Montage Laguna Beach Offers Eco-Friendly Kids’ Programming

Sustainability for the younger set. That’s the focus of new children’s programming at Montage Laguna Beach, the recently renovated luxury resort located on 30 acres of oceanside real estate in Southern California’s coastal community of Laguna Beach.

As part of the renovation, the 258-room resort completed a full revamp with updates to the lobby, lounge, guestroom designs, amenities and Studio Garden. Included in the renovation was a renewed and expanded focus on sustainability, now incorporated into every aspect of the resort.

Paintbox. Photo: Montage Laguna Beach

Tenfold Harvest, a full-service edible-garden design and build firm, constructed a raised bed garden designed to be an interactive place for kids to learn about the cycle of a plant, the source of our nutrition and how to grow their own. “We want our youngest guests to enjoy the resort as much as our adult guests,” said Anne-Marie Houston, general manager, Montage Laguna Beach. “We want them to come away from their stay with a new appreciation and knowledge for the earth and where their food comes from.”

During Tasty Tuesdays in Paintbox, the resort’s activities-focused children’s area, kids have the opportunity to harvest their own produce herbs from the garden and use it in the kitchen to make pizza and pasta. “All of the plants in the Paintbox garden are edible and change on a seasonal basis — even our irrigation is sustainable!” Houston said. “Chefs at Montage Laguna Beach work with the children to educate them about where their food comes from and chefs also help the children cook meals with produce and herbs harvested from the garden.”

The Patch Garden. Photo: Montage Laguna Beach

Paintbox is also partnering with Laguna Beach’s Ocean Institute for programming about marine habitats, species and how children can help keep the ocean clean. The Paintbox experience is available for guests aged 5–12 and includes arts and crafts, games and creative activities indoors and out at the pool, beach, tide pool and events lawns. Kids can sign up for half-day or full-day sessions as well as children’s night out; Paintbox Petite is available for those aged 2–5.

Mosaic Pool. Photo: Montage Laguna Beach

The property is also focused on other sustainability efforts for children. Baby furniture includes Coco Mat natural fiber baby mattresses; and bed linens sourced from Bloom, a furniture company founded by four dads that uses sustainable woods, recyclable plastics and metals, low VOC finishes and products free from lead, BPA, phthalates, PVC, formaldehyde and MDF.

On-site restaurants offer a personalized purée baby food menu and the hotel also partnered with Yumi, a Los Angeles-based company of organic products backed by doctors and nutritionists as well as local farmers and chefs. Other baby amenities include toxin-free baby blankets from Fabulous Goose; clean, natural, sustainable wooden toys from Oompa; and an eco-friendly organic panda bowl with removable suction cup from Bubbaboo.

For more information about the sustainability programming and the resort in general, visit the website.