Family-friendly boutique on the beach

The new Shorebreak Hotel in Huntington Beach is a lesson for the image-obsessed: Once you give up trying to be relentlessly hip, it’s easier to relax.

Within two weeks of the Shorebreak’s May opening, its pairing of surfer-chic decor and a laid-back beach vibe has become a hit with local travelers. Though the combination of Memorial Day weekend, a beach volleyball tournament and tantalizing $100 promotional rates fueled the hotel’s first sold-out weekend, the Shorebreak also answered many travelers’ questions, as in:

Why doesn’t someone open a boutique hotel that caters to families and business travelers?

Why can’t such a hotel be located beyond some upscale hipster neighborhood?

And, perhaps most important, can I bring my dog?

The Shorebreak’s reach for a deeper demographic was evident from my informal, luggage-cart field research on Memorial Day weekend. I spied lots of diaper bags, children’s car seats and a dog food bowl complete with kibble.

Locals who braved the holiday traffic jam on Pacific Coast Highway to take Fido and Junior on a little weekend jaunt found a hotel trying hard to deliver top service and style for moderate prices. On style, the Shorebreak scored. On service, it stumbled but recovered.

The overall decor is light, bright and inventive. A giant photo mural of ice plants surrounds the front desk, while oversize graphics of sea kelp paper the adjacent stairwell. The lobby is a kinetic collage of surfer movies projected on the wall, swiveling lime-green chairs and cutting-edge artwork. A program with the Surf Gallery in Laguna Beach allows the hotel to create a rotating exhibit of modern surfer and beach art in the restaurant, lounge and lobby.

I got to know that lobby well during a four-hour delay that kept me and my 9-year-old son, Eli, there till 7 p.m., when our room was ready. The concierge offered complimentary drinks in the lobby lounge and explained that two housekeepers had fallen ill that day. Good thing the drinks were on him; I never got the key to my mini bar (where sodas and juices were a reasonable $2).

With summer room rates that start at $199 and top out at $1,500 for a two-bedroom, ocean-view suite, the 157-room Shorebreak offers competitive rates for such immediate ocean access. The best views are from the waterfront rooms on the upper levels, such as the two-bedroom suite with a wrap-around deck, and an $800 suite that includes an outdoor living room with ocean views.

Don’t count on seeing the water from the courtyard rooms, though. My view included the heating and air-conditioning ducts of the level below.

But the interior of my $239 room was consistent with the playful feel of the lobby. A pair of 4-foot-square floral upholstered beanbag pillows sat at the foot of the queen bed. An extra-wide headboard was attached to the wall and upholstered in a plaid similar to staff members’ shirts. My son snuggled into the beanbags to watch the Cartoon Network on the 42-inch flat-screen TV while I investigated the hotel’s claim to “four-star touches.”

The most important was silence. I heard no noise from the street, hallway or neighbors. The room’s linens were a mix of fine Frette and hotel brands known for their durability. Though some rooms include a bathtub, mine had a large, tiled shower framed by a clear glass partition. The writing desk came with a rolling task chair, Internet access ($9.95 daily) and the procrastinator’s favorite distractions, snacks and wine.

The room doesn’t try to be super deluxe, perhaps because this is a hotel where guests are likely to spend most of the day outside. The Shorebreak sits at Pacific Coast Highway and Main Street, about a block from the pier, and anchors a retail development called the Strand. The hotel shares the block with a CVS, a Forever 21, a public parking lot and nearby casual restaurants and surfwear shops.

Three years in development, the Shorebreak is the first and most upscale of the four Southern California boutique hotels that Joie de Vivre is scheduled to open this year. The inn has such amenities as a private dining room, fitness center with a yoga studio, a business center and 8,000 square feet of meeting space that includes a 3,000-square-foot ballroom.

The physical and psychological positioning of the hotel attracts local guys in board shorts and flip-flops who wander in from the beach for drinks in the lounge. San Diego and L.A. families are driving the hour to Huntington Beach for quick getaways. Sophisticated couples of all ages are trying Zimzala, the new Mediterranean restaurant that was an underpopulated pleasure.

Chef Vincent Muraco’s expertly executed menu is a mix of ingredients from Greece, Spain, Turkey and Morocco. Most of the entrees and appetizers are large enough to share, including, I found, the $23 Moroccan chicken tagine with preserved lemons, the crispy, creamy French fries and the romaine salad with chickpeas.

Zimzala’s prices were competitive with those at area restaurants, but it offered superior service and a fresh, indoor-outdoor atmosphere. Compared with other hotels’, the room service menu is a similar value: The modest $13 Continental breakfast with fresh fruit cost $19.78 with delivery fees, tax and mandatory 18% tip. The tray was delivered in the 22nd minute of the 25 promised -- but it was meant for someone else. The mix-up was fixed in less than five minutes.

Though my one-night stay was fraught with delays and mix-ups, the hotel’s small-scale, pleasant atmosphere and convenient location near the beach, restaurants and shops made it hard to get too irritated. Perhaps as the staff gets into a groove, the Shorebreak will be just the stress break we need.

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travel@latimes.com

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The Shorebreak Hotel

500 Pacific Coast Highway,

Huntington Beach, CA 92648;

(714) 861-4470,

www.shorebreakhotel.com.

Doubles begin at $199.