The first time the gal headed by train east of New York’s Grand Central Station to Amagansett, the penultimate stop before Montauk, the furthest tip of Long Island, it seemed to take all day (or at least four hours) – but it is such a pleasant ride, with great views along the way as you progress along area known as The Hamptons. Amagansett, what a marvellous name, culled by its first settlers, in the 1680s, from the Montaukett name for ‘place of good water’, apparently for a water source near what today is Indian Wells beach.
In the late 19th century, Proctor & Gamble established a summer base there, called the Devon Colony. Today, Amagansett still brings thoughts of summer, panama hats, and beaches. It is a community that has been loved over the last few decades by Christie Brinkley, Bill and Hillary Clinton, Scarlett Johansson, Paul McCartney, Chris Martin (and then-Mrs M, Gwyneth Paltrow), Marilyn Monroe (with Arthur Miller in tow), shoe queen SJP (Sarah Jessica Parker), Jerry Seinfeld and that lovely guy H. Weinstein.
A year-round new hotel opens in Amagansett June 2020. The Roundtree is owned by private investor Sylvia Wong, WTI Inc. It has 15 rooms, converted from centuries-old private cottages and an old barn, all set on two acres along Main Street. Travelling with friends or family? Take one of the cottages that has two, or three, bedrooms for total privacy that offers you your own home, albeit temporary, ‘in The Hamptons’. Think Frette linens, Grown Alchemist toiletries, morning yoga, s’mores at your fire pit. GM is Boby Haryadi.
