Montage Resort Goes on Laguna Buying Spree

The Aliso Creek Inn and Golf Course -- a quaint hideaway nestled in a picturesque canyon in south Laguna Beach -- has been acquired by the owners of the nearby four-star Montage Resort & Spa for an undisclosed sum.

The Montage, in partnership with the Athens Group and individual investors, also has purchased Driftwood Estates, a 240-acre parcel where a developer had approval to build 11 luxury homes. A spokeswoman for the Montage said the purchase essentially ends those plans.

The Aliso Creek Inn deal closed March 1 and the Driftwood property deal closed April 1, Montage spokeswoman Marguarite Clark said.

The purchase of the 62-room inn, its Canyon Lodge restaurant and a nine-hole public golf course has set off rumors over what the resort has planned for the 80-acre parcel, located across Coast Highway from the pricey Montage.

Speculation that the Montage plans to extend the “executive” golf course into an 18-hole resort course was denied by Clark.

“At this moment we have no plans to expand it to an 18-hole course,” Clark said, “but we are in the process of evaluating the land to see what type of enhancements we can make to it as we are committed to enhancing the property.”

A hotel industry observer said the new owners are more likely to build luxury condos and time-share units on the property than a larger golf course.

“The cost of running a golf course versus the income it generates is a negative,” said Alan Reay, president of Atlas Hospitality Group, a Costa Mesa-based hotel brokerage and consulting firm.

The Aliso Creek Inn, known to South Laguna residents as Ben Brown’s for the man who owned the property after he and his wife bought it in the 1950s, is a popular spot for quiet lunches in the Canyon Lodge American Grill overlooking the first tee and Aliso Creek.

The property was purchased from Violet Brown, the principal owner after her husband’s death.

The 2,200-yard course is a favorite for people learning to play golf, for those who want to play a quick round or for younger players who can’t hit the ball far.

With the purchase of the inn, golf course and Driftwood Estates, the Montage owners have further increased their prominence in South Laguna. And that makes some concerned about what the acquisitions will lead to.

“None of us can imagine what the end goal is,” Laguna Beach Councilwoman Toni Iseman said. “They must have a lot of money to be doing this and they are smart enough that we have to think they have a plan. We just don’t know what it is.”

Others fear that the village atmosphere that makes South Laguna so attractive is being eroded by a corporation making a name for itself providing exclusive accommodations and entertainment.

“The probability is that the kind of quaint character that South Laguna has had for so long is disappearing, and disappearing faster than we would like,” said Bill Rihn, president of the South Laguna Civic Assn.

Whatever plans the new owners have will need to be approved by the city, and possibly by the California Coastal Commission.

“There’s a lot of difficulty with the Coastal Commission and probably the city of Laguna Beach itself,” Reay said. “However, they’ve done a very good job with the Montage ... and there’s no question the owner has the financial capability in terms of taking his time in doing the right development.”

The Driftwood development, above the Laguna Terrace mobile home park in South Laguna, was approved in 2003 after three years of debate and revisions.

The developer, Highpointe Communities, started with plans to build 18 large ocean-view homes, but that was reduced to 11 homes, with a cap on the home size at 6,300 square feet.

Clark said she was unsure why Highpointe sold the parcel, but said the new owners have not proposed any specific plans for the property. Highpointe’s vision, however, has been scrapped.

“We’re starting from scratch,” Clark said.