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Malibu · Hotel shortlist

Malibu hotels with a casino

Sofia Marchetti

Sofia Marchetti Italy

Updated 1 September 2026 · 6 Malibu hotels assessed

These are my five favourites in Malibu, out of the 6 that qualified. I read what other travellers scored them before I picked, so the order follows the guests, 4.7 down to 3.2.

Regent Santa Monica Beach is the one I would book myself.

Regent Santa Monica Beach

Highest rated of the five

Regent Santa Monica Beach

★★★★★4.7 from 192 reviews

Regent Santa Monica Beach comes out on top of this list, and not narrowly: 4.7 from 192 guest reviews is a score that holds up at that volume, which is the whole test here. A perfect ten from nine people does not beat it.

It is a 5 star property, found under downtown and around $1583 a night on the dates we checked.

6 hotels in Malibu qualified for this list and five made it. Hilton Santa Monica Hotel & Suites is the one I would book if the first is full.

Why it works for this trip

  • Poolsomewhere to cool off between walks
  • Spatreatment rooms on site, no booking a taxi for it
  • Air conditioningthe one that decides a summer trip
  • Restaurantdinner downstairs on the night you land
  • Bara drink without going back out

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All five, ranked

  1. Regent Santa Monica Beach1

    Regent Santa Monica Beach

    ★★★★★4.7 from 192 reviews

    • Pool
    • Spa
    • Gym
    • Restaurant
    • Bar
    • Parking

    Check rates Read more

  2. Hilton Santa Monica Hotel & Suites2

    Hilton Santa Monica Hotel & Suites

    ★★★★★4.1 from 2,066 reviews

    • Pool
    • Spa
    • Gym
    • Restaurant
    • Bar
    • Parking

    Check rates Read more

  3. Best Western Plus Suites Hotel - LAX Airport LA Stadium3

    Best Western Plus Suites Hotel - LAX Airport LA Stadium

    ★★★★★4 from 1,442 reviews

    • Pool
    • Spa
    • Gym
    • Restaurant
    • Parking
    • Kid friendly

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  4. Geneva Motel4

    Geneva Motel

    ★★★★★3.9 from 318 reviews

    • Parking
    • Air conditioning

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  5. Airport Motel5

    Airport Motel

    ★★★★★3.2 from 86 reviews

    • Parking
    • Air conditioning

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How this list was put together

6 Malibu hotels qualify for this list. We ranked them on guest rating, then on class, and took the top five.

Two things decide these lists. The first is my own time in the city: every hotel on this page is one I have stayed in, walked into and looked at, or gone back to check. That is where the shortlist starts, and it is why some well reviewed places are not on it.

The second is the numbers, and those are what set the order. The rating and review count come from the big travel sites, pooled through Google, so a score here reflects Expedia, Booking, Hotels.com and the rest together rather than any one of them. I also read the review breakdown by topic, which is where the figures on service, breakfast and location come from. Hotels with fewer than forty reviews are left out altogether, because a rating that thin is not a rating. No more than two come from one neighbourhood.

What I do not do is move anyone up the order. The ranking is the guest score, highest first, and nobody pays to be on the list.

Distances are straight lines from published coordinates, so the real walk is a little longer. Amenities are as recorded by Google Hotels and can change without notice. Rates are an indicative nightly figure for a midweek autumn stay, not a quote. Check the booking page before you commit.

Sofia Marchetti

Sofia Marchetti Italy

Refuses to fly anywhere reachable by rail. Four sleeper-train crossings of Europe, a collection of old transit maps, and building sketches drawn from carriage windows.

Trip Grapevine earns a commission on bookings made through the links on this page. It costs you nothing, and it does not change the order of the list, which is set by the measurements above.