Mensch of the Week-Alan J. Fuerstman

The temperatures are warming up, and summer is right around the corner. After this terrible winter, the last thing most of you want to think about is snow. Be warned, this post is going to take us to the snow-capped peaks of the Wasatch Range in Utah. Over the mountains, on the California coast, Alan J. Fuerstman sits in his office at Montage Hotels & Resorts corporate headquarters. Mr. Fuerstman started Montage in 2002 to cater to wealthy travelers. Currently Montage has two properties open, one in Laguna Beach, and one in Beverly Hills. But the real reason Mr. Fuerstman is our Mensch of the Week is because of the hotel that Montage is opening in December of this year.

Park City, Utah sits at around 7,000 feet above sea level, and boasts some of the best skiing in the world. Park City hosted many events for the 2002 Winter Olympics. One of the three resorts within Park City is the ritzy Deer Valley. At Deer Valley, the houses are larger, the food is classier, and the hotels are much more luxurious. Mr. Fuerstman saw the opportunity for a Montage hotel, and took it. This isn’t his first foray into ski resorts, as he was responsible for managing the St. Regis Aspen at one point in his illustrious career that also includes being Vice President of Hotel Operations at the Bellagio in Las Vegas.

Montage Deer Valley will primarily compete with the St. Regis Deer Crest Hotel that opened in November of last year. The brand new Montage will boast 174 guest rooms and suites along with 81 private residences, most with either gorgeous valley or mountain views. It was constructed slopeside to allow guests to ski-in and ski-out as they please. And for when the skiing makes your muscles ache, you can get a massage in their 35,000 square foot spa. With a signature restaurant, and a more casual one you may never even want to venture into downtown Park City for apres-ski food. And to top it all off, they’re going to have heated underground parking.

I had the pleasure of skiing a day at Deer Valley during a recent trip, and I definitely see why it is frequently ranked the top ski resort in the world. Impeccable grooming, great views, beautiful houses and hotels, and fantastic food really set Deer Valley apart from other ski resorts. The Montage Deer Valley is poised to be the crown jewel of this wonderful powder haven. However, be warned, Deer Valley is one of only three skiers-only resorts in the country.

Montage Hotels & Resorts is departing from their usual operating strategy by managing and operating a hotel in a cold place, rather than on the beach in California, but I think they are making a perfect decision. The hotel has a great mid-mountain location on the newer part of Deer Valley, which boasts some exciting terrain. Alan J. Fuerstman is our Mensch of the Week for not only bringing a stellar hotel to an already superb resort, but also for constructing it during one of the worst economic recessions since the 1980s. When he founded Montage in 2002, the New Jersey native and Gettysburg College alumnus set into motion a series of events that would eventually lead him back to the skiing industry, except this time in Utah. Alan J. Fuerstman knows what the affluent traveler wants, and he intends to deliver it with the Montage Deer Valley. This is why he is our Mensch of the Week.