Music mogul David Geffen revamped the beachside hotel to include a high-end restaurant and state-of-the-art amenities.
By Melonie Magruder / Special to The Malibu Times
The boarded-up hotel on Pacific Coast Highway near the Malibu Pier will soon be re-awakened. The Malibu Beach Inn, originally built in 1989 and purchased by local mogul David Geffen last year, has been “completely re-conceptualized” to serve a 21st century guest list, said Alan Goldschneider, the hotel’s general manager.
Geffen purchased the 47-room hotel April last year from longtime owners Marty and Vicky Cooper for a reported $29 million.
Although the outside appearance of the hotel appears to be under heavy construction, Geffen’s new property is slated to re-open mid-June. From a “quaint, Mission-style hotel,” the Malibu Beach Inn promises to be “more than just a hotel,” Goldschneider said. “The new place will exemplify the whole Malibu experience.”
The idea was to create a hotel of exceptional service, comfort and quality, while preserving a beach-town ambiance, the manager said.
“Our research shows that maybe 60 percent of our clientele will come from within an hour and a half drive of the hotel,” Goldschneider said. “We want Malibu residents to see the Malibu Beach Inn as a ‘get-away’ for themselves, as well as friends and family. This is a haven for locals.”
Accordingly, the look and feel of this boutique hotel will be very beach-oriented and reflect the design style of homes right along Carbon Beach, while providing state-of-the-art amenities to guests, he said.
“Forty-four of the 47 rooms have private ocean views,” Goldschneider said.
DBA Architects, the Los Angeles-based design firm that created the hotel’s new look, installed clear, glass rails around the balconies of the rooms, so the panorama would be unencumbered.
Paul Burditch, president of Burditch Marketing Communications, the public relations firm tasked with promoting the new hotel, said the room décor and facilities would be “fabulous.” Most of the rooms have fireplaces and all have flat-screen plasma televisions, digital entertainment centers, wireless high-speed Internet and generously appointed private bars.
“One program we are really excited about is the wine program we are offering in the rooms,” Goldschneider said.
Focusing on local California wines, particularly vintages from Malibu Family Winery, guests will be offered six to eight award-winning wines, rotating the selections monthly, and will be available in all the rooms.
The hotel’s restaurant, called the Carbon Beach Club, will seat 44 guests, split between inside and outside on a beach-front patio and will be available only to hotel guests.
“This was a directive of the Coastal Commission, [which] was concerned about parking issues,” Burditch said.
Chef Samuel Lara, trained in the celebrated kitchens of St. Regis and L’Hermitage, will oversee the restaurant’s menu.
The Malibu Beach Inn also offers five venues to serve corporate clients, all oceanfront, with facilities to accommodate three to 300.
“We’ll have video conferencing and the highest quality audio-visual capabilities,” Burditch said.
“We are complementing our service staff with interns from Europe and Asia. The concierge staff should be the finest and best trained you can find,” Burditch said. “Our style will be to make sure that guests are taken care of before they even arrive. Our concierges will contact you four days before you arrive to see what special needs or amenities you will be looking for when you get here.”
Some of those amenities include working with local businesses.
“We’ll work with the local surf shops and provide outings to great local activities, like the wine-tasting garden up at Malibu Family Wines,” Goldschneider said. “We want the Malibu Beach Inn to partner within the community.”
Room rates start at $390 a night. Special guest packages will be offered year-round, including dining, spa, and leisure and wine weekend getaways.
Considering Geffen’s high profile in the national political scene, can Malibu expect to see some major fund-raising activities at the Beach Inn over the next 18 months?
“That’s an excellent question,” Goldschneider said. “We welcome guests of all stripes.”