The Surfrider Hotel — Attraction in Malibu

I've been coming to The Surfrider for the past three years for my birthday as well as the occasional spontaneous staycation, but ever since Casetta Group took over management in Sept. 2023 and began focusing more on influencer marketing, the hotel has lost a lot of its charm.||That being said, it obviously has held a special place in my heart (hence why it pains me to write this), so I’ll start with some positives:||Communications: You can text the front desk for any requests and room service, which is massively convenient.||The room: Each room I’ve stayed in has been cozy, inviting, and outfitted with great amenities like Grown Alchemist products and beach towels and a beach bag for guests to use. The linens are so incredible that I’ve purchased the same set for my own home. As other reviewers have pointed out, the walls are thin and you can’t escape the noise from the highway, but I’ve never minded — if you do, however, there are earplugs and even a white noise machine in the room for your use. ||Morning coffee service: You can fill out a coffee card each night for free coffees to be delivered to your room in the morning. Such a special touch!||The rooftop: The Surfrider has the best rooftop view in Malibu (even better than Soho House Malibu, IMO). If you arrive early, you can check in and leave your bags downstairs and enjoy the rooftop, and you can even enjoy the rooftop for the rest of the day after you check out.||Front desk staff: The staff at reception went above and beyond. In previous years, one amenity included was a scented room spray in each room; on this trip, I was told via text that they’ve done away with sprays in the room as of earlier this week, but would be selling them for $65. When I expressed disappointment, the staff offered to have me pick up a bottle for the room for the remainder of the trip, and I truly appreciate the thoughtfulness. ||As for the negatives, I’d say it was the overall service. A week and a half before my visit, the hotel reached out to inform us that there would be kitchen renovations during the time we’d be there, and as such, there would be a limited menu of just light bites during the day. While this isn’t a huge deal, it wasn’t listed on the website, and I would have liked to have had this in consideration before booking. It would also have been nice to receive some kind of food/beverage credit for the inconvenience if they weren’t able to notify earlier.||While everyone working the front desk was lovely, the service on the rooftop restaurant during this stay left a lot to be desired. With the exception of one time, each time I visited the rooftop throughout a 2 nights/3 day stay, the staff wouldn’t acknowledge me unless I chased them down. On one occasion, I was alone on the rooftop, and a couple came up after me and were immediately tended to and served mocktails and menus before I was able to flag someone to acknowledge me. ||When we tried to order room service one night, we were told the two items we wanted weren’t available (it seems the menus on the roof and the room are different, and the ones in the room weren’t updated), so we ended up DoorDashing from a nearby restaurant. On the second night, we ordered the items that were available, but the pappardelle pasta with Italian sausage that my friend ordered came with no sausage or sauce, so we had to notify the front desk and wait while they re-made the dish. ||On the last morning before checkout, I sat on the roof for 30 minutes and no one stopped by to offer any menus or water, so I gave up on breakfast and left. ||As another reviewer mentioned, they don’t do anything special like a glass of bubbly for birthdays or anniversaries, you’re just given the option to purchase things to be put in your room ($60 for a batch of 3 servings of cocktails, etc). This felt more understandable when they were a smaller operation, but now that they’ve been taken over by a hospitality group, it feels a little egregious. ||Overall, it’s a nice place with a great location, but has gone on the decline since last year. I’d be open to trying another stay here at some point (and would update my review if I ever did), but it feels like it might be time to move on to other hotels in the area, especially for the price. My feedback would be to focus less on influencers and more on improving overall experience...

I've been coming to The Surfrider for the past three years for my birthday as well as the occasional spontaneous staycation, but ever since Casetta Group took over management in Sept. 2023 and began focusing more on influencer marketing, the hotel has lost a lot of its charm.

That being said, it obviously has held a special place in my heart (hence why it pains me to write this), so I’ll start with some positives:

Communications: You can text the front desk for any requests and room service, which is massively convenient.

The room: Each room I’ve stayed in has been cozy, inviting, and outfitted with great amenities like Grown Alchemist products and beach towels and a beach bag for guests to use. As other reviewers have pointed out, the walls are thin and you can’t escape the noise from the highway, but I’ve never minded — if you do, however, there are earplugs and even a white noise machine in the room for your use.

Morning coffee service: You can fill out a coffee card each night for free coffees to be delivered to your room in the morning. Such a special touch!

The rooftop: The Surfrider has the best rooftop view in Malibu (even better than Soho House Malibu, IMO).

Front desk staff: The staff at reception went above and beyond. In previous years, one amenity included was a scented room spray in each room; on this trip, I was told via text that they’ve done away with sprays in the room as of earlier this week, but would be selling them for $65. When I expressed disappointment, the staff offered to have me pick up a bottle for the room for the remainder of the trip, and I truly appreciate the thoughtfulness.

As for the negatives, I’d say it was the overall service. A week and a half before my visit, the hotel reached out to inform us that there would be kitchen renovations during the time we’d be there, and as such, there would be a limited menu of just light bites during the day. While this isn’t a huge deal, it wasn’t listed on the website, and I would have liked to have had this in consideration before booking. It would also have been nice to receive some kind of food/beverage credit for the inconvenience if they weren’t able to notify earlier.

While everyone working the front desk was lovely, the service on the rooftop restaurant during this stay left a lot to be desired. With the exception of one time, each time I visited the rooftop throughout a 2 nights/3 day stay, the staff wouldn’t acknowledge me unless I chased them down. On one occasion, I was alone on the rooftop, and a couple came up after me and were immediately tended to and served mocktails and menus before I was able to flag someone to acknowledge me.

When we tried to order room service one night, we were told the two items we wanted weren’t available (it seems the menus on the roof and the room are different, and the ones in the room weren’t updated), so we ended up DoorDashing. On the second night, we ordered the items that were available, but the pappardelle pasta with Italian sausage that my friend ordered came with no sausage or sauce, so we had to notify the front desk and wait while they re-made the dish.

On the last morning before checkout, I sat on the roof for 30 minutes and no one stopped by to offer any menus or water, so I gave up on breakfast and left.

As another reviewer mentioned, they don’t do anything special like a glass of bubbly for birthdays or anniversaries, you’re just given the option to purchase things to be put in your room ($60 for a batch of 3 servings of cocktails, etc). This felt more understandable when they were a smaller operation, but now that they’ve been taken over by a hospitality group, it feels a little egregious. They also used to provide Acqua Panna waters in rooms, but now only give tap water.

Overall, it’s a nice place with a great location, but has gone on the decline since last year. I’d be open to trying another stay here at some point (and would update my review if I ever did), but it feels like it might be time to move on to other hotels in the area, especially...

Holy Cow, where do I start! My wife and I were extremely satisfied with our stay here. Let me break this review down in sections.

Accommodations: The room was wonderful. Very warm and cozy. It had a California Surf bungalow vibe to it. Nothing huge or ridiculous. Just a relaxing crib to chill between our daily adventures. A very nice touch was a little fresh flower bundle that was placed at the shower door in the bathroom. What a lovely surprise to see. Another nice touch was our own private balcony. My wife and I enjoyed watching the hummingbirds that would visit us each day. We both enjoyed a bottle of wine out there one night as we listened to the waves crashing on the beach.

Amenities: Our favorite amenity was the beautiful private roof top bar and grill. The view overlooking the Malibu Pier from there was breathtaking. Such a wonderful treat to sit and view the surfers as you eat and enjoy a bottle of wine. The Library was a nice touch as well. It was equipped many interesting reads as well as an acoustic guitar. Being a guitar player myself, I was encouraged to take the guitar to my room and play it all I wanted if I wished. I also could not believe that you have total access and full use of a Mini-Cooper to go exploring with if you like. Lastly, fresh coffee brought to your room each morning was a very nice touch and great way to start the day.

Food: I happen to be a Chef with many years of experience working at an affluent Golf and Country Club. I’m also a “foodie”. So I think I qualify in providing an unbiased opinion on the quality of cuisine that was served here. With that said, I must say my wife and I were very impressed! The Chef was amazing. The entrée selections were unique and delicious! Ingredients were all selected from local farms and fisheries. Each night, we looked forward to what the Chef had up his sleeve. In fact, after our first meal, we decided to have all of them here as the food was not only great, but the ambiance could not be beat from anywhere in Malibu.

Location: This establishment is located directly across from the Malibu Pier. This provided the wonderful opportunity to take early morning strolls to the pier for coffee and take in the fresh ocean breeze before starting our day. Gorgeous Malibu beaches such as Zuma Beach, Point Dume State Beach and the breathtaking El Matador and many more are just a few miles down the road! And just a few miles in the opposite direction brings you to Santa Monica. In fact, you can just make out the Santa Monica pier from the roof top lounge.

Customer Service: Above all, the customer service was second to none! Each employee treated us as if we were family. Everyone was so polite, pleasant and always asked us if there was anything they could do for us at every encounter. We can honestly say we have never felt so pampered in all our travels. Everyone truly went out of their way to make sure we were enjoying ourselves to the fullest. This establishment should be very proud...