We have just arrived back from a week's holiday in Las Vegas/Los Angeles and stayed our final two nights at Casa Malibu Inn on the Beach.

Casa Malibu was a perfect 'away from it all' location. The room (we had 107) was comfortable and the view of the Pacific Ocean, just 10 yards away, was spectacular. We saw both seals and dolphins from the room's balcony. Direct beach access was so easy - through a side gate next to the Beachfront Rooms and we were free to walk along the beach for around a mile in either direction.

The hotel provided a continental breakfast of fruit, muffins etc. If this is not to your taste, we were also given a discount voucher for Cafe Marmalade which provided excellent cooked breakfast and was about 2 minutes drive down the road in a local shopping area. Room service is also available from Cafe Marmalade and ours was delivered direct to the room within half an hour.

The hotel is around 10-15 minutes' drive from Santa Monica where there is a wide selection of restaurants/shopping.

Our only regret was that we weren't able to stay longer.

I stayed for two nights, attending a conference at Pepperdine U. This hotel is the closest decent hotel to Pepperdine, and its oceanfront location makes for wonderful morning views when having a coffee outside in the morning.

The reason the hotel only gets three stars from me is that the rooms are fairly flimsy. There is poor soundproofing, and the pounding of hte surf at night actually kept me awake (jet lag from the East didn't help, to be frank). The shower head in my small shower (mid-priced room, $160/night, no bath) didn't adjust and was directed to the corner of the shower stall, such that one had to squeeze into a small corner of the shower to use it.

In other words, take this hotel for what it is -- an unbeatable location if you are staying in Malibu, but a rather funky hotel with rooms that could be re-done.

I am sitting in my room at Casa Malibu as I write this. The weather is lousy, cold, rainy but this still is a nice place to ride it out. When it clears, the small wind-safe patio is a great place to watch the waves and the size/ambience of Casa Malibu continues to be a winner. I stayed here a few years ago, and finally found a time to return.
Both times I have been in a "garden room" not one of the ocean fronts. This is fine. If you do opt for ocean front, this is one of the few hotels that really delivers! You will be about 10 feet from the water.

This is SO much better than staying at a hotel in LA. It is small, funky, and requires a change in mindset to properly appreciate the place.If you are looking for glitzy, modern, high profile place...this ain't it.

But if you are ready to experience a laid back, throwback kind of place, it is perfect.

The rooms are scrupulously clean, and comfortable. Bath and shower are tiny, but functional and clean. The free continental breakfast with excellent coffee, and even complimentary wifi are nice bonuses. Even the in room coffee is Kona blend.

The other thing about this place is the feeling that you have "discovered" something. It is NOT just another non-descript business hotel.

Take a 1/2 mile walk north to tour the Adamson House grounds. It puts you on the beach and back in time. Museum house is open Wed-Sat, but you can walk the grounds (about 10 minutes) anytime during daylight hours.

I would usually post photo's but the ones that are current are good and representative.

I hope to find another reason to return soon!

Funky, laid back, bargain beach hotel. Don't expect burnished perfection. Casa Malibu makes you want to put on your beads and Hawaiian shirt and pretend to be a beach bum. Perfect for a long weekend.
This unprepossessing inn is right on the busy Pacific Highway, but the traffic noise fades away as you face the beach and a lushly planted courtyard. Many of the rooms have fireplaces. A pretty good continental breakfast buffet is laid out every morning for you to pick up and take to one of the courtyard tables facing the ocean.
The only drawback might be that Casa Malibu doesn't have direct beach access. You have to walk about 75 yards down the busy Pacific Highway to start your beachcombing.