The Basics
Located in the hills above Malibu and one of the four Malibu Beach Sober Living facilities, Serra Bluff offers the most privacy. The house can only be accessed through the Serra Retreat entrance; a gated and secured community with views of the ocean and the majestic Santa Monica Mountains. This particular home is located on a bluff overlooking Carbon Beach, just one property over from one of its sibling houses, Sweetwater Mesa.
Accommodations and Amenities
While Serra Bluff is traditionally a women’s sober living, men often reside there if the current male population at Malibu Beach Sober Living outweighs the females. The house is a two-story California bungalow with 14-foot exposed-beam ceilings, wood floors, spacious kitchen, formal dining room, living room and a tranquil space for yoga and mediation. All four bedrooms are master suites with queen-size beds and private bathrooms. The house holds a maximum of five people—one of the rooms is shared. Each room has a flat screen TV and cable and the house has high speed Internet.
The layout of the house is very open, loft style. Décor is plush, with Mediterranean style furniture, layered in white cotton fabrics and accented in earth tones. Serra Bluff is known as the house with the most tranquility and peace. It is the smallest of the four, and potential clients are typically writers or students who require quiet, as opposed to extra curricular social activities.
The staff does all of the grocery shopping and clients are responsible for preparing their own breakfasts and lunch. Dinner is served next door at Sweetwater Mesa, prepared by a professional chef. While the staff encourages all residents to eat the evening meal together, clients can bring their dinner back to Serra Bluff if they want.
Rules and Regulations
The house meets every morning for group, followed by a voluntary AA meeting. Residents do not have to attend AA meetings, but are expected to participate in some kind of therapeutic activity for at least two hours a day, which may include outpatient treatment, 12-step meetings, yoga, mediation or perhaps some form of religious practice. Yoga and meditation are offered on-site daily.
As with the sister facilities, Thursday night clients may attend the AA meeting and dinner at Indigo Ranch, where local treatment centers are welcome to join. Saturday is beach day—residents can take surfing lessons and Sunday night is the musicians meeting, which kicks off at 6 pm with dinner, followed by an AA meeting and then a jam session, all at Indigo Ranch. While participation is optional, Serra Bluff staff encourages residents to build friendships and sober community between the houses.
There is staff on duty all night, and always one support staff person during the day. This person makes sure clients submit to drug tests twice a week and Breathalyzers twice per day. Residents are allowed to smoke in designated areas outside and all personal electronics are welcome.
Extras
All transportation is provided—to work, school, treatment and any outside appointments.
The feeling of a sober community exists between the four houses: The Beach House, Sweetwater Mesa, Indigo Ranch and Serra Bluff.
In Summary
Serra Bluff offers beauty, privacy and lots of fun sober activities if the client so chooses, while still offering the quiet that so many people need. The bonuses are the sober community that can potentially spring up around the four houses, being able to walk to 12-step meetings and having a driver for everything else. And if the price is a reach, go for the shared room and cut the cost in half.
Malibu Beach Sober Living Serra Bluff
20006 Pacific Coast Hwy
Malibu, CA 90265
Serra Bluff Cost: $10,000-$20,000 (30 days). Reach Serra Bluff by phone at (310) 924-0780 or by email at info@malibubeachsoberliving.com. Find Sera Bluff on Facebook and Twitter
Do you have a complaint or review of Serra Bluff to add? Use the comments area below to add our Serra Bluff review.
Sponsored DISCLAIMER: This is a paid advertisement for California Behavioral Health, LLC, a CA licensed substance abuse treatment provider and not a service provided by The Fix. Calls to this number are answered by CBH, free and without obligation to the consumer. No one who answers the call receives a fee based upon the consumer’s choice to enter treatment. For additional info on other treatment providers and options visit www.samhsa.gov.
