4 stars
We really enjoyed our time in Malibu and this backhouse was a great location for us to stay in during our time there! It’s location is very central to many of Malibu's key points of interest which really helped minimize daily travel! The only struggle is getting on/off the main road nearby as it is located on a hill and has a lot of traffic. The house itself can be a bit tricky to find initially but the host provided some very helpful information to ensure we made it safely. The host was very attentive to us (over text) and responded quickly to all our questions. Check-in/out was very simple with almost no work on our part to do so. We didn’t have to do any cleaning before leaving which we really appreciated!
The house itself is very small and had a few quirks (see below) but otherwise it had everything we needed and made for an excellent “home base” while we enjoyed Malibu! The views are excellent and the location in an open field made for a very nice shift from our regular city life in LA. We definitely recommend this place to other visitors, especially if you plan on spending time outside more than indoors.
Quirks:
The bed was very soft and squishy. You really sink in quite a bit, which some guests may find very comfortable, but if you prefer a firm mattress or have back issues, then you may not get the best sleep here.
The shower was very difficult to work with and is probably the main reason for not giving 5 stars. The water temperature was highly inconsistent with no discernable logic for how the hot/cold flows worked so you just had to be attentive to the rapid shifts between scalding and freezing and take advantage of the 30 second spells with the right temperature. We routinely had to turn either the hot or the cold water completely off and then on again to get things to adjust but it usually seemed as though only one or the other supply got to the showerhead most of the time. Hopefully this will be fixed for future guests.