"I'm a born-and-bred city kid. But just two days at Gurney’s Star Island Resort and Marina, which opens May 15, had me ready to exchange my Metrocard for a fishing rod and plan a life around swimming in lakes and sipping rosé on piers. The Gurney's team knows that the Hamptons way of life is the most seductive thing about Montauk—and they've bottled that magic impressively in their newest resort.
Of course, this won’t be news to anyone who’s spent time at the original Gurney’s, the iconic Montauk Resort and Seawater Spa, just six miles away on the South Fork’s stretch of the Atlantic coast. For decades, the O.G.—as the staff call it—has set the standard for East Coast luxury, with the only seawater pool in the United States, a private 2,000-foot beach, and an Italian restaurant, Scarpetta Beach, where tables are harder to nab between the summer months than just about any in Manhattan. Demand was high at the O.G., so Gurney’s purchased the lakeside Montauk Yacht Club a year ago, and began a $13 million renovation to create Star Island, miraculously (and necessarily) done in time for Memorial Day.
Visitors expecting a replica of the O.G.’s decadent glamour might be struck at first by Star Island’s more pared-down approach—the lobby and lounge areas are about a 10th of the size—but Gurney’s was right not to turn the Yacht Club into a nightclub, given its storied past. After opening in 1928, the Yacht Club hosted everyone from the Astors to the Vanderbilts to Charles Lindbergh, who used to delight guests by landing his seaplane on Lake Montauk before mooring at the club’s marina (the Hampton’s largest, with 232 slips and expansive views across the water to complement seafood lunches, afternoon cocktails, and twilight walks.) More recently though, guests complained that the place had become tired and dusty—and while there was relief when the Gurney’s sale was announced, some worried that the luxury renovation might sacrifice the property’s links to American history.
Happily, old fishing boats still bob up and down on the marina, seaplanes still land in the distance, and the white lighthouse remains steadfast overhead. Instead, Gurney’s focused their renovation on injecting a touch of their trademark sophistication in the places where it was sorely needed. The tasteful restoration of the old club’s indoor and outdoor pools is welcome, as is the renovation of the rooms: our Waterview King suite had an exquisitely comfortable mattress, a giant television (you’ll never turn it on, but it’s nice to know it’s there), a luxurious daybed on the deck, and walk-on access to the property’s lakefront beach. A tip: keep the blinds closed—rooms are so close to the sand that beachgoers may see more that you’d want them to. But the uninterrupted view at golden hour across the lake is magical.
It would have been easy for the brand to slap on their logo, scrub the windows, raise the prices, and call it a day. But instead the thoughtful renovation has created a brand new spot for Hamptonites to enjoy, including three new restaurants destined to become immediate classics. The smartest move Gurney’s made during the entire redevelopment process (along with not bulldozing the lighthouse) was bringing on board executive chef Jeremy Blutstein, a Bourdain-trained, Montauk-raised legend who made his name running East Hampton’s beloved Crow’s Nest and Almond restaurants.
The three new restaurants Blutstein has created for Star Island are worth the stay alone. There’s Il Forno Market, the grab-and-go Italian joint where specialty pizzas are cooked to perfection in a spinning pizza oven (try the duck prosciutto with freshly picked arugula) and the Pool Club, which features Gurney’s trademark sriracha lobster rolls. But it’s Showfish, the centerpiece seafood restaurant, which will be the talk of the town. I’m still dreaming about the show-stopping crab tagliatelle with Maine sea urchin butter, which was crunchy, creamy, light and filling all at the same time.
Blutstein’s partnered with local farms at Star Island to make sure diners eat Montauk’s freshest ingredients. About 75 percent of ingredients are sourced within 20 miles (by July, that percentage will climb to 90), including garlic from Balsam Farms and Montauk black sea bass caught that same morning, likely by one of the fishing boats you can see docked in the marina from your table. Star Island's food scene is good enough to make even the most die-hard loyalists to Scarpetta’s phenomenal spaghetti pomodoro forgo a stay at Gurney's Montauk for quicker access to breakfast, lunch and dinner at the new property. Their decision is made just a bit easier by the fact that a complimentary shuttle runs between the two Gurney's round the clock—so you can spend the afternoon at the O.G.'s private beach and seawater spa, and easily be back in time for a long, leisurely Showfish dinner." - Louis Cheslaw
