The Montage Laguna Beach opened in 2003 and pays homage to the artist colonies of the area , the mosaic pool an example .
Fuerstman made his Horace Greeley move and headed out west on the invitation of a general manager he had worked for in New Jersey . Marriott at the time was opening a resort in Rancho Mirage , Calif . “ I was just planning on going on an adventure out there with a friend ,” he said . He was given the distinguished role of bell captain and it was then and there that hospitality burrowed in and embedded into his marrow . “ I literally fell in love with the business . That was the real beginning of my career and I never looked back .”
Fuerstman ’ s luxury ethos was galvanized when he led The Phoenician resort in Scottsdale , Ariz ., at a time when it was part of ITT Sheraton . It was the desert . It was the southwest . It was hot . Yet , still , the atmosphere suggested sport coats in the lobby and dining room . “ What I took away was : Why don ’ t we make it more comfortable , but not lose any of the attention to detail , craftsmanship – the things that I feel are real markers of luxury ,” he said .
“ I thought there was an opportunity in the broader luxury space to create that kind of style of service coupled with an incredible physical property that didn ’ t look the same city to city .”
The seedling had been planted for Montage Hotels & Resorts . After a stopover in Las Vegas opening the Bellagio with Steve Wynn , Fuerstman created Montage in 2000 and opened the Montage Laguna Beach shortly thereafter . From the jump , Montage was an asset-none business , with a pure focus on management and creating the brand vision . Luckily , Fuerstman had a capital partner to help put the cash behind the inventiveness .
A FRIEND , INDEED The dot-com bubble had many casualties . eBay was not one of them and its founder , Pierre Omidyar , just so happened to be a friend of Fuerstman ’ s . One day over lunch , Fuerstman dropped his idea of starting his own luxury hotel company . It wasn ’ t just about a favor ; he had the prescience to understand the value of the real estate he ’ d be directing . The Phoenician had been acquired for $ 240 million when Fuerstman went to work there . Four years later when he left , it was worth $ 500 million . “ I saw this incredible value appreciation that was created by operating the hotel extraordinarily well ,” he said .
Fuerstman asked Omidyar if he was interested in diversifying and investing in a hotel , telling him , “ I think there ’ s some tremendous opportunity here .” No one knows how much alcohol was drank that afternoon , but Omidyar was convinced and ended up investing in a handful of hotels through his family office with Fuerstman , including Laguna Beach , Beverly Hills and Deer Valley , Utah . Like Bogart and Rains , it was the continuation of a beautiful friendship . In no time , Laguna Beach became a winner — a destination for the SoCal glitterati and the out-of-towners in search of a sybaritic experience that spoke to them and not their parents . “ We were an
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