The top-secret Oceanside beach colony so exclusive people barely know it exists? Get behind the St. Malo gates

Rarified private beaches. Hush-hush, gate-guarded splendor. It’s hard not to feel you’ve arrived at St. Malo, Oceanside’s under-the-radar beach colony founded a century ago.  Unfolding across 26 sandy, secured acres, St. Malo is defined by French Normandy architecture and dramatic landscape dotted with manicured boxwood and sculptural old-growth trees. Established in 1926 and named for the stunning Brittany seaside of France, St. Malo began as a seasonal playground for the Hollywood set, and lured some of America’s richest families. Notably, the 85-home community housed Prince Philip during the 1984 Olympics. 

With its self-contained summertime splendor, the stylish escape was splashed across the pages of 1940s Vogue. The headline: “St. Malo — Not France but California.” The article described “a happy mixture of the quiet charm of the Old World and the security and peace of the new.”  

Among those featured was Kenyon Keith, St. Malo’s prototypical starchitect, who first dreamt up the French Normandy-inspired design with pitched roofs and massive fireplaces. Today, the forefather’s family is selling its 8,037-square-foot prime heritage lot, which has been in the clan for three generations. 

Lot #79 is listed for $2,848,000 with Rande Turner, of Rande Turner Collective, Pacific Sotheby’s International Realty. It’s a rare opportunity to create a new legacy at a historic playground once reserved for the elite few, says Turner. Perfectly poised to frame enchanting ocean views, Lot 79 is located on the lagoon with a private sandy beach. It features a flat, buildable lot while conceptual drawings depict a 5,000-square-foot seaside sanctuary. 

“When you enter the gates of St. Malo you feel an immediate sense of peace and calm,” says Turner. “The harmonious architecture in this idyllic enclave is unlike anything on the entire coast of California.”

Today, St. Malo remains an emblem of Old World glamour tailored for a modern California mindset. The gate-guarded community features a beach club with volleyball, pickleball, paddleball, and tennis. Tucked away in Oceanside between Pacific Coast Highway and Buena Vista Lagoon, St. Malo offers the rare mix of privacy and proximity. Downtown Oceanside and Carlsbad Village are just ten minutes away.

A new generation of buyers want access, according to Compass agent Lindsay Dunlap. Case in point: Dunlap’s record-breaking $10.5 million sale in June of 2049 S. Pacific Street. It marked the highest sale in Oceanside, exceeding previous records by over $3,000,000. And that’s for a house that’s outside the St. Malo gates.

The 5,781-square-foot oceanfront compound belonged to businessman John Hotchkis, who co-founded the asset management firm Hotchkis & Wiley and built the property in the ’90s as his multigenerational family getaway. The house features 8 bedrooms, 8.5 bathrooms, and 4 wood-burning fireplaces with ample room to entertain. 

The Grande Dame of architecture captures natural light and warmth while providing an abundance of oceanfront spaces to savor the dazzling private beach, which has near-mythical status for those in the know. 

“St. Malo is a community where homes are cherished heirlooms, traditionally passed down through generations,“ says Dunlap. “We have seen a shift in interest from younger families wanting to start their own new family traditions here.”