LAGUNA BEACH, Calif. – (Realty News Report) – Houston restaurant and hotel magnate Tilman J. Fertitta has acquired the Montage Laguna Beach Resort Hotel overlooking the Pacific Ocean along the California coastline.
“The Montage is a stunning oceanfront property and one of the premier hotel brands in the world,” said Fertitta. “I am truly thrilled to acquire this world-renowned property and add one of America’s most iconic trophy resorts to our luxury hotel portfolio. I have been traveling to Laguna Beach for over 30 years. It is one of my favorite places to visit and one of the most beautiful areas in the world.”
Situated on a coastal bluff overlooking the Pacific Ocean, the 30-acre craftsman-style resort features upscale beachfront accommodations.
All 260 guestrooms, including 60 suites, beach bungalow-style rooms and multi-bedroom villas, feature stunning views of the Pacific Ocean. Dining destinations offer unique, chef-driven interpretations of coastal California flavors. Not to be outdone, the comfort of the Spa Montage features eucalyptus steam rooms, dry redwood saunas, ocean air whirlpools, fireplace lounges, a state-of-the-art fitness center, movement studio and picturesque lap pool.
Prominent in the Houston business community, Fertitta, chairman of the board of regents at the University of Houston, has a reported net worth of $7.6 billion. In 2017, Fertitta purchased the NBA’s Houston Rockets for a record $2.2 billion and is the sole owner of the team.
Born on the island of Galveston, Fertitta, who is of Sicilian descent, worked as a boy peeling shrimp at his father’s seafood restaurant. In 1980, Tilman founded Landry’s Seafood in Katy and went on from there to create a restaurant empire with 600 eateries, including Morton’s Steakhouse, Del Frisco’s, The Palm, McCormick & Schmick’s, Bubba Gump Shrimp and many more.
Fertitta is active in the hotel sector. In 2018, he built the 38-story Post Oak Hotel, adding 250 high-end hotel rooms to the Uptown Houston market near Loop 610 and the Galleria. Fertitta also owns 14 other hotel properties around the country, including the award-winning San Luis Resort in Galveston, and five Golden Nugget Casinos and Hotels.
Fertitta is currently working to develop a major casino hotel on the Las Vegas Strip, at the southeast corner of Las Vegas Boulevard and Harmon Avenue. The six-acre site is catty-cornered from the Cosmopolitan casino hotel. The new Fertitta development is expected to include a 43-story hotel tower and a major casino. A few weeks ago, Fertitta demolished a TraveLodge motel on the site.
In a recent SEC filing that showed his deeper commitment to casinos, Fertitta reported he has acquired 6.9 million shares, worth over $500 million, of stock in Wynn Resorts, a major casino hotel operator in Las Vegas and Macau.
With the California beach resort, Fertitta adds to his coveted portfolio of luxe hostelries.
The expansive resort includes the 20,000 SF Forbes Five-Star Spa Montage; a wealth of outdoor recreation including two pools and direct beach access; a museum-quality fine art collection; and more than 20,000 SF of indoor and outdoor meeting space. Montage Laguna Beach is included in the distinctive Legend Collection of Preferred Hotels & Resorts Worldwide.
“We are thrilled that Tilman is the new owner of this one- of- a- kind property and welcome him into the Montage family,” said Alan Fuerstman, Founder, CEO and Chairman of Montage International.
Montage Laguna Beach Resort Hotel is an award-winning Forbes Triple Five-Star hotel (one of only 6 hotel properties to receive such a designation in the US) and has been included among Travel + Leisure’s Top Hotels in the World.
Nov. 14, 2022 Realty News Report Copyright 2022
Photo courtesy Fertitta Entertainment
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File – Tilman Buys Luxe Hotel in Calif.