Welcome to Surfrider

Originally built in 1953 as the Malibu Shores Motel, the historic and iconic lodgings sat above one of the most important beaches in the evolution of surf culture, not to mention the exact waves that Kathy “Gidget” Korner learned to surf on. The motel was present through the roiling sixties, the hippy haze of the seventies, and the decadence of the eighties. It’s in the background of a thousand sepia-tinted photographs. You might find quotes from members of The Doors, Fleetwood Mac, and Neil Young speaking of wild times right here in these rooms.

In 2014, Malibu Shores became Surfrider Malibu. A fresh start. A new beginning. An updated and thoroughly unique take on the beloved motel that had been welcoming travelers for decades. Effortlessly cool, thoughtfully designed to inspire and invigorate, an interior that matches the natural beauty of the landscape, simple and sophisticated like Malibu itself – a Californian Beach House was born. With uncompromising integrity and quality, we have been welcoming guests to experience Malibu the way the locals do, where anything could happen and the creative spirit flows. Where you can unpack and unwind, where good times are plenty and you are reminded of what it feels like to be truly alive.

A Brief History of Malibu

For most of Malibu’s life, it was home to the Native American Chumash tribe. The stretch of land along the Pacific Coast was first named Humaliwo which means “where the surf sounds loudly.” Some believe a form of the original name is where “Malibu” was eventually derived from, combining mali + wu, which on their own mean “where the mountains meet the sea.” From the very beginning, Malibu’s identity has been tied to its landscape.
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Colonized by the Spanish in the 18th and 19th centuries, the land eventually fell into the wealthy hands of Frederick Hastings Rindge and his wife, Rhoda May Rindge. Referred to nowadays as the “King and Queen of Malibu,” the Rindges’ ownership and management of the area primed it to become what it is today.

Malibu stretches for 21 miles along the Pacific Ocean, cut through by the Pacific Coast Highway, and climbs east into the Santa Monica Mountains where dense canyons and hidden ranches lie. It’s a residential community, a wild oasis of natural beauty, a collection of nearly three dozen of the world’s most famous and beautiful beaches, and an enclave with its own unique history and heritage.
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Hollywood stars began building vacation homes in Malibu in 1929 when the widowed May Rindge invited a few celebrities to her private beach. She was in some money trouble having spent her fortune defending Malibu from the Southern Pacific Railroad, and she saw a controlled development of the area as a way to stop the bleeding.
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Slowly the exclusive The Malibu Colony was built by and for the rich and famous. By the 1950s, however, as the surf scene was taking over Southern California, Malibu’s consistent waves attracted hordes of surfers and with them came the musicians, writers, painters, and architects. It was in those early years, where the movie stars mixed with the newcomer artists, that Malibu was instilled with a deeply ingrained and still very present creative atmosphere and sense of optimism.
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It’s not just a place, Malibu is a way of life.

Like everywhere else, Malibu has changed over the years. Beloved for its surfing and hiking now as much as for its shopping and five-star restaurants, it’s still very much a destination that feels a million miles from the clamor of Los Angeles whose backyard it comprises. Malibu has a little bit of everything you need – salty air, hazy sunsets, slow peeling waves, and a clock that seems to tick just a touch slower than the others.