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New England in summer is an entirely unique experience.
Clam bakes, boat shoes, yachts, chinos and a lot of navy blue clothing: this is
the fresh-faced America that dominates the advertising of Ralph Lauren, Tommy
Hilfiger, Nautica and the rest.
New England is the home of the Wasp, the White
Anglo-Saxon Protestant: a lifestyle and signature firmly tied to places like
Nantucket, Martha’s Vineyard, Newport and Kennebunkport, the very heart of the
casual East Coast summer tradition. At one time the Hamptons would have been on
the list, but being within commuting distance of New York has led to a meteoric
rise in the area’s popularity. What was once a collection of unspoilt clapboard
villages has consequently has consequently become a playground for the mega-rich
– a transplanted district of New York complete with all its urbane frippery and
sophistication.
But the seductive, wholesome outdoor life and
seafood of New England can still be found less than three hours away from New
York City. Shelter Island is a place of leafy green forests and little country
roads that wind past rustic clapboard and shingle houses. It is just a hop,
skip and a ferry ride away from the Hamptons, but in almost every other respect
it is light years away…and decades behind. And this is exactly how the
residents of Shelter Island like it. The place is simple, unspoilt and
unpretentious. Even in the height of summer everything closes early and the few
restaurants start to empty out around ten. There are no nightclubs, no designer
restaurants and no valet parking. There is nobody to impress and nowhere to ‘be
seen’. Island life is about beaches, sailing, water-skiing and cycling…all of
which is why Sunset Beach is such a perfect escape. The hotel is completely in
step with the rhythm and pace of life on Shelter Island, partly no doubt because
the proprietor, André Balazs (of
Chateau Marmont and
The Mercer fame), is a
resident himself. Balazs knows and appreciates the island for exactly what it
is, and Sunset Beach is a highly successful stab at maximizing what it has to
offer.
His urban properties in LA and New York may be
superchic, but here Balazs was less concerned wit image and aesthetics. ‘More
important,’ he says, ‘is what it looks at’ (a beautiful beach and idyllic bay)
‘than what it looks like’. If I had to venture a description I’d say it’s
slightly odd hybrid between seventies California motel and New England guest
house. Balazs’s renovation has given it a nineties feel while preserving its
faintly kitsch period character. Sunset Beach may never win any architectural
prizes – but architectural pedigree is not the point here. What counts most is
the location on a superb stretch of beach.
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There are twenty rooms, all with a spacious
terrace, a separate sitting area, a simple kingsize bed and a generous pile of
fluffy white towels. On closer inspection, signature Balazs luxuries pop up:
Frette bed linen, the odd piece of pared-down design furniture, groovy lamps,
and a mini-bar and gourmet basket stocked to the brim with irresistible goodies.
(Because, let’s face it, we would be disappointed if the odd luxury wasn’t to be
found.)
On the food side, Sunset has a café/diner, for
breakfast and brunch, and a tree-covered outdoor terrace for lunch and dinner.
Needless to say both are literally a stone’s throw from the beach and offer and
uninterrupted views of one of the pretties bays on Shelter Island. It’s hard to
believe that this area was one of the first pars of the New World to be
settled. Founded in the seventeenth century, Shelter Island got its name in the
days when the nearby Sag Harbor was the whaling capital of the East Coast and
the numerous small bays of the island provided the only real protection from the
fury of the Atlantic. Take a drive around and you will see that remarkably
little has change since then.
Encouragingly, despite the overblown popularity
of the nearby Hamptons and the growing weekend tourism of Sag Harbor, the island
has successfully fended off all attempts to link it to the mainland by a
bridge. The only way to reach Shelter Island is still by water, and in an age
of instant gratification most people haven’t the patience to wait for a ferry
that can only carry fifteen cars at a time. The island council, guided by an
association of local property owners, is saying no to mass tourism. The
inconvenience and expense of the ferry is a deterrent…but for guests heading to
Sunset Beach it’s an unqualified blessing.
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