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It’s been years in the making, and now the Nobu Ryokan is rumored to be making its debut in December. Nobu Hotels, the hip hospitality brand jointly owned by chef Nobu Matsuhisa and award-winning actor Robert DeNiro, has a few properties in the pipeline (including Chicago and Shoreditch, London locations).
Of these, California’s ryokan—or traditional Japanese inn—might be the most hyped. After all, it’s just a stone’s throw from the popular Nobu restaurant in a stretch of Malibu (the Pacific Coast Highway) known as “Billionaire’s Beach.” (Formerly a 1950s era motel, the building is owned by former Oracle chief Larry Ellison. The tech billionaire has backed other Malibu ventures, including the (defunct) Nikita restaurant, which now houses The Little Beach House, the Malibu outpost of the British private members club Soho House.)
When Nobu Ryokan opens at the end of the year, it will offer just 18 guest rooms with fireplaces, custom teak soaking tubs, and contemporary interpretations of traditional tatami mats and shoji screens. Some rooms will have private courtyards and balconies overlooking the Pacific. Studio PCH describes the design as “a fusion of Japanese architecture and modern California living.”