, there is only one rooftop restaurant. To the dismay of the locals, it is located at the Surfrider Hotel Malibu and is exclusively open to hotel guests. The hotel first opened in the 1950s and was given its name after the surfers that frequented the nearby Surf rider Beach. Its current co-owners, architect Matthew Goodwin, his interior designer wife Emma Crowther Goodwin, and their business partner Alessandro Zamperini, completely renovated it and reopened it in 2017. The atmosphere is more like a TV-show residential building than a hotel. You meet everyone quickly, arrange to go surfing, and gather enough rum ours to share over sardines on toast at happy hour.

There is no doubt that the Surfrider is the only location in Los Angeles County where you can have a tarot card reading while enjoying homemade peanut butter cookies, ceviche, and cocktails. The hotel's brand manager Brittany Walsh, who also works as a tarot reading in her spare time, advised guests to "just breathe." You have everything you want, she said, spreading four cards across the table. You only need to witness it.

When Frederick Rindge escorted his wife May to Malibu in 1892, he also stated that to her. The wealthy businessman had a straightforward plan to establish a ranch somewhere among the canyons of the region. They were surprised by the love they discovered for its land, water, and air. They continued to purchase more real estate in an effort to realise their vision of Malibu as a future rival of the French Riviera. In order to preserve the region's natural beauty, the pair would later devote their lives (and riches) to fighting fires, the Southern Pacific Railroad, Frederick's health, and the Supreme Court.

David K. Randall describes how Frederick would sleep on the shore because he thought that "the air there was so fresh that it alone could regenerate a man's strength" when he felt weak (he had been a sickly child and dropped out of Harvard due to illness). Frederick himself once penned the following: "One can direct one's thoughts in the direction of the wind's source when it blows." You need not be afraid to breathe deeply or for a long time in this good nation.

As I plunged my oar into the Pacific, I was studying the king and queen as I inhaled deeply and thought about the source of the air. I could smell star jasmine from out on the lake. The Malibu Farm Café, which offers the best breakfast and view in town, is where I paddled beneath the pier. The Property Brothers were above, creating an episode. One of the twins shouted, "Welcome to heaven!" However, the Surfrider's Derek Savoie, who works as both a front desk clerk and a surf instructor, was ahead of me in the unusually warm water.

Three dolphins rose above the sea in a crest. The water started to dance around my board a short while later. We were soon engulfed in a sardine "bait ball," a phenomena where the fish congregate in large groups to make it more difficult for predators to pick off individual prey. The water shimmered for 20 feet on either side of me, appearing to be about to boil. After a buildup, there was peace.

You've got to dunk," Savoie ordered, breaking the tension. We dove in, and the cold made me envious of his wet suit. We floated while seated on our boards. He gestured skyward and said, "Take everything in. We hardly ever pay attention to this side of the street. He was referring to the mountains, canyons, and rocks on the right side. To view the land, you actually need to be on the sea.

We kept an eye on the surfers. The camper vans and G-Wagons, which from this distance were nearly indistinguishable from one another, were visible when we glanced up at the hills and forests. I have to force myself to look back and up while I'm out here, he added. And take in the sights and sounds of Malibu.

Put yourself in a Malibu frame of mind.

Places to Stay

With a subdued Midcentury Modern architecture and amenities like a heated pool, the Hotel June Malibu elevates its 1950s motel roots.

Nobu Ryokan Malibu is a luxurious beachfront retreat with teak soaking tubs, handmade linen yukata robes, and a tranquil inner courtyard that recalls a traditional Japanese inn. Benefits include direct access to a spotless section of Carbon Beach and in-room meals from the hotel's eponymous restaurant.

The Surf rider Malibu: With its all-neutral décor and buzzing rooftop bar overlooking the Pacific, this contemporary beach home exemplifies California cool.

Places to Eat

Locals throng to Broad Street Oyster Co. to gorge on fresh seafood, which includes sought-after Santa Barbara sea urchins and a lobster roll that is worth making a journey for. Even though the terrace is constantly busy, many customers choose to use the drive-through and take their food to a neighboring beach instead.

Café Habana Malibu: Although the grilled corn and fish tacos at this Mexican-Cuban restaurant are well-liked, the major draw is the tequila drinks, fitting for a place owned by Rande Gerber, a co-founder of Casamino's.

The first brewery in the affluent neighborhood, Malibu Brewing Co., operates a taproom at Trance's Country Market where beer enthusiasts may try traditional draughts (blonde ales, IPAs), as well as unusual selections like a Hatch green chile lager.

Malibu Farm Pier Café: Located at the end of the Malibu Pier, this laid-back eatery is popular for both its ocean views and its healthful crowd-pleasers including cauliflower-crust pizza.