Best Room At… Nobu Ryokan Malibu
“At a time before Malibu was Billionaire’s Row, it’s where people from LA would escape to the beach,” explains Janelle Eng, the general manager of Nobu Ryokan Malibu. And while the seaside destination has undeniably become a magnet for business titans, celebrities, and legions of those who want to vacation like they’re both, one thing about the area has remained the same: low-key is the only key that matters.
Take, for example, the property she manages. The Japanese-inspired hotel, which opened in April 2017, has only 16 rooms, and doesn’t take reservations from just anyone. When the owner bought the former Casa Malibu and turned it into the third-ever Nobu property, Eng says, “the whole vision was to be under the radar; a place about luxury but not being ostentatious. It’s about being quiet, and for people to feel like they’re getting hand-crafted service.”
The hotel certainly delivers. Guests enter off the noisy Pacific Coast Highway into a serene lobby that feels more like a living room than the entrance to a buzzy hotel and are practically required to leave the outside world behind. There’s no eatery on site—though guests do get preferred seating at the nearby Nobu restaurant—and guests who aren’t staying on property aren’t allowed. Instead, what’s offered is a quiet piece of oceanfront heaven with a helpful, if practically invisible, staff, rooms with lighting soft enough to make La Grenouille look like the Vegas strip, and nothing to do but soak up the tranquility—or head next door to Soho House if the quiet gets to be too much.
Here, Eng shares the details on her own favorite room and explains why quality beats quantity time and time again.
What do you consider to be the best room at the property and why?
My favorite room is the Ocean King with Japanese Soaking Tub. It’s a corner room on the second floor, and you can open the doors on the west and south sides. It has an outdoor, traditional Japanese Hinoki soaking tub, and the TV is hidden in the ceiling so in the morning when you wake up, you see nothing but the view. One of the first guests that stayed there called it “the rockstar room,” because that’s what he said he felt like there.
How much does it cost per night?
The room starts at $3,100 per night.
How would you describe the guests and the vibe at the hotel?
I didn’t want the place to be a revolving door, I wanted it to be a place of rest and rejuvenation, and the aesthetic reflects that. We give people permission to do nothing. To rest, to disconnect, to take a break, and really find a little bit of joy. I think it worked.
What feeling about Malibu do you hope to impart to guests?
We’ve trained guests in the hotel business to want so many activities, to have a lot of everything. The thing about Malibu is you don’t have to have a lot to experience the community. It’s very much a local beach community, and you can feel that because things are at your fingertips, but there’s not that frenetic energy. We aren’t trying to be a place that creates more traffic or more pressure on the community.
What’s a local attraction that you always recommend?
We suggest local hikes with Malibu Fit Concierge, who do guided walks through the area. When you get into the Santa Monica mountains and see the vastness of them, you go, “wow, I had no idea that this was so close to L.A.” Everybody thinks about the beach in Malibu, but we have mountains too. The other thing I always recommend is the Getty Villa; we love sending people there. The building is iconic, and we will book the tickets and can take people there in the house car. It’s just perfect, and so many people don’t know that it’s there.
You Might Also Like
