Take a tour of where AIG execs and guests had spa treatments after billions in federal bailouts

The Orange County Register (MCT) - Last week, the Orange County Register investigations team broke the story of how executives from AIG, the insurance giant, lived the high life immediately after their company was bailed out by billions of federal dollars. The group of executives and invited guests ran up a nearly half-million dollar tab at the St. Regis Monarch Beach.

I'm one of the few Register reporters who has stayed at the St. Regis, back in 2001. I've returned several times to the bar and restaurants, most recently this summer. The story below is originally from a piece comparing the three luxury resorts on the Orange County coast: the St. Regis, Ritz-Carlton Laguna Niguel and the Montage Resort.

Here's my updated take on AIG's hideaway. For example, the hotel restaurant no longer serves the how-rich-can-you-be Lobster Pot Pie. The AIG folks would have loved that.

ST. REGIS MONARCH BEACH RESORT &SPA

The style: Over-the-top 172-acre Tuscan-theme resort whose stucco-and-red-tile-roof design mirrors that of neighborhood homes along the "Orange County Riviera." Millions lavished on a modern art collection for the hotel, acres of marble and statuary and sweeping grounds. A member of Starwood, the nation's largest hotel group.

The stats: 400 rooms starting at 535 square feet _ the biggest of the three resorts; 37 suites. The respected 2008 Zagat Survey research put current room rates at $625 per night (It was $475 - including two massages when I stayed in 2001). Earn big points on the Starwood Preferred Guest program.

Perks: Robert Trent Jones Jr.-designed golf course, the only one of the three resorts to have links adjacent to the property. Spa Gaucin offers a long menu of treatments. Aqua, an offshoot of the hot San Francisco eatery, features a crusty, creamy lobster pot pie (the restaurant has since been replaced by the award-winning Stonehill Tavern.

The scene: During my stay, the place was packed with an Infiniti dealers convention. Lots of golf bags and cell phones mark the St. Regis as the most business-travel-oriented hotel of the three.

Accolades: AAA Five-Diamond. Rated a Top 30 resort by Zagat Survey. Listed among top 500 hotels in the world by Travel &Leisure Magazine. Soon after it opened, it was named one of 10 best new luxury hotels in the country by Conde Nast Traveler magazine and one of the best new resorts in the world by Robb Report, a luxury lifestyle magazine.

The best: Golf. Monarch Beach Golf Links used to be a sleepy little resort course used by guests at the Ritz-Carlton when they couldn't get onto the Pelican Hill Golf Club course. The St. Regis gave it a face-lift and made it one of the better places to play in Southern California.

This used to be a course frequented by O.J. Simpson when he and wife Nicole lived in the area. Former President Bill Clinton caused controversy by taking mulligans while playing the course. It is the host of the Hyundai Team Matches, a postseason golf tournament that has golfers from the PGA, LPGA and Champions tours.

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The least: Distance from the beach. The Ritz-Carlton and Montage sit on bluffs overlooking the ocean. At the St. Regis, the ocean is a sliver of blue to be seen past the pool, past the golf course, across the road, and beyond a row of mansions. The hotel is affiliated with the Monarch Bay Club, at the far end of Salt Creek Beach from the Ritz-Carlton. But to get there, you have to take a long golf-cart ride past the course and under Pacific Coast Highway. If you forgot something in your room, the next golf cart isn't for 20 minutes. It's not worth the hassle _ use the fantastic pool instead.

Bottom line: Despite lavish spending by owners, the St. Regis has remained in the shadow of the Ritz-Carlton. And despite having bigger and better rooms, a better pool and a golf course right out its front door, the St.

Regis' Achilles heel is that though it has Monarch Beach in its name, this is not a beachfront hotel. In the end, that puts it at the end of the list of the big three.

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Gary A. Warner: gettingaway@ocregister.com

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© 2008, The Orange County Register (Santa Ana, Calif.).