Can a top-notch hotel claiming to embody California’s surf lifestyle ban dogs? The answer, of course, is no. Just like it can’t resemble a museum or sniff at screeching rugrats with beach on the brain.

So the Shorebreak Hotel, the brand-new hotel from the visionary makers at Joie de Vivre, is as forgiving a luxury property as you’re likely to find: pet-friendly and with helpful, attentive staff who radiate hospitality and look like they spend their lunch hours duck-diving the breakers by Huntington Beach Pier, right across the Pacific Coast Highway.

Sweet Amenities

That’s not to say this gem isn’t sophisticated—it boasts the high-end detritus common to luxury properties: massive LCD TVs, designer linen, local art—but presents them so subtly, guests feel like they’re chilling at a really wealthy friend’s beach pad, one with the presence of mind to design a bathroom with deep tubs and large showers, where a small family can simultaneously wash the sand out together.

With 24-hour surf films projected onto a lobby wall, board storage and beachfront surfboard rental shops, the hotel’s impressive philanthropic partnership with the local chapter of the Surfrider Foundation, a non-profit fiercely defending beaches and oceans, was a no-brainer.

Room to Book

Most of the partial ocean-view king suites offer up sweet vistas for $230. Also, book a non-refundable package for 40 per cent off standard rates.

Room rates start at $230.