Clockwise from left : Montage Laguna Beach , the flagship property of Montage Hotels & Resorts , which marks its 20th anniversary this year ; Alan Fuerstman , founder , chairman and CEO of Montage International ; the clifftop site before Montage Laguna Beach was built
TOP RIGHT : COURTESY OF MONTAGE INTERNATIONAL
During college vacations , young Fuerstman continued to work for and play tennis with Small , who became his friend and mentor . Fuerstman eventually joined Marriott ’ s management training program and worked his way up to managing The Phoenician , an upscale resort in Scottsdale , Arizona .
After serving as the opening vice president of hotel operations at Steve Wynn ’ s posh Bellagio Resort & Casino in Las Vegas , Fuerstman decided it was time to create a new luxurious but unstuffy hospitality group that captured a sense of spirit and place . That ’ s when he found this 30-acre oceanfront location in Laguna Beach , the previous site of a trailer park . When Montage Laguna Beach was built , Treasure Island Park was created for public use as part of the project .
Since 2003 , Montage Hotels & Resorts has grown to encompass seven incredible locations including Deer Valley in Utah , Kapalua Bay in Maui , Palmetto Bluff in South Carolina , Los Cabos in Mexico , Healdsburg in Sonoma and Big Sky in Montana , all with luxurious amenities and impeccable service . Montage Cay in the Bahamas is set to open next year . In addition to hotels , all Montage locations also offer residences . True to Fuerstman ’ s vision , each Montage property offers a unique sense of place and spirit , purpose-built to reflect and quickly become an integral part of its surroundings .
Fuerstman says that his company picks resort locations firstly by finding a destination it believes the luxury traveler wants to visit and then finding a place within that destination that can accommodate
LAGUNA BEACH MAGAZINE 35