Laguna Beach Travel Guide
Cool Hotel Jobs / Hotel Employees / Montage Hotels / Laguna Beach Hotels / → All Tags
Best Hotel Job Perk: Montage Laguna’s Sommelier Classes
Last week we told you about how seriously the Montage Laguna Beach’ takes its wine program, and about its weekly Sunday Artistry of Wine tasting series. This time, we’re going to fill you in on the employee continuing education class that just might be the coolest hotel job perk ever: sommelier training open to every staff member interested.
Wine Tasting Hotels / Montage Hotels / Laguna Beach Hotels / Luxury Hotels / Hotel Wines / → All Tags
Montage Laguna Beach Loves Its Wine
Most people come to the ritzy Montage Laguna Beach to take advantage of its incomparable location along the stunning SoCal coast. During a recent visit, though, we actually came to experience the resort’s comprehensive wine program. Not only does it have 7 sommeliers on staff among its three restaurants managing a list of over 45,000 bottles of 2,100 wines, but it also holds a weekly wine-tasting for guests and locals called the Artistry of Wine series.
Hotel Gardens / Laguna Beach Hotels / Hotel Restaurants / Hotel Spas / → All Tags
The Montage Laguna Beach Starts a Garden for Its Restaurant and Spa
People most likely come to the Montage Laguna Beach for its sweet on-the-water locale. But they may start heading there for Studio restaurant's new garden-to-table dishes or herb-filled spa treatments, made of veggies and spices that the Orange County hotel grows on its own.
Outside of the eatery sits the new 1,000-square-foot Studio Garden. Its five raised garden beds are full of lettuce, tomatoes, beans, strawberries, blackberries, lavender, sage, chamomile, rosemary, Fuji apple trees and fingerling potatoes among other goodies.
HotelChatter Questions / OC Hotels / Laguna Beach Hotels / Real Housewives Hotels / Jim Bellino / → All Tags
Has Anyone Ever Stayed at Taliban Jim's In Vogue Hotel?
Last year, we were all in a tizzy about the In Vogue Hotel in Laguna Beach, which was supposedly owned by "Real Housewives" husband, Jim "Taliban Jim" Bellino.
But has anyone actually stayed there? A concerned reader writes to us:
My wife and I are going to a wedding in Laguna Niguel in July. I was searching for a place to stay and found invogue on trip advisor. We contacted them and rates seem low (around1500 for a week in the summer). Problem is we can find no reviews for the place and it has been opened for 2 years. Have you found any additional info on invogue?
Celebrity Scoop / Dennis Rodman / Bad Celebrity Behavior / Hotel News / → All Tags
Dennis Rodman Continues To Be the Worst Hotel Guest On the Planet
Yes, it's happened again. Dennis Rodman should just avoid all hotels from now on because there is something about a hotel that makes him go nuts and get kicked out.
The latest victim is the Surf and Sand Hotel in Laguna Beach, Calif. Fresh off hosting a pool party at the Hotel Indigo East End, Rodman was staying at the Surf and Sand and filming a UK reality show when he got "drunk and disorderly" at the hotel bar.
Hotel Openings / Hotel Opening Rates / JDV Hotels / Laguna Beach Hotels / Orange County Hotels / → All Tags
JDV Officially in The OC with The Pacific Edge Hotel
Nearly two years ago, JDV Hotels announced they would be opening a hotel in the "real" Orange County, California by taking over the old Vacation Village hotel on the beach.
Now, The Pacific Edge Hotel is just about ready to make its debut. And in typical JDV fashion, the hotel is holding a contest to determine the hotel's new logo.
The hotel is looking for a design that captures the "spirit of Pacific Edge and "communicate the special qualities of the hotel." However, only California residents may enter.
Reality TV Hotels / Jim Bellino / Real Housewives Hotels / Laguna Beach Hotels / Lauren Conrad / → All Tags
Taliban Jim's In Vogue Hotel Is Totes Legit
Earlier this week, we were worried that Taliban Jim Bellino's In Vogue Hotel might just be another Chateau La Rue but fortunately, our tipster on the scene in Laguna Beach has the latest scoop. And there is good news!
They have taken down the For Lease sign now and having done some background research I did find out that Jim is owner of record with the City along with another firm. The property originally was permitted as a business property and it has only been the last few years that they changed their use permit to a hotel - it appears that they originally intended the spaces to be for monthly rentals but that was challenged hence the need for them to switch to a boutique hotel.
Having not been up in to the rooms (there is gate) I can't say for sure but the appearance from the outside it looks every bit like office spaces with a courtyard in the center.
Our dedicated commenter also promises to take a pic for us.
Reality TV Hotels / Laguna Beach Hotels / Jim Bellino / Alexis Bellino / Real Housewives Hotels / → All Tags
Mysteries Shroud Taliban Jim's In Vogue Hotel
Last week, we learned that James "Taliban Jim" Bellino, the Real Househusband of Alexis Bellino, had a "luxury" all-suite hotel in Laguna Beach, The In Vogue Hotel for which he was advertising vacancy on the prestigious booking site that is Craigslist.
We haven't had the time to drive down beyond the Orange Curtain to see for ourselves what this hotel is all about but we may not have to. A commenter tells us that this hotel is not what it seems.
Reality TV Hotels / Laguna Beach Hotels / Jim Bellino / Alexis Bellino / Real Housewives Hotels / → All Tags
What Exactly Does Taliban Jim Have To Do With The In Vogue Hotel
See? Even though we tried to bring the focus back on hotel sightings on the big screen, the boob tube is still the winner for quick and easy hotel hits. The latest news has to do with original "The Real Housewives" franchise, The Real Housewives of Orange County..
Gawker reports that the newest member of the show, Alexis Bellino, recently wrote a blog post on Bravo shilling for her husband as is he apparently the new owner of the all-suites The In Vogue Hotel in Laguna Beach.
Taliban Jim, his nickname dubbed by Television Without Pity because he won't let his wife get a cup of coffee without him, is already advertising on Craigslist saying,
"CALL JIM FOR WEEKLY AND MONTHLY SPECIALS, CALL ME AT 949-322-4900. I AM DEALING!"
Hmm...we can't wait to see what kind of guests have been parading through this hotel.
Killer View / Beachfront Hotels / Laguna Beach Hotels / → All Tags
Nothing to Complain About Here at the Pacific Edge Hotel
We are suckers for a room with a killer view. We find that we are even more likely to forgive some minor hotel inconveniences if we can stare out the window at something pretty—yeah we are that shallow. Let's help out our fellow hotel mavens by uploading rooms with killer views to the HotelChatter/Flickr photo pool, or by sending the photo along to us. We will feature our favorites in this space from time to time. Remember to tell us the name of the hotel and the room number of the hot view.
What a pretty picture for a cool and dreary Thursday morning. (At least it is here in New York City.) Wouldn’t you give your right arm to be strolling on that sand, or sitting on the balcony gazing out at the Pacific? We probably would, but as it turns out, this killer view doesn’t have to come with a killer price tag. It’s not taken from the terrace of a five-star resort, but from the affordable Pacific Edge Hotel in Laguna Beach.
Sweet Suites / Hotel Renovations / Surfer Hotels / Themed Hotel Rooms / Laguna Beach Hotels / → All Tags
Laguna's Casa del Camino Just Got a Whole Lot Cooler
On what ended up being a sunny, yet slightly overcast day in Laguna Beach, we had the opportunity to check out ten recently overhauled rooms at La Casa del Camino, a comfortable boutique hotel that lies just above the city's famed shoreline. And just in case you're wondering, no, we didn't run into any ex-cast member of a certain O.C. reality television show.
Anyways, we're of the "we have to see it to believe it" variety; almost daily we catch wind of the latest multi-million dollar renovation, but it takes an in-person visit to determine exactly what makes those new, meticulously chosen linens and architectural changes worth a guest's time and, sometimes, extra money.
Casa del Camino's Surf Project differs from your run-of-the-mill update for many reasons. Not one, but ten designers were paired up with ten quintessentially Orange County companies that represent the best of surf and skate culture, from Roxy to bikini line L*Space. When we first entered the hotel, its traditional Spanish architecture, soft, recessed lighting, and a familiar seaside bungalow ambiance belied the hypermodern changes that lay inside the ten rooms.
Hotel Restaurants / Montage Resorts / OC Hotels / Luxury Hotels / → All Tags
Studio at The Montage Laguna Beach Wows Critic With Its $1,200 Bottle of Chardonnay
Now that Chef Craig Strong has taken over the kitchen at Studio, the restaurant at Laguna Beach’s Montage Resort, L.A. Times head restaurant critic, S. Irene Virbila, decided it was time to venture down the coast for a meal there, and the usually hard-to-please reviewer was positively raving about the food by the end of her dinner(s).
No other restaurant in Southern California has this mesmerizing view, and this happy combination of setting, great food, polished service and deep wine list makes Studio at Montage one of the region’s true destination restaurants.”
