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Best beach hotels in LA

Shutters on the Beach opens straight onto Santa Monica Beach, nine minutes' walk from the pier. Terranea Resort has Beach Cove below its bluffs, where guided snorkel tours start, and four pools above them. Malibu Beach Inn stands on Carbon Beach, with its own stairway of 34 steps down to the sand.

3 of our ten · Hand-pickedHotels cannot pay to be hereLast checked: October 2026

At a glance

  1. Shutters on the Beach: The hotel from Santa Monica Beach

    Shutters on the Beach

    On the sand in Santa Monica, the pier nine minutes' walk north

    Santa Monica · From about $740 a night

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  2. Terranea Resort: The resort on its Palos Verdes cliffs

    Terranea Resort

    102 clifftop acres, a cove for snorkel tours and four pools

    Palos Verdes · From about $725 a night

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  3. Malibu Beach Inn: Candlelit counter open to the Pacific

    Malibu Beach Inn

    On Carbon Beach, 34 steps down to the sand, a balcony in every room

    Malibu · From about $755 a night

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What we looked for

No hotel in Los Angeles owns its beach. California's shore is public below the high-tide line, so what a hotel offers is how close the sand is and what it sets out on it. Three of our ten have a beach to use, on three very different coasts. Santa Monica Beach is wide: from the front of Shutters on the Beach, with the paved beach path along it, the water is about 230 metres away across the sand. Malibu Beach Inn stands on Carbon Beach itself, with Surfrider Beach a few minutes' walk west, past the pier. Palos Verdes is a coast of bluffs and kelp forests, with Terranea Resort's cove below them.

The Pacific is cool even in summer, so a heated pool earns its place on a beach trip. Choose Santa Monica for a beach inside a city trip, Malibu for two quiet nights with a car, and Palos Verdes for a week you barely leave.

Shutters on the Beach: The hotel from Santa Monica BeachThe beach one

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Shutters on the Beach

Santa Monica, LA

Shutters on the Beach is on this list because the beach starts at the front door. Its front building, the Beach House, stands on the sand, the paved beach path runs along the front of the hotel, and the pier is nine minutes' walk north. Venice, at the southern end of the same beach, is 6 minutes away by car, off-peak.

The hotel makes the sand easy to use. The resort fee covers a two-hour bike rental every day, weekend yoga on the beach and the beach concierge, and a seasonal beach activity centre has bike rentals and paid beach set-ups. For the days when the Pacific feels cold, the heated outdoor pool in the Ocean House courtyard has a view out to sea, cabanas and a fireplace, and is kept for hotel guests and spa clients. End the day with a sunset drink on the Living Room terrace.

Ocean View Room at Shutters on the Beach: a bed beside a cream built-in unit with a television and shelves, a wing armchair, and glass doors to a balcony with the beach and the sea beyond

The room to book

Ocean View Room

about 450 sq ft (42 m²)$1,229 a night

The first category sold with the sea in view: two step-out balconies looking across the beach to the Pacific, and a personal reading library for the afternoons indoors.

Every room, and why

Ask for the Beach House, the building on the sand; in the Ocean House, ask for a floor above the Beach House roof.

$$$From about $740 a night

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Terranea Resort: The resort on its Palos Verdes cliffsThe resort

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Terranea Resort

Palos Verdes, LA

Terranea Resort is here for a coast you explore rather than lie on. It spreads over 102 acres of the Long Point headland, and below the bluffs is Beach Cove, reached on foot through the resort. The guided snorkel tours start there, and the guided kayak tide pool tour paddles through the kelp forests, lands on a sandy beach to explore the tide pools and comes back to the cove. Along the top, the coastal trail reaches Point Vicente Lighthouse in 23 minutes on foot from the lobby, and grey whales pass offshore in winter.

The pools do the everyday swimming. There are four: a family pool with a 140-foot waterslide, the Vista Pool for 13 and over, Cielo Point above the water for over-21s, and a heated 25-metre pool for spa guests. Pool chairs and umbrellas come with the resort fee, and the fire pits at Nelson's are the place to end the day.

Bungalow King Guestroom at Terranea Resort: a four-poster bed with a red throw, two red armchairs and arched glass doors onto a balcony, with a ceiling fan above

The room to book

Bungalow King Guestroom

450 sq ft (42 m²)$730 a night

It sits down near the ocean's edge beside the spa, away from the lobby building, with a balcony or patio looking at the Pacific and Catalina Island, for about the price of the entry king.

Every room, and why

Reserve the Saturday morning guided hike along the bluffs to the lighthouse when you book the room: it is in the resort fee and places are limited.

$$$From about $725 a night

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Malibu Beach Inn: Candlelit counter open to the PacificThe romantic one

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Malibu Beach Inn

Malibu, LA

Malibu Beach Inn stands on Carbon Beach, and its own stairway of 34 steps drops from the building to the sand. Chairs and umbrellas go out on request for registered guests, with a food and drink menu on the beach. All 47 rooms have a balcony, and all but the King Pier View Rooms look straight out to the Pacific; the sea-facing rooms are sunrise rooms.

The sand follows the tide. At high water it all but disappears below the hotel, so walk four minutes west to Malibu Pier, where Surfrider Beach starts just beyond. There is no pool, and the hotel provides no lifeguard, so the Pacific is the swimming. Dinner is on Carbon Beach Club's terrace, which hangs out over the beach.

King Premier Ocean Front Room at Malibu Beach Inn: a king bed under a wood-beamed ceiling, a fireplace, a sofa and armchair, and a glass door onto a balcony facing the sea

The room to book

King Premier Ocean Front Room

about 350 sq ft (33 m²)$905 a night

It faces straight out to sea from its own balcony, a sunrise room over Carbon Beach, where the larger entry King Pier View Room looks west across the pier car park.

Every room, and why

Check the tide times for your dates and plan the hours on the sand around low water.

$$$$From about $755 a night

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How to choose

Your tripBook
A beach with the pier and a town on footShutters on the Beach
Bikes, beach yoga and the beach pathShutters on the Beach
A resort week of pools, a cove and clifftop walksTerranea Resort
Children who want a waterslide and a kids clubTerranea Resort
Two nights with the Pacific from your balconyMalibu Beach Inn

Also worth a look

Questions people ask

Good questions about Los Angeles

Do any Los Angeles hotels have a private beach?

No. California's shore is public below the high-tide line, so no hotel here has a private beach, and what differs is how close the sand is. Shutters on the Beach opens straight onto Santa Monica Beach, with paid beach set-ups from its seasonal beach activity centre. Malibu Beach Inn has its own stairway of 34 steps down to Carbon Beach and sets out chairs and umbrellas for registered guests on request. Terranea Resort's Beach Cove sits below its bluffs, reached on foot through the resort, and its guided snorkel tours start there.

Is the sea warm enough to swim in Los Angeles?

It is cooler than the weather suggests. NOAA's monthly averages for the water at Santa Monica Pier run from 14.7°C (58.4°F) in January to 20.2°C (68.4°F) in August, and stay below 16°C (61°F) from December to April. Late-spring mornings on the coast are often grey, what the National Weather Service calls May Gray and June gloom. For a pool day, Shutters on the Beach has a heated outdoor pool, and Terranea Resort has four pools, one of them a heated 25-metre pool for spa guests.

Which Los Angeles beach hotel suits a family?

Terranea Resort, for most families. Its Kids Club takes children from 3 to 12, and the family pool has a 140-foot waterslide and a splash pad, while the Vista Pool is kept for 13 and over. Shutters on the Beach has no kids club, but offers connecting rooms within a category and cribs on request, and its Beach House Suite has a separate den with a full-size sofa bed. At Malibu Beach Inn children of all ages are welcome: each room takes two adults and two children, and the King Premier Ocean Front Rooms can connect.

How far are the Los Angeles beach hotels from LAX?

By car from the LAX-it pick-up lot, off-peak, Shutters on the Beach is 19 minutes, Terranea Resort 35 and Malibu Beach Inn 38. Those are clear-road times: in the evening rush the airport's own traffic guide shows the roads into it taking up to nearly four times as long as overnight, so allow far more. Without a car, choose Shutters on the Beach: a free shuttle from arrivals reaches the K Line, which connects with the E Line to Downtown Santa Monica, 14 minutes' walk from the hotel. No train reaches Malibu or Palos Verdes.

How did you choose these hotels?

Independently, through extensive research, trusted sources and first-hand visits. Hotels cannot pay to be included, and every one of the ten has to exist for a different reason.

More ways to choose in LA

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Prices are a guide from our last check, not live rates.