Staking out a private piece of oceanfront heaven in Ventura County.
By Craig Outhier | Photos courtesy Zachari Dunes on Mandalay Beach
Few simple pleasures in life surpass a cheesy, sausage-y breakfast burrito served out of a food truck on the beach. This should be self-evident to lovers of beaches and burritos alike.
One possible improvement: A scenario in which the breakfast-dispensing vehicle in question is just steps from your resort suite, tucked into a lagoon-like corner of the property where, in the pinkish gloaming of early morning, you can Zen out to the sound of crashing waves and singing birds while waiting for the food and sipping a piping-hot latte.
Vacation happy place, found.
This morning-burrito routine quietly ennobled my media visit at Zachari Dunes on Mandalay Beach (zacharidunes.com), one of a handful of true beachfront resorts in all of California, located just north of Malibu in Ventura County. Though not the most spectacular thing about the trip, or the resort, my food-truck breakfasts were the most unscripted and personalized, one of those spontaneous rituals that give any good vacation an extra gear.
It was also perfectly emblematic of the larger appeal of Ventura, the Pacific-abutting beach community immediately north of Malibu across the Los Angeles County line. Family-oriented and bucolic, with a local economy still largely rooted in agriculture, it makes for a terrifically energizing change of pace from the kind of frenetic, scene-oriented beach vacation you might have down south in Santa Monica or Manhattan Beach.
It’s a slightly longer drive, or flight, from Phoenix than L.A. or Orange County, but you win back much more with those 30 extra miles.
Beach, Beach, Beach
“Man, this is a lot of beach,” I whistle to myself while beholding the vast expanse of Mandalay Beach splayed outside my balcony. When they bill Zachari Dunes as a “beachfront resort,” they’re not exaggerating. You leave the pool deck, you walk out a gate, cross a boardwalk and – whammo! – you’re on the sand. It’s common phenomenon in Hawaii and Mexico. Less so in public-land-centric California, where beach resorts are usually perched on bluffs, secreted behind parks or otherwise off-set.
Technically, the hotel spokesperson tells me, Zachari Dunes is the only all-suite oceanfront resort in Southern California, which is the distinction that sets it apart from, say, the Hotel del Coronado in San Diego. As hooks go, it’s not bad. Quite frankly, it’s what reeled in my visit.
And the ocean here is undoubtedly spectacular – one of the qualities that drew Ventura County’s original inhabitants, the Chumash Indians, to this nub of a peninsula. Fertile land, drawing up to ocean that spits out marine life like sunflower seeds. Not coincidentally, the Chumash’s Spanish conquerors named it San Buenaventura (“good fortune”).
Besides Mandalay Beach, the beaching options here are ample. A short walk or bike ride south from the resort – which is located in the city of Oxnard, adjacent to Ventura proper – you hit Hollywood Beach (visitoxnard.com). Bordered by dunes, Hollywood Beach cuts off at Channel Islands Harbor and is known to draw sparse crowds. Head north and you’ll hit McGrath State Beach (visitoxnard.com), also generally deserted but well-suited for a romantic walk or contemplative stroll.
To find the more people-watching-friendly beaches, hop in a car and drive six miles to Surfer’s Point (visitventuraca.com) near the Ventura County Fairgrounds, known for its steady swells and showboat-y riders. Nearby Harbor Cove Beach (visitventuraca.com) offers the liveliest beach scene in Ventura, with nearby Ventura Harbor Village and its welter of shops and restaurants.
Ventura Victuals
I’m looking for Ventura-area food recs, and I get them from a friend who lives nearby. “I really like Los Agaves (los-agaves.com) in Oxnard,” he says. “Tasty upscale Mexican. Amazing stuffed poblano chiles.
“Fluid State [Beer Garden] (fluidstatebeer.com) is an awesome brew pub and pizza joint in an historical building,” he continues. “And DV’s Mexican Grill (dvsmexicanfood.com) is a good greasy spoon. Great for breakfast. Mango margaritas.”
I read the text and make a note to try all of them, but for now, I’m having a fine time making a Sundays-only prime rib with roasted local vegetables quickly disappear at Ox & Ocean (oxandocean.com), the flagship New American restaurant at Zachari Dunes. Part of an eight-figure renovation at the 36-year-old Spanish Revival property, which is now part of Hilton’s Curio Collection portfolio, the restaurant is led by chef Damien Giliberti – and the man knows his way around animal proteins.
Lumpy, luscious, panko-encrusted crab croquettes and grilled swordfish with roasted turnip and eggplant shine on the “Ocean” half of the dinner menu, while oxtail bao with funkily tart kimchi and roast Jidori chicken with creamy local-grain polenta roar up from the “Ranch” half, the latter dish lacquered in smoked strawberry jam, a pairing I infinitely prefer to mint jelly and lamb.
Given Oxnard’s long history as a capital of California agriculture, you would hope to find some decent meatless dishes on the menu, too, and you do – including a flavor-bomb beet salad dressed in a roasted poblano vinaigrette and avocado purée, with a fancy little puffed goat cheese amaranth attached to the side. This is a fitting dish for Giliberti to put on the menu. The beachside city’s eponymous founder, sugar magnate Henry Oxnard, grew sugar beets here and intended to name the community Zachari after the Greek word for sugar, until vainer forces took hold and he named it after himself.
That amusing piece of city history also factored into the naming of my breakfast-crush food truck, Sugar Beats (sugarbeatsoxnard.com). Besides those terrific, white-cheddar-and-sausage breakfast burros, Nutella French toast and other A.M. charmers, the truck has a lunch menu headlined by a fried chicken sando with gochujang aioli, and a haute street dog smothered in a tricolor pepper medley.
In short: No real reason to leave Zachari Dunes. For food, anyway.
Ventura Adventure
Not all resorts have a game room – but why don’t they? Minimal investment, and every parent accompanied by minors will thank you for it.
After getting your fill of Pop-A-Shot and Parcheesi in the Zachari game room, you might be in the mood for extra-resort activity. Stop by on-site Henry’s Sundries and Rental Gear to borrow a surfboard or telescope, or grab a complimentary bike and take a pedal up the boardwalk.
To get even more out-of-pocket, drive to Arroyo Verde Park (visitventuraca.com) and spend an hour or two exploring its fetching network of hiking trails, many with nice elevation gains that resolve into spectacular views of the Pacific Ocean and, on a clear day, the Channel Islands.
For agritourism enthusiasts, Ventura will be your manna. Friend’s Ranches (friendsranches.com) and Petty Ranch (venturacountyfarmday.com/petty) are two local farms offering guided tours in which visitors learn the ins and outs of citrus cultivation and taste the freshly squeezed goods. Most tours have a you-pick-it component, too.
Does wine tasting count as agritourism? If so, I’ve been unconsciously steeping myself in agricultural knowledge since 1998. The majority of Ventura County’s wineries, including Herzog Wine Cellars (herzogwine.com) are in Ojai and Santa Paula – a bit of a drive from Oxnard, but when is wine tasting not worth a journey?
Back at Zachari, the shadows are getting long, the end of summer is nearing and one last swim in the brisk Pacific beckons before checkout tomorrow. Adios, Pacific. Adios, breakfast burritos.
Extremely Wet & Incredibly Close
A roundup of other illustrious oceanfront properties in SoCal.
The Waterfront Beach Resort
This Huntington Beach Hilton property boasts “direct beach access” (read: you have to walk across a parking lot) and commanding views of the Orange County city’s legendary surf. Spend an afternoon biking the boardwalk, followed by a fire-pit huddle on the beach at dusk. waterfrontresort.com
Hotel del Coronado
Arizonans need no introduction to the Victorian-inspired grande dame of Coronado Island. Check out the property’s new Shore House suites south of the main building – a resort-within-a-resort with private beach access. hoteldel.com
Shutters on the Beach
At the risk of quibbling, you have to hop a busy boardwalk and another busy bike path to walk another 500 feet to the water, but yes, you’re technically oceanfront at this lavish, East-Coast sanatorium-style hotel in Santa Monica. shuttersonthebeach.com
