Best Convertible Rental for a Malibu Anniversary Weekend

Roughly one in six convertible bookings we take is some flavor of "we are coming to LA for an anniversary, we want a convertible, what do we do?" After two hundred-plus of these trips, the answer has converged. The car is the Mercedes CLE Cabriolet. The base of operations is Malibu. The plan is two nights, top-down on PCH, one anchor dinner, and one canyon morning. Here is the version we send to anniversary couples now.

Why the CLE is the right anniversary convertible

Four real seats — which matters less for the couple than for the dinner guests you might invite up to the room. A power soft-top that operates at speeds up to 37 mph, meaning you can put it up rolling out of a valet lane when the marine layer rolls in. AIRSCARF neck-level heating that turns the 58-degree Malibu morning into a comfortable open-top morning. Burmester sound that holds together against highway wind. And the badge reads anniversary, not bachelor party — there is a real difference between a CLE in Obsidian Black and a louder convertible, and on an anniversary the quieter car is the right car.

Daily rate is $210, delivered to LAX or your hotel free. 150 miles per day included, which fits the entire weekend plan below without overage.

Friday — landing and the first drive

Land at LAX in the late afternoon if you can. We meet you at the rideshare zone or the LAX-it lot with the car detailed and fueled. From LAX, take Lincoln north, pick up PCH at Channel, and you are on the coast inside fifteen minutes. The golden-hour light from Pacific Palisades through Malibu is the reason you booked the open car.

Friday-night dinner candidates: Nobu Malibu if the reservation gods favored you, Malibu Farm at the end of the pier for the casual version, or Saddle Peak Lodge up Piuma Road for the inland-canyon variant. We have a separate post on the [Mercedes CLE on a PCH weekend](/blog/renting-cle-cabriolet-pacific-coast-highway-weekend) that walks the route in more detail.

Where to stay

Three picks, ranked by what kind of anniversary the trip is.

The Malibu Beach Inn for the canonical Malibu anniversary. Twelve rooms on Carbon Beach, every one of them oceanfront, valet that handles a low convertible without complaint. Roughly $900 a night in season. Worth it.

The Surfrider Hotel for the design-forward couple. Smaller, inland of PCH, rooftop bar that catches sunset, valet equally gentle on the car. Roughly $650 a night.

Calamigos Guest Ranch up Kanan Dume Road if the anniversary trip is also a reset — bungalows, vineyard, no pier crowds. Off-PCH but the CLE handles Kanan beautifully.

Saturday morning — Point Dume and Trancas

Top down by 9 a.m. Coffee at Malibu Farm or the Country Mart depending on which way you start. Drive north to Point Dume and park nose-out at the state beach overlook before the lot fills at 11. The canonical anniversary photograph is the car at Point Dume, top down, ocean over the rear quarter, both of you in front of it. Five minutes, no fuss.

From Point Dume, continue north to Trancas for breakfast at Lily's Cafe. Cash works, the card reader sometimes does not. Lily's is a Malibu institution that does not care what car you arrived in, which is part of why you should go.

Saturday afternoon — the canyon variant

The smart afternoon move is to leave PCH for two hours and take the canyon loop. From Trancas, go inland on Encinal Canyon to Mulholland Highway. Stop at the Rock Store for a Coke and to watch the motorcycles, then take Las Virgenes back down to PCH. The CLE is happy on canyon roads — not a sport sedan, not pretending to be, but the 9-speed and the suspension are tuned for sweepers and the soundtrack is the open air.

Back at the hotel by 4 p.m. for the part of the anniversary that requires neither of you to be driving.

Saturday night — the anchor dinner

The anchor reservation, in order of how hard it is to get: Nobu Malibu (book 4 weeks out), Mr. Chow Malibu (sister to the Beverly Hills original), Soho House Little Beach (members only — bring a member friend), Polo Lounge at the Beverly Hills Hotel for the night-trip-into-town variant. For couples coming up from LAX who want one extraordinary meal, Nobu Malibu remains the canonical pick.

Top up the tank at the Chevron on PCH at Cross Creek before dinner. Saturday-night Malibu fuel lines are real.

Sunday — Beverly Hills and the airport

Leave Malibu by 10 a.m. Sunday southbound. Take PCH south to Sunset, then Sunset east through Pacific Palisades and Brentwood into Beverly Hills. The CLE rolling down Sunset Boulevard with the top down on a Sunday morning is one of the more photographable thirty minutes you can have in LA.

Brunch in Beverly Hills — Polo Lounge if you can stomach the wait, Cecconi's in WeHo if you cannot, or the lobby restaurant at the Beverly Wilshire if you want something quieter. From any of those, LAX departures is a 30-minute drive in light Sunday traffic.

We pick the car up at the curb at LAX departures or back at your Beverly Hills hotel — whichever fits the return flight.

What the weekend actually costs

Three days of CLE at $210 plus weekly discount stacking: roughly $585. Premium fuel for the weekend: $90. Malibu Beach Inn for two nights mid-season: $1,800. Nobu Malibu dinner for two: $400. Saturday breakfast and lunch: $120. Total trip, ex-flight: roughly $3,000. We have seen it run higher and lower; this is the honest median for the version we plan.

Things to know before you book

The CLE is a 4-seat car but the rear seat is for short stints, not full-weekend adults. If you are bringing another couple, the [BMW X7 M Sport](/fleet/bmw-x7-m-sport) is the better pick — same kind of anniversary energy, four real adult seats, panoramic glass roof.

Renters bring their own eligible insurance, or add coverage at booking through our broker partner. We confirm at reservation.

Tell us the date and the hotel. We will block the CLE and send a confirmation by the end of the same day. The phone answers — that is the whole pitch.