Canoe Place Inn by Workstead opens in Hampton Bays, Lengthy Island

Canoe Place Inn by Workstead opens in Hampton Bays, Lengthy Island

Whereas it could not have the identical identify recognition of the opposite extra well-known Hamptons, the picturesque hamlet of Hampton Bays in Lengthy Island, New York is a country, waterfront neighborhood that has retained a quaint and native really feel. That will not final for lengthy with the restoration and opening of Canoe Place Inn & Cottages, a historic inn (allegedly America’s oldest) that dates way back to 1656. Designed by Workstead and spearheaded by Rechler Fairness Companions, a family-owned native enterprise, the elegant new property heralds a return to glory for a storied lodge that has lain empty for the final 20 years.

‘Our household enterprise has served the Lengthy Island neighborhood for over 60 years. My co-managing companion and cousin, Gregg Rechler and I every have our personal fond recollections at Canoe Place by way of the years, one thing we share with many Lengthy Island and Tri-State residents,’ shares Mitchell Rechler, managing director of Rechler Fairness Companions.

‘Since we started on this restoration journey again in 2005, it has been our precedence to honour the historical past of those grounds, whereas bringing one thing particular again to the Hampton Bays neighborhood. Whether or not creating culinary education schemes for Hampton Bays Faculty District or just providing a spot to assemble for particular events large and small, we’re honored to reintroduce Canoe Place as an intrinsic thread within the material of the neighborhood and a portal of discovery for vacationers and new friends.’

In its glory days, Canoe Place Inn was a favorite amongst Hollywood royalty, presidents and politicians alike. From Lucille Ball and Albert Einstein to Teddy and Eleanor Roosevelt and John D Rockefeller, such was the calibre of friends who would usually cease in Hampton Bays, which lovingly was referred to as ‘the primary cease out East’.

Its esteemed clientele apart, Canoe Place boasts a deep-rooted design legacy, together with colonial-style structure by the American architect William Bottomley round 1921, which Workstead primarily drew inspiration from. Alluding to the lodge’s heyday between then and the Forties, the reimagined Canoe Place Inn & Cottages stands as a backyard by the ocean. Encompassing a three-storey foremost constructing, a restaurant that spans each the indoors and outside, a window-wrapped occasion pavilion in addition to 5 visitor cottages located on the property’s north and west, the well-sized property, which is operated by the Fundamental Avenue Hospitality, is a imaginative and prescient of evocative touches. 

‘Canoe Place is taken into account one of many oldest inn websites in America,’ recounts Stefanie Brechbuehler, companion and director of particular initiatives at Workstead.

‘It was a spot of shelter and revelry, rooted in a satisfaction and dynamism, which we uncovered from the non-public anecdotes informed to us alongside the best way. We spent many hours observing friends reminisce on their time at Canoe; strolling into the occasion area, one recalled her marriage ceremony venue 70 years prior, whereas our gem of an installer skilled that very same set of partitions with nostalgic recollections of the of-the-moment nightlife that the Canoe Place Inn membership of the Nineteen Nineties was recognized for. We had been excited to the touch on Canoe’s historical past and folklore and create an idiosyncratic area that spoke of its distinctive stamp in time.’

She continues, ‘Many features of the unique structure had been stripped away by the fires the lodge skilled, so we searched for every area to nod to its previous whereas feeling distinctly modern within the present setting. A visitor is greeted by curated vintage, classic, and novel furnishings; the reception desk was manufactured from reclaimed pine discovered within the constructing. As one steps down into the tavern, we purpose for them to really feel instantly snug and that they may sit down not solely within the excessive summer season season, however in the course of winter and know that the hospitality right here will not be one-note.

‘The carpeted flooring and panelled millwork partitions create a way of ease and cosiness that’s harking back to the early, old-world settlers that first set foot on this website. In The Bottle Room, Delft tiles additionally level to early settlers of Lengthy Island, we continued the consolation of the millwork, and launched shelving housing collections from shipwrecks, previous stoneware beer bottles, and pewter stirrup cups, amongst many others we loved trying to find. The examine and guestrooms are the place one experiences the unique low ceiling heights that we celebrated, whereas additionally introducing fastidiously designed trimwork.’

From deploying herringbone brick exterior paths that begin from the constructing’s exterior by way of to the foyer and all-day kitchen, the place breakfast and lunch are served, to bringing the normal trellis work that seems above the backyard restaurant and bar into the lodge foyer and once more connecting to the primary entrance, there are threads of visible continuity that convey the big area collectively.

Coupled with wealthy and considerate additions, from picket ceiling lighting, which resemble abstracted florals, a meadow-like carpet that adorns the primary eating room, a moody melange of darkish wooden, overstuffed armchairs and a statuesque hearth within the library bar, to a pale blue, heat inexperienced and lightweight sand inflected color palette, the lodge is a captivating enclave that mixes the comforts of dwelling with a well-heeled luxurious. There’s even a spa by the cult New York Metropolis-favourite, Onda Magnificence. Poised to welcome friends by way of all of the seasons, it’s a really perfect touchdown level whether or not you want to expertise the remainder of the Hamptons, or not. §