Why do we Travel? Many reasons to seek out foreign locales, lately the logistics seem challenging, but the idea of immersing myself in other cultures helps me appreciate and understand and maybe even modify personal perspectives. We travel to discover and come home with a new outlook, broaden horizons as well as creating precious memories, and for me, thousands of new photos!

For each traveler, participation is varied, do you feel a monumental shift in a historic location ie Petra or Egypt. Sometimes the experience stops you in your tracks, other times it’s just a short blip on your travel sensor. At this point, after the dead stop to most travel, perhaps it is time to look at destinations where we can renew and restore some balance and try to center ourselves in the ever-changing pandemic news.

Personally, I find beach therapy the most soul soothing. According to science, the beach is one of the best places to alleviate stress and heal your brain. The calming sound of the ocean waves, the misty salty air, the calmness of a low tide which produces gentle lapping sounds as the waves slowly roll across the sand. It produces a meditative state; a repetitive sound of lapping waves lulls me to sleep. I once stayed at a beach house with friends and one morning someone complained of the pounding surf and the need of ear plugs – I was stunned, assuming everyone loved the soothing sea lullaby.

I popped down to my favorite Malibu Beach Inn, ostensibly to see a few rental Villas, but within hours, I knew I needed to stay longer. The tug of the sea infected me quickly, at dinner with my dear friend and hotel rep, I blurted out, I don’t want to go home! She understood!  Laptop work from the beach is not quite as easy as from my giant monitor, but it is certainly worth staying longer at the beach, especially at Malibu Beach Inn.

Until recently, seaside sun seekers had zero options for a five-star hotel in Malibu. Pacific Coast getaway on ‘Billionaire Beach’ changed dramatically a few years ago with the opening of The Malibu Beach Inn. This is truly cocooning while ‘camped’ right on the shore. Malibu Beach Inn is a petite gem on the famed stretch of beach.

Malibu Beach Inn has 47 rooms and suites, each with a private balcony, all perched oceanfront above the sea on exclusive Carbon Beach. Once a surf side motel, this petite jewel was transformed under a full renovation, cozy Scandinavian style rooms are furnished with a fireplace, chic custom furniture in subtle tones of blue and grey, the ultimate in comfort providing an amazing view of the sparkling sea. The ocean views are varied from each room, I once stayed in a third-floor corner suite which had vistas of the south facing beach and the Malibu Pier. There are a couple of larger suites with a living room and separate bedroom. The bathrooms are streamlined in pale tan and white tones and contain the definitive loo, with blinking lights, acknowledging your presence…i.e. the vital Toto appliance. I’m surprised it didn’t speak my name.

This visit, I was a bit north on the second floor, I turn off the ac and never close the sliding glass doors.  From my bed or sofa, it was if I was on an ocean liner, the horizon in the distance, white caps, soaring sea birds and pods of flying dolphins were the only distractions.

Service – Staff at your beck and call, casual as a beach hotel should be, but efficient and friendly. Despite the pandemic, the hotel is humming, outside restaurant guests are limited, to give staff a break and tend to hotel guests.  

Snug indoor cocktail lounge and cozy dining room, but the ‘must dine’ location is on the cantilevered curved oceanfront terrace. Heaters and shade umbrellas perched for your pleasure, wooly blankets flung at a moment’s notice. If you must leave, Nobu is a two-minute amble, the Malibu outpost of Soho House is minutes away by foot. Personally, I wouldn’t leave the hotel, the dining is terrific!

Malibu Pier is a short stroll away, offering casual dining and a couple of trendy gift shops, a bit farther afield by foot is the Adamson House. A garden estate, originally home to the family who owned Malibu Potteries, a short-lived yet still influential tile company that produced authentic versions of Mayan, Moorish, Moroccan, Saracen, and Persian designs. Although the State of California, who now runs the property, should capitalize on the gardens, the Spanish Colonial Revival home is worth the docent tour. Built in 1929, it occupies one of the most idyllic oceanfront spots in all of Southern California. Situated near the Malibu Pier between popular Surfrider Beach, where Gidget frolicked and surfed with Moondoggie, and the Malibu Lagoon, the house boasts an exotic mix of Spanish and Moorish influences with dazzling displays of decorative tiles and one-of-a-kind craftsmanship including hand-carved doors, hand-painted frescoes, molded ceilings, distinctive cast ironwork and lead-framed bottle glass windows. Equally compelling is the story of the close-knit family who once lived here and whose aura continues to permeate the interior, where most of their original furnishings remain. Do sign up for a docent tour and donate to the restoration fund!

The hotel art collection is bright and whimsical, all nodding to the resolute message: you are on vacation, chill, savor the moment and embrace the soothing ambiance. Pieces of the owner’s personal collection include a few Jasper John lithographs; and the iconic Poppy pieces by Donald Sultan which animate the restaurant. I love a property that takes time to create a small guest catalog describing their art; details do make a difference!

Beach – the all important sand stroll, this marvelous stretch of the Coast Hwy is home to some of the most notable movers and shakers and although California beaches are designated as public, you won’t encounter many other walkers. A grand stretch of walkable beach is the picture-perfect sunrise and sunset workout.

Beach staff place loungers, supply towels and serve cocktails and snacks from an exclusive Beach menu on the sand. Umbrellas toted to shade you if requested. The surf is very swimmable, and for a Northern Californian raised on the Southern California beaches, the temperature was divine. One of the locals told me it was too cold for swimming, ha, try dipping a toe into the Northern California Ocean, it is sublime!

The ideal secluded escape; unplug, tote a massive book, snooze under an umbrella on the sand loungers in the afternoons, amble downstairs to a delicious feast and fall asleep to the soothing surf…wake up, repeat and indulge in hours of beach walks.

If you need to unplug and you relish beach ambling, ocean swimming, and delish dining this is the picture-perfect location.

Trust Science- “There are all these cognitive and emotional benefits that we derive every time we spend time by water” said Wallace J. Nichols, a marine biologist and best-selling author of the Blue Mind. “Once you get into it, you realize that it’s chemistry, it’s biology, it’s physiology. It’s deeply personal but it’s also strong science.”

Effortless, relaxed and laid back. In a word, Scrumptious! Cocoon on Carbon Beach at the Malibu Beach Inn. Ring me, perhaps I will join you. I will return, Highly Recommend!