While Montauk is called the anti-scenester option to its Hamptons neighbors to the west, that does not mean this wildly stunning, windswept region at the eastern pointer of Long Island isn’t without animal conveniences and fine-tuned hospitality– it’s simply not in your face about it.
Daunt’s Albatross, a newly refurbished, 23-room, family-owned and operated hotel in the heart of Montauk’s industrial district, is the best testament to that philosophy.
” Our goal with the Albatross has actually been to spread the beauty of Montauk and welcome everybody– from beginners to those who have been coming with their households for decades,” says Leo Daunt, the third-generation proprietor and general supervisor.
The Daunt family has run this property given that 1977, when Richard and his partner, the late Frances Daunt, bought the property after settling in Montauk in the 1960s.
Today, the motel-turned-boutique hotel maintains much of its rustic, familial appeal from a half-century earlier, while receiving a much-needed modern-day refresh. “In this new chapter, we’re delighted to build on this legacy and continue to make visitors feel a part of the family,” states Daunt.
The hotel resumed this summertime after the first phase of a year-long restoration led by Daunt, in collaboration with Brooklyn-based style firm Home Studios. Creative director Oliver Haslegrave is no stranger to telling a story through style. Haslegrave, a former fiction editor, and his group have developed buzzy areas including The Spaniard in Manhattan, Hu Hotel in Memphis, and Alsace Hotel in Los Angeles.
” The story of Daunt’s Albatross is one rooted in a family’s enthusiasm for welcoming guests to an area that feels like home, even if just for a short stay,” states Haslegrave. “Our gut remodelling admires a time when Montauk seemed like a concealed gem.”
Part of that natural beauty is a design inspired by the rugged landscape of nearby Shadmoor State Park, with custom-made knotty pine woodwork and a color scheme of whites, warm grays, browns, faded yellows, and ocean blues.
All the furniture is unique and classic, with no 2 rooms precisely alike. (Speaking of rooms, they vary from basic doubles and queens approximately the Koda Suite, passionately called after Daunt’s golden retriever.) The Koda Suite sleeps six and is the original apartment or condo where Richard and Frances Daunt lived when they first bought the Albatross.
A revamped, landscaped courtyard sits at the center of the property with smokeless fireplaces, overhead string lights, and Adirondack chairs (perfect for complimentary nightly s’mores). A pool remodelling will follow later on this year, with visitors able to take pleasure in the existing one for the summertime.
Across the street, the Daunts likewise own The Bird on the Roof, a boutique-and-restaurant principle serving a raised breakfast and brunch menu with a complete alcohol license and live music.
While Montauk isn’t the sleepy fishing village it once was, it doesn’t feel like the rest of the Hamptons either. And nestled in between the beach and downtown is Daunt’s Albatross, the only family-owned hotel left in Montauk to receive a major renovation.
The residential or commercial property is a treasured remnant of the good old days, now infused with contemporary sensibilities and the personal heat of the Daunts.