Similar rates on the sand, from about $740 and $755. Shutters on the Beach if you want a heated pool, a spa, a daily two-hour bike for the beach path and a Metro station 14 minutes' walk away; Malibu Beach Inn if you would rather have 47 rooms, each with a balcony and most with a fireplace, no resort fee and sunrise from the sea-facing rooms.
A beach-house hotel on the sand in Santa Monica, with an ocean-view pool and the pier nine minutes' walk north.
$$$From about $740 a night
Choose Shutters on the Beach if
A beach-first Los Angeles trip
Sunset drinks and live music
Bike rides along the beach path
Romantic weekends on the coast
The catch
A $60 nightly resort fee plus tax is added to every stay, and overnight valet is $90 a night, so a room that starts around $740 comes to about $930 with the 15 per cent hotel tax, the fee and $11.25 in nightly tourism fees, before the car.
Forty-seven rooms on Carbon Beach, each with a balcony, all but a handful facing straight out to the Pacific, most with a fireplace.
$$$$From about $755 a night
Choose Malibu Beach Inn if
Anniversaries and proposals
Two quiet nights with nothing planned
Sunrise coffee on a sea-facing balcony
Couples who have a car
The catch
Pacific Coast Highway runs directly behind the building, and some guests mention hearing traffic over the surf; the King Pier View Rooms have the highway in view. Ask for a sea-facing room on the third floor, away from the street entrance.
Similar rates on the sand, from about $740 and $755. Shutters on the Beach if you want a heated pool, a spa, a daily two-hour bike for the beach path and a Metro station 14 minutes' walk away; Malibu Beach Inn if you would rather have 47 rooms, each with a balcony and most with a fireplace, no resort fee and sunrise from the sea-facing rooms.
Good questions about Shutters on the Beach vs Malibu Beach Inn
Shutters on the Beach or Malibu Beach Inn?
Similar rates on the sand, from about $740 and $755. Shutters on the Beach if you want a heated pool, a spa, a daily two-hour bike for the beach path and a Metro station 14 minutes' walk away; Malibu Beach Inn if you would rather have 47 rooms, each with a balcony and most with a fireplace, no resort fee and sunrise from the sea-facing rooms.
Is Shutters on the Beach worth it?
Book Shutters on the Beach to sleep a few steps from the sand in Santa Monica, with the pier a short walk north. Pay the step to an Ocean View Room for the Pacific in view from your balcony, and budget for the resort fee and the valet. A polished beach-house hotel on public sand, where the pool, the Living Room and the path to the pier are the point and a sea view costs extra. Expect a busy lobby and a bill with fees on top.
Does Shutters on the Beach have a pool or a beach?
It has an outdoor pool. A public beach is within walking distance.
Is Malibu Beach Inn worth it?
Book Malibu Beach Inn for the balcony over the Pacific, the fireplace and the 34 steps down to the sand, and accept that the highway is behind you. Pay the step up to a King Premier Ocean Front Room, ask for the third floor and treat the rest of Los Angeles as a day out by car. A small, polished beach hotel where the room, the balcony and the sand are the offer, and the rest of Los Angeles is a long drive away. A couple's hotel with a highway at its back.
Does Malibu Beach Inn have a pool or a beach?
There is no pool. A public beach is within walking distance.
The beach one