News from The Roundtree, Amagansett

As part of my due diligence, one night I asked several guests what they thought of the property. “It’s my favorite place I’ve ever stayed out here,” one said, summing up the general consensus.

"My question going into the weekend was: How much different would my stay be compared with the hundreds of times I have stayed at hotels all over the world before? Not so much, as it turned out...it was like a stay at an upscale boutique hotel with excellent service and an ambiance of being at a treasured friend's home who goes out of her way to be hospitable and has fantastic taste."

As hotels cautiously reopen for the summer travel season, health and safety concerns are top of mind. Gifted with acres upon acres of land, sprawling luxury resorts — from wilderness retreats to private islands — provide plenty of space to feel comfortable without being crowded. And it’s these properties that are in an optimal position to lead the way.

The Hamptons has long been the summer playground of the rich and famous, and today it’s also the home away from home to an eclectic melting pot of tastemakers, artists, writers, designers, artisanal chefs, surfers, and Manhattan’s cool crowd.

Sylvia Wong’s background may be in law firms and multinational IT companies, but she had long searched for the perfect place to open a hotel. Never in those years had she imagined the doors flying open for the first time in the middle of a pandemic.

With many U.S. states and countries around the world relaxing lockdown restrictions, people are wondering when—and how—it will be safe to travel again. And though many want to get back out into the world, social distancing will be the norm for months—if not years—to come. Experts like Misty Belles, managing director of global communications for the luxury travel advisor network Virtuoso, believe that in the post-coronavirus world privacy will be one of the most sought-after amenities. 

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.

Most of us are feeling pent up, trapped and twitchy right about now, which is why many are searching online for destinations that offer safe (and sanitized) luxury with a focus on ample space to be socially distant.

Many hotels and inns across the Hamptons are preparing to open after being shutdown due to the coronavirus pandemic. According to Governor Andrew Cuomo, the statewide shutdown will end on Friday, May 15th. 

To some, it was known at Gansett Green Manor, a stalwart from an era gone by that maintained a robust business as a popular wedding venue. Come last July, it found new ownership in Sylvia Wong and the WTI Inc. real estate group, who acquired the property for $6.175 million. Now, after six months of updating, the property plans to opens its doors on June 1 as The Roundtree.