As the five-star Montage Laguna Beach toasts its 20th anniversary, Montage International founder, chairman and CEO Alan Fuerstman reflects on the hospitality giant’s flagship property and what’s next.
PHOTO BY ART STREIBER
Congratulations on your 20th anniversary. How do you feel about this significant milestone in Montage Laguna Beach’s history (montagehotels.com/lagunabeach)? I feel a tremendous amount of pride and appreciation for this special resort and for the extraordinary journey of the Montage brand. As soon as I stepped foot onto this stunning coastal bluff property, I knew it would be the most amazing platform for creating the vision of a new type of travel experience for those seeking a more humble and gracious approach to luxury. Everything we do today at Montage International is grounded in those early days of Montage Laguna Beach. Twenty years on and it continues to resonate with its distinctive service, unique style and awe-inspiring sense of place. It truly is our flagship.
What first inspired the opening of Montage Laguna Beach and the expansion of the Montage brand? If we go way, way back, it was my first part-time job as a doorman at the Marriott near my hometown in New Jersey. This ignited a lifelong passion for hospitality and led to decades of experience running luxury resorts, including The Phoenician and Bellagio. By the early 2000s, I noted that traditional luxury hotels in the marketplace were frequently becoming formal, even pretentious, in their approach to service, and from there the inspiration for creating a less scripted and more relaxed, welcoming luxury experience informed by authenticity sparked. Montage Laguna Beach was the fortuitous start of something I knew in my heart would speak to a new generation of travelers for years to come.
What have been some of the most exciting milestones in the past two decades? Twenty years brings with it so many milestones—phenomenal people, remarkable communities, exciting destinations. We have ventured from sunny Southern California to the majestic slopes of Deer Valley and Big Sky, the Lowcountry of South Carolina, the beaches of Maui and the wine country of Northern California, and international expansion to Cabo. There’s also our thriving and award-winning Pendry brand, with properties in vibrant cities from coast to coast, and cultural collaborations with talented artists, chefs, designers and makers of all kinds from around the globe. I am humbled by the genuine loyalty of guests, friends and associates, many who have been part of the Montage story since our founding.
What’s next? We have opened 14 destination properties since 2003 and the future is just as prolific with 11 signed Montage and Pendry hotels and resorts due to open over the next few years. Exciting launches on the horizon include Montage Cay, our first Caribbean resort, situated on its own exclusive Bahamian island with seven private beaches; Pendry Tampa at the new Riverwalk waterfront enclave; Pendry Natirar, a modern-day historic Tudor-style estate formerly owned by the king of Morocco on 500 acres of countryside in Somerset County, N.J.; Montage La Quinta and Pendry La Quinta, featuring a midcentury modern design aesthetic in keeping with their Coachella Valley location; and Pendry Newport Beach, a stunning makeover of the iconic Fashion Island Hotel opening summer 2023 that will include a signature Spa Pendry and a new private membership club.
What do you hope your personal legacy is? To have built a company with compassionate leaders that has enriched the lives of the guests, associates and communities that we have touched. To have been incredible stewards of the remarkable hotels and resorts we have created.
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