annenberg community beach house

Look this is not a gourmet restaurant. But if you want a simple burger or chicken salad, it is perhaps the only place on the coast where you can actually feel the crunch of sand under your feet LA does all it can to prevent us from actually walking on the sand. The stretch of perfectly groomed and totally unpoulated beach off Santa Monica is proof of that. So if you just really need a simple beach fix, just go, with low expectations, and you will feel better for it.

Like many L.A.-area attractions, the Annenberg Community Beach House has an interesting history. The beach house is the former estate of actress Marion Davies. She and William Randolph Hearst hosted numerous parties attended by Charlie Chaplin, Greta Garbo and other such celebrities. Today, the family-friendly oceanfront beach house is open to the public for playing on the beach and swimming in the pool. There’s a gallery and café and did I mention it's an oceanfront property?

If you want to go to the beach and not lug everything around...this is the place to go. You have to be there first thing though or you ain't getting parking here. You have beach, nice bathrooms, swimming pool (if you get reservations) & restaurant. This is a calmer version of Paradise Cove in Malibu but closer to LA! Park your car...and do everything you want at the beach without the hassle of carrying stuff around!

Attended a kids birthday party here. We had the run of the place between the birthday tent setup on the sand, access to the beach and the pool. It has a private club feel but the public walks freely through there and that is also one of the best things. I had visited about 1 year early in another capacity (memorial for a friend) but we were in the community center rooms and not on the sand. I would definitely think of this place for my own entertaining but in the meantime I will hope that I am invited again to an event at this lovely place.

We rented the facility for a large group function and the staff was great overall. They also catered in great food. Overall a great venue for a day at the beach!

Attended a wedding at Sunset on the beach. The location was excellent and the house was beautiful. The back of the house has a porch which was used for the wedding and the stairs on each side to hold the bride and grooms close friends and family. Could not have been more perfect/

It's a great place - seems like a private beach - beautiful pool for children and adults alike. Can spend the day there - visit The Marion Davies former home - William Randolph Hurst gave it to her. She had many famous visitors who spent time there. A little café is near the pool for burgers, salads etc. Wonderful, clean and safe place. There is a fee, but can't remember what it was - not much and you pay a little for parking. Otherwise, delightfulA trip back into time.

Love this community beach club. Great food, a pool, rentals, dining on the beach while the kiddies play on the playground? Family bliss. Parking can be tough on popular days like weekends and holidays, so get there early. In the summer swim reservations are a must. Or just bring your picnic basket and head to the waves. Great for younger kiddos, and making new friends.

My kid loves this place he had so much fun. We have a pool in my condo complex but it is still fun too pack a lunch and have a fun day at the pool with other social people. I like that it is upscale but not snooty.

Nice spot for lunch on the beach. The restaurant is low key and offers a nice variety of things to eat including fish tacos and salads for those of us who may prefer a lighter meal.

I took my son to the Beach House on a Sunday and we both loved it! I reserved parking ahead of time. I definately recommend! It was easy to reserve the parking spot and pool passes online. When we got there they moved some cones for us and we got front row parking right next to the buliding which was great so we didn't have to drag our beach stuff all around. The entire place was nice and clean. We used all of the ammenities. The pool and chairs were nice and the boardwalk to the beach was great! We used the game room upstairs (nice break from the sun) with free board games and ping pong and we used the upper deck to eat lunch. It was nice that you could bring your own food in plus there was a nice resturant with take out boxes as well. The spash pad was nice for smaller kids and the playground on the beach was great and shaded!I can't wait to go back!!! Best public pool/beach house experience I have ever had! I felt like a true SoCal girl!

This is a wonderful setting, just beyond the California Incline and walking distance to the Santa Monica Pier, with a very pleasant and attentive staff, and very tasty catered food service.

A very unique location to spend time on Santa Monica Beach. It is an entire complex which consists of a cafe, art center, community pool and historic house that you can tour. Call before coming to see what's open. Pool is beautiful. It is a community pool. Cafe is perfect for a lunch. Right on beach. Check when tours are of the old Marion Davies house. There is limited on site parking.

Spending a day at a Santa Monica beach doesn't have to be daunting! This is the place to park your car and your party. Although we didn't use many of the amenities offered here, it was so nice to have a "paved" path to the shoreline with reasonable beach chair rentals at the ready. As a very family friendly area, there was joy all around as everyone enjoyed the waves.

This glass beach house, open to the public, is a beautiful venue for cultural events. I recently attended a Red Hen Press sponsored free poetry reading featuring Garett Hongo on a Thursday night. You need to call to reserve parking for events as parking is limited. There is a casual beach cafe on site where you can get wine and a light dinner. Sunset over the beach and mountains is spectacular.