A 13-room mid-century modern beachfront hotel in Malibu (originally built in 1947 as The Malibu Riviera, where Bob Dylan wrote Blood on the Tracks) has reopened as The Native Hotel.
With a sleepaway-camp vibe (no in-room TVs, bunk beds for the kids) guests are encouraged to enjoy the natural surroundings of nearby Zuma Beach, local trails and reiki treatments in the wellness shed. Décor includes web-native suppliers like Casper beds and Parachute Home linens, curated by the team from vibe-y Venice restaurant Gjelina. Located on the hip strip of the Pacific Coast Highway, with such neighbours as Soho House’s Little Beach House Malibu, the high-end shopping mecca Malibu Country Mart and a recently installed outpost of Nobu, along with its exclusive Japanese-themed hotel, it’s a laid-back, beachy retreat for the boho surf set.
Although there is no restaurant, the weekend we visited a taco truck pulled into the parking lot ($2 for an authentic el pastor) and we took our cardboard trays and sat on the front stoop of our motel room and cracked some cold rosé with friends. There was a sound bath ceremony taking place in the wellness shed, and a group sauntered by, including Martin Henderson, who plays a doctor on Grey’s Anatomy. Breakfast is granola and fruit in the lobby, where there was also a pop-up shop for L.A.-based MATE, the label, as well as locally made candles and incense (next up: Stella McCartney).
Being this far out, Uber service was a bit unreliable, so we invited a fellow guest to share our ride to the airport. In typical West Coast synchronicity, she turned out to be a former art director of Vancouver magazine, in Malibu for a yoga retreat. Namasté indeed. —Sarah Bancroft
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