The Surf & Sand Laguna Beach isn’t as famous as its neighbors, The Ritz-Carlton in Dana Point or The Resort at Pelican Hill in Newport Coast.
It’s taking a step in that direction after spending tens of millions of dollars to renovate its 165 rooms, a project completed last September. Its website says rooms in April start at $800 a night and can go to over $1,800, rates that are often more than twice what they were in prior years.
“This breathtaking transformation represents a significant repositioning and reinvestment by JC Resorts into Surf & Sand Laguna Beach,” said John Doane, president at JC Resorts, which owns the hotel.
“Our exceptional location set directly on the sand, paired with our thoughtfully redesigned oceanfront spaces, accommodations, and enhanced amenities and service, provides the ideal backdrop for guests and locals to forge unforgettable memories deeply connected to the restorative power of the ocean.”
Now it’s gone even further towards building an image of luxury by hiring a veteran of the Ritz-Carlton and Pelican Hill.
Jeroen Quint, who spent the last 25 years overseeing multiple luxury properties, including as managing director of the Irvine Company’s Resort Division, has been named the new managing director of the hotel that is a landmark for Laguna Beach residents.
Quint said he aims to keep the beachfront property “competing at the highest levels” in the Orange County market.
The Surf & Sand “is already a masterpiece,” Quint said.
“I’m just the fortunate one that was able to lead this hotel into its next chapter,” Quint told the Business Journal.
500 Feet of Prime Beachfront
Surf & Sand, opened in 1948, sits on 500 feet of shoreline with all its rooms facing the ocean and 20,000 square feet of meeting space.
La Jolla-based JC Resorts bought Surf & Sand in 1971, making it the first hotel in its portfolio. It currently has 20 properties—four resorts and 16 golf courses—on the West Coast.
“I’ve always been impressed with JC Resorts, with the company and with the legacy that they have,” Quint said.
Updates to JC’s local Four Diamond property included redesigning the interiors and finishes of its 165 rooms and suites with new custom furniture and new glass patio doors for the private balconies.
The Laguna Beach hotel also updated its in-room technology, such as motorized window features and the entertainment system.
Beyond the hotel rooms, Surf & Sand redesigned the lobby, pool, Splashes restaurant, Bella Vista Terrace and other public spaces. The restaurant last fall added Peter Lai as its new executive chef.
The meeting rooms, on-site boutique, café and Aquaterra Spa were refreshed as well.
Surf & Sand used the renovation to add new pieces to its curated art collection also, including a handcrafted glass chandelier in Splashes. The resort has hundreds of commissioned pieces across the property.
JC Resorts declined to say how much it spent on renovating the hotel.
Many companies try to be the best in their field and in hospitality, “luxury lends itself to that,” Quint said. “You try to create a perfect stay.”
The High-Class Hotel Resume
Quint said he left his home country, the Netherlands, in 2000 to pursue a hospitality career in the U.S. He pointed to luxury operators like The Ritz-Carlton as the ones that convinced him to move.
“Ritz-Carlton, in those days, was the pinnacle of luxury in many ways,” Quint said. “My country is very small and beautiful, but if you wanted to go to the next level, you would have to go to the States in those days.”
He started at luxury properties on the East Coast and worked his way up from Director of Operations in Virginia and Washington D.C., and ended his Ritz-Carlton tenure as the Food & Beverage Director in Naples, Florida.
Next, he spent two years with Wolfgang Puck, opening its first fine-dining restaurant in D.C. as general manager. Afterward, he returned to the hotel industry and joined the Capella Hotel Group based in Singapore.
For six years, he moved across Capella’s hotel portfolio, starting at a luxury beach property in Montego Bay, Jamaica, as executive director of operations, then landed his first managing director job at Lough Eske Castle in Ireland. He also managed the Capella Marigo Bay Resort and Marina in Saint Lucia.
Quint’s first time in Orange County was in 2016 when he joined the Irvine Co.’s resort division as managing director.
At the time, he oversaw Hotel Irvine, now the Hyatt Regency Irvine, The Resort at Pelican Hill, which is now managed by Marriott, and the former Fashion Island Hotel, which was renovated into a Pendry resort in 2023.
In 2020, he was hired by New York-based Highgate as an area managing director with regional oversight of a few luxury properties in Southern California and Mexico. This job included the Pacific Edge Hotel in Laguna Beach, which is down the street from Surf & Sand.
When he found out the lead position was available at the Surf & Sand, Quint was working at Los Angeles-based JRK Hotel Group as its vice president of hotel operations and head of hotels.
Quint said the Surf & Sand resort was a natural choice for him at this point in his career.
“If you look at where I am in life with my experience, and where this hotel is with its history and its legacy, the location, the people, the product – that’s just a good match,” Quint said. “It’s a continuation of my career and a continuation of this company.
“What I love about this hotel is that we can walk around and get to know our guests. You can’t do that in a 1,000-room hotel.”
