Montage Laguna Beach

My family and I spent 4 nights at Montage Laguna Beach, and this might’ve been the most upset I’ve ever been leaving a hotel. This place is simply incredible, and absolutely lives up to the hype. It’s up there with any hotel experience I’ve had. Detailed review below: Property: The pictures don’t even remotely do this place justice. The setting is truly unbelievable. Some of the best ocean views you can imagine. We loved the lobby lounge (especially at night with the live music), the pool area (large main pool and then a smaller shallow pool for kids), the beach (with chair/food service) and the gym/spa. It’s also just an easy property to get around. Nothing felt more than a short walk away. Quick shoutout to the guitar player at the pool each day - he was excellent! Food: We tried The Loft, Studio and Mosaic. The Loft is the main hotel restaurant serving breakfast, lunch and dinner. Very good. Mosaic is the poolside restaurant and we loved it. Great menu and ocean views. Perfect at night for the kids too. We ate at Studio one night and I can confidently say it was one of the better meals I’ve had in a while. Beautiful restaurant. If you’re staying at Montage absolutely make it a point to go to Studio at least one night. If we didn’t have the kids with us we would’ve gone multiple times. Service: This is where these types of hotels really shine, and Montage was no exception. Incredible hospitality from everyone. We would meet someone once and they’d then greet us by our names the rest of the stay. Seriously - if any manager is reading this, you truly have an amazing staff. I wish I got the names of everyone. This hotel sets the standard. Even the pool service was great - food/drinks were out quickly, and there were always check-ins to see if we needed anything. Kids club (Paintbox): I want to include a section on the Montage Paintbox because it almost singlehandely made our stay. We traveled with a 4 year old and a 2 year old, and they went to Paintbox for the morning each day. They absolutely loved it! In fact, after the first morning they were begging to go back. And now that we’re home, they keep asking about it. Shoutout to Sophia, Emma and Jillian for being incredible with the kids (sorry if I missed anyone!) - we were worried our 2 year old wouldn’t love it and even he couldn’t wait to return each day. Best kids club program I’ve seen. I could go on and on about the Montage - but I’ll just say it was worth every penny. We cannot wait to go back.

You know how sometimes it takes a while to know what you want to say and how to say it? Well, after I processed everything, this is my honest review of Montage Laguna Beach. I've been a loyal patron of Montage Laguna Beach since it opened in 2003. Pros: I've been coming to Spa Montage since it opened in 2003. I'm so grateful to Spa Montage for over two decades of being my exclusive destination (up until 2024) for a moment of rest and renewal. I'm so grateful to Spa Montage for being a part of my journey. (Love and Gratitude to everyone who works at Montage Laguna Beach, who made every visit (since 2003) a perfect day!) Thank you for always being there to ensure that each visit is as special as the last! I always had a perfect day! You'd be hard pressed to find a jewel like Spa Montage Laguna Beach in SoCal or anywhere in the world. They have gorgeous spa facilities both indoor and outdoor. The indoor facilities have a World Class whirlpool, sauna, steam room, and cold plunge. I believe these facilities to be the best in the world. Same with the outdoor spa facilities. Spectacular ocean views from the spa pool, where you can lounge all day. Cons: I've noticed that under new ownership, the quality of Montage LB is not the same. Both in 2024 and 2025, I've noticed the quality of the food has been downgraded. You can definitely get better food elsewhere in the OC, Beverly Hills and Santa Monica. I also noticed when we stayed last summer 2024, for my Mom's 90th Birthday, that the quality of the hotel's Front Desk was definitely not what we experienced on all our previous vacations at Montage LB. Even though I have been a loyal patron since 2003, and it was my Mother's 90th Birthday, Montage LB's Front Desk made no effort to have our rooms ready on arrival. Just the whole way it was handled. We will never stay at Montage LB again. I'm not spending $10-20 K for a hit or miss vacation. Montage LB had always been my exclusive luxury destination since 2003. These poor experiences at Montage LB/especially from the hotel's Front Desk, forced me to open my eyes and consider other wonderful luxury destinations that get it right every time. To be honest, our Summer 2024 Trip for my Mom's 90th Birthday, left me feeling that Montage LB does not appreciate our business, or my loyalty...and what made Montage LB so special once upon a time, was what Alan Fuerstman said in Forbes Magazine, "So we embedded that into the ethos of how we would deliver service. Much less scripted, highly personalized, and with a clear focus on creating memories and experiences that would bond our guest with our hotels." That's exactly what I was hoping to create for my Mother on her 90th Birthday. This is not the place to celebrate someone's 90th Birthday.

Aaron’s service in the lobby bar was fantastic. He was friendly, informative, and a pure pleasure. The atmosphere was so enjoyable with great service, the back drop of the ocean and the pianist.

We had an amazing family getaway at Montage Laguna Beach, with our daughter’s highlight being Paintbox. We originally signed her for a few half days, which turned into attending an additional full day and kid evening at her request. She enjoyed the attentiveness of the counselors and meeting/ playing with kids at the resort. The Paintbox team made her feel so special and gave us peace of mind to relax and enjoy the resort. We are already looking forward to coming back!

Paintbox at Montage Laguna is a hidden gem for locals!! Even though we live locally, my kids absolutely love attending Paintbox kids club. First introduced to it during a staycation, my kids now ask to go even when we aren’t staying at the resort. All of the girls who work at paintbox (Emma, Sophia, Sophie, Amanda and Jillian) are all so warm, kind and care so much about the kids enjoying their time. When we returned for a second visit (about a month after our first), all the girls greeted my kids by name, which I found to be evidence of how attentive the girls really are. It meant a lot to me. Just last week I was able to have a relaxing day at Montage with confidence that my kids were having an amazing day as well, at Paintbox. I can’t wait for them to make many more memories soon!